Watching a world championship tour event unfold at Burleigh Heads is something I’ve done very rarely since the Stubbies Pro made its triumphant and unforgettable debut there 48 years ago, but last weekend’s WSL Burleigh Pro opener in fun high performance waves and mostly sunny skies took me right back to the thrill of Stubbies ’77.
Back then the headland was choked with spectators marvelling at surfing’s first man-on-man event, with only two surfers sharing perfect Burleigh barrels until the climactic final when Michael Peterson, then the best surfer in the world, made his swansong on the podium, defeating Mark Richards, soon to overtake MP as the best. All of this was running through my head as I watched Saturday’s 18 heats of excellent surfing, in which, surprisingly, some of the biggest stars in surfing were dispatched to the elimination round.
The women’s opening round went pretty much to script, with Molly Picklum and Sally Fitzgibbons being our standouts, while the brilliant Steph Gilmore showed she’s lost nothing after a year and a half away from the tour, advancing with a second. But in the men’s round a lacklustre Jack Robinson, straight from victory at Bells the previous week, was relegated to the elimination, while two heats later Noosa prodigy Julian Wilson, winner of the Burleigh Pro trials and on the comeback trail after a four-year retirement, surfed a brilliant heat, only to be sent to the elimination by outstanding surfing from ratings leader Italo Ferreira and Burleigh local Liam O’Brien.
Jules’ heat total would have won all but two of the 12 heats of the round, but Italo and Liam both went excellent in the air and hit greater heights than the former master of above the lip. When a similar fate befell Californian ace Griffin Colapinto, some extraordinary clashes were set up for Sunday’s eliminations, none more so than the first heat of the round, when Julian Wilson found himself up against Jack Robinson and wildcard Morgan Cibilic, the tearaway of 2021 now fighting back to form and subbing for Ryan Callinan, absent at the birth of his first child.
Robbo, a future world champ in anyone’s book, fresh off a win that sent him soaring back up the rankings, had everything to lose here, while Jules and Morgs had nothing. They could go for broke. In waves that were only B+, I have rarely seen a fiercer contest than this, with Wilson combining classic airs from his prime days with unequalled competitive cunning. Morgs threw everything at it, Jules answered back stronger, pulling out all the old tricks, like paddling them up the line, calling for time to panic them, and even having a quiet word in Jack’s ear as he paddled past him. Jack just looked confused.
This was masterful, exciting, take-no-prisoners surfing and I loved every minute of it. As I write there is a long road ahead and anything could happen, but make no mistake, Julian Wilson is back.
Jack Mac is back on the road
My old mate Jack McCoy, one of our greatest surf film documentarians for half a century, is back on the road again with a remastered 20th anniversary edition of his excellent Blue Horizon, with a tour-ending Sunshine Coast screening at Nambour Cinema on 24 May.
Born in Hawaii, where he learned to surf with the beach boys, Jack first came to Australia as part of the US team at the 1970 world amateur surfing titles at Bells Beach (and beyond). He fell in love with the country, and ultimately with wife Kelly, and made his home here. I first met him in Bali in 1974, we traded mock punches for a few years as representatives of rival surfing magazines, I worked with Jack and filming partner Dick Hoole on their 1982 film Storm Riders, and we have been firm friends for 50 years. Not only do I admire his incredible film-making skills, which have seen him create a long succession of prize-winning and box office killing surf features, but I am in awe of his tenacity. Jack never gives up, and despite serious health issues in recent years, he remains the king of aloha.
Following the major success of his recent The Occumentary tour, Jack is back with an exhausting cross-country tour with Blue Horizon, one of my McCoy favourites. The cult classic follows the journeys of two of the world’s best surfers of the time, both of whom chose a different path to the pinnacle of surfing – Dave “Rasta” Rastovich chose to escape the spotlight in as a free surfer in search for perfect waves across every corner of the globe, while the late Andy Irons became the most famous surfer on the planet, winning three world titles on the ASP World Tour. The tour honours the memory of Irons, who passed away in 2010.
Jack will be doing his trademark talk story presentation prior to the movie where he’ll show unseen footage and share stories from the production. He’ll be joined by some of Andy’s closest friends and fellow competitors, such as Mark Occhilupo, Taj Burrow and Jake Paterson.
Tickets for the Nambour show are selling fast, so to secure yours visit jackmccoy.com
