Bells Easter Saturday 1981 video
There was a fair bit of footage in Jack McCoy's 'Storm Riders', you might wanna check that first. Also, Tim Bonython filmed it as a green teenager and has lots of footage from the day. I've heard him jokingly say he's holding onto it for his retirement.
I know the wave of Gabe Callaghan's you mention, I've seen a still shot of him straightening out and going prone after it was over. Think it was in an SW.
Yeah, Storm Riders: great film. I remember frothing watching it at the Brighton Town Hall with a bunch of mates.
That vaguely rings a bell (if you'll pardon the pun) that there was some footage in it of that day, but I was quite sure that there was also another vid floating around - I think it was quite a bit lower quality and less polished, but great nevertheless.
I might see if I can dig up a copy of Storm Riders anyway.
stormriders was transferred to disc a few years ago and avail from jack mcoy, try his site......that grab rail cuttie of fallanders at lagundri was awesome.
Had a look at Tim Bonython's site and think I found the vid - "All Time Bells". Tim apparently took it on the road showing it around the traps. I've emailed him to see if it's still available somehow.
Tim Bonython DID NOT produce "All Time Bells" although he apparently took the credit for it. I filmed, edited and produced "All Time Bells" in 1981 when no other notable surf film producers turned up that year.
This followed my earlier surf flick "Ecstasy" in 1971 filmed at Bells Beach and Johanna withal the legends of the era. In 1982 I produced "The Legend of Bells" which covered the history of Bells Beach with Doug Warbrick, Owen Yateman, Peter Troy, Vic Tantau, Joe Sweeney, Al Reid and other all describing the early years and the very first competition. This is great historic value for older surfers.
In 1981 whilst filming from the cliff top, Doug Warbrick from RipCurl was standing on the cliff beside me jumping up and down and calling out "This is All Time", "This is All time", and that is the origin of the name of the surf flick that was then released on VHS and Beta.
I am about to re-release on DVD for the first time before the end of August 2015 all three productions.
I can be contacted direct at seatease@gmail.com or on mobile 0433 877 766.
Colin Turner.
Thanks Colin.
I'm so pleased that you've surfaced.
I had posted a question on Surfd on an article about this a couple of years ago asking how I can get a copy. I noticed in another Swellnet thread that you've responded on Surfd, and that there were quite a few other people after a copy.
Yes, I'll order one, but a bit short of time before going off to Indo for 2 weeks, but I'll definitely order it when I get back.
The surf flicks described earlier are now available for the first time on DVD. "ECSTASY", "ALL TIME BELLS" and"THE LEGEND OF BELLS" are available as a historic set direct from me for $60.00 au plus $7.00 au postage and handling. I can be contacted direct on 0433 877 766 or by email checked daily
'seatease@gmail.com' Thanks for your interest.
Colin
Patrick wrote:
That last one! Sheesh!
ColinT wrote:Tim Bonython DID NOT produce "All Time Bells" although he apparently took the credit for it. I filmed, edited and produced "All Time Bells" in 1981 when no other notable surf film producers turned up that year.
This followed my earlier surf flick "Ecstasy" in 1971 filmed at Bells Beach and Johanna withal the legends of the era. In 1982 I produced "The Legend of Bells" which covered the history of Bells Beach with Doug Warbrick, Owen Yateman, Peter Troy, Vic Tantau, Joe Sweeney, Al Reid and other all describing the early years and the very first competition. This is great historic value for older surfers.
In 1981 whilst filming from the cliff top, Doug Warbrick from RipCurl was standing on the cliff beside me jumping up and down and calling out "This is All Time", "This is All time", and that is the origin of the name of the surf flick that was then released on VHS and Beta.
I am about to re-release on DVD for the first time before the end of August 2015 all three productions.
I can be contacted direct at seatease@gmail.com or on mobile 0433 877 766.
Colin Turner.
Hhhmm this sounds suss.
Tim?
A fresh one!
?si=30_4Czv5OxmTu8U2 Tubes are good but walls….walls are best.
That was great thanks.
I heard or read once there was a Bells comp in the 60s (maybe 1966) where it was even bigger. Can anyone shed light on this?
Wasn't sure where to pop this but thought this was a great post and backstory.
Classic- i watched this Yesterday
ha classic. Cheers Udo. Great viewing.
How's the tail on that twin?
southernraw wrote:Wasn't sure where to pop this but thought this was a great post and backstory.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C8NvIKvyAx2/?img_index=1
Glen Casey. Now there’s a guy who could ride very big waves on the Surf Coast, especially down south of Port Campbell way and just around the corner. AW
First surf mag i ever had, a feature titled 'A Very Good Friday', pretty sure he popped up in that session with TC, RCJ, Pottz, Gerr and crew. Seen some epic pics of him from down that way AW.
Hope you're well mate.
southernraw wrote:First surf mag i ever had, a feature titled 'A Very Good Friday', pretty sure he popped up in that session with TC, RCJ, Pottz, Gerr and crew. Seen some epic pics of him from down that way AW.
Hope you're well mate.
Southernraw. How things pal?
I definitely remember that title.
Those guys, Glen Casey, Tony Ray, Jeff Sweeney, Greg Brown, Wayne Lynch etc. some Saturday mornings early 80’s, I’d surf then a few of us would head down south and watch in awe as the aforementioned guys rode those behemoths. Gobsmacking.
I was about to cross over to support you and others and poke the bear in the furore of the ridiculous misunderstanding of land recognition for our FNP, I’ve come to the conclusion with some or one, we’re simply wasting our time.
I’m flabbergasted as to how others view a group of humans who simply just loved, nurtured, nourished and took great care of where they lived.
Wouldn’t that be a great metaphor for life, looking after your own little patch of biological beauty, so that its always there. AW
AlfredWallace wrote:southernraw wrote:First surf mag i ever had, a feature titled 'A Very Good Friday', pretty sure he popped up in that session with TC, RCJ, Pottz, Gerr and crew. Seen some epic pics of him from down that way AW.
Hope you're well mate.Southernraw. How things pal?
I definitely remember that title.Those guys, Glen Casey, Tony Ray, Jeff Sweeney, Greg Brown, Wayne Lynch etc. some Saturday mornings early 80’s, I’d surf then a few of us would head down south and watch in awe as the aforementioned guys rode those behemoths. Gobsmacking.
I was about to cross over to support you and others and poke the bear in the furore of the ridiculous misunderstanding of land recognition for our FNP, I’ve come to the conclusion with some or one, we’re simply wasting our time.
I’m flabbergasted as to how others view a group of humans who simply just loved, nurtured, nourished and took great care of where they lived.Wouldn’t that be a great metaphor for life, looking after your own little patch of biological beauty, so that its always there. AW
Yeah some great names there AW. Victorian surfing legends. Russ M too. Ahh yes, sat up on those very cliffs and seen some incredible things go down in the past. Got to see RCJ tearing it up, somewhere in that 20ft plus range. I did take a stack of pics, incredible pics actually, but they'll remain out of the public sphere, except for the odd cropped closeout, out of respect of the crew down there. Wild coast. Love it so much down there.
Alls well here thanks. Got to witness a pretty historic sesh from a cliff top not too long ago of similar magnitude with another bunch of wild hell men going bananas. Actually was probably bigger. Basically the whole ocean was moving mountains. Never really seen anything like it.
Haha yeah probably a good move to not waste your time. Whats that saying. Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.
I figure we're blessed to share this same time and space with this ancient culture. And so much to learn. One day we might be ready that it'll actually be willingly shared.
Good to hear from you AW.
Derek Hynd & John Harris. Some cool stories. (The audio is a bit dodgy though).
"The next interview is with Derek Hynd, talking about Bells and Pipe in '81.
Along with the Coke contest at Narrabeen, Simon Anderson won all three, Forever changing surfboard design with his 3 fin thruster. To this day,
I don't know how Simon didn't win the World title that year but other things happened on those days and we're here to talk about some of them."
Good question, why didn't Simon win the title? Three contest wins. Did MR win more?
Where did MR place at Bells?
Patrick wrote:Derek Hynd & John Harris. Some cool stories. (The audio is a bit dodgy though).
"The next interview is with Derek Hynd, talking about Bells and Pipe in '81.
Along with the Coke contest at Narrabeen, Simon Anderson won all three, Forever changing surfboard design with his 3 fin thruster. To this day,
I don't know how Simon didn't win the World title that year but other things happened on those days and we're here to talk about some of them."
https://youtu.be/MQljRCpx_Fo?si=RxjwkuCR9gq6zuRGGood question, why didn't Simon win the title? Three contest wins. Did MR win more?
Where did MR place at Bells?
Patrick. Hi mate.
Thanks ,that was good. I love listening to surf conversations from eras gone by, I always learn something. AW
With all this recent swell activity down in Vic, it made me think back on past winters and past epic swells. And whenever I do that, I always remember Easter Saturday 1981 at Bells. We rocked up to Winki in the half-light pre-dawn, wondering how big it will be. We must have been there between the big sets, because it was just big, not monstrous. We ended up going out at Steps (paddling out from Boobs and taking 10-15 minutes to get through) and getting the biggest waves I've ever ridden, even to this day.
Epic stories, epic wipeouts.
Anyway, enough misty-eyed reminiscences.
Soon after that event, we saw a video of that day's surfing at the Bells contest, including a wave by Gabe Callaghan (?) that he rode from Bells past the Button and down into Winki.
Unfortunately, I can't find any decent video of that day now, except for a few painfully short clips here and there.
Does anyone know of this video that I speak about? And where I can get hold of a copy? Or any other footage of that spectacular swell?