By Phil Jarratt
My friend Shaun Tomson, the 1977 world surfing champion, was known throughout his long and storied competitive career as one of the fiercest competitors to ever slip on a coloured singlet. He did not take coming second lightly, and fortunately he had more than enough ability to back it up.
I remember watching him in his semi-final against Mark Richards at the first Stubbies Pro at Burleigh Heads in 1977, Shaun’s championship year.
The big, handsome young South African was having trouble keeping his tackle in place in the ridiculous but mandatory Stubbies competitor shorts, so he was not in a particularly good mood as he paddled out into perfect Burleigh barrels for his place in the final. When he came in, having been paddled up the point and back, and out-swooped on the face and out-barrelled in the tube by his Aussie rival, his ears were steaming.
Shaun never liked to be beaten, but he was always quick to recover, and would be all smiles and eloquent on the podium. In his post-surfing career as a businessman, author, motivational speaker and leadership guru he is much the same, which is why I was delighted when he asked to see our film, Men of Wood and Foam, loved it and advised me to submit it, along with his personal recommendation, to the prestigious Santa Barbara International Film Festival. I knew that with Shaun on our team, we at least had a fighting chance.
Even so, I was surprised and delighted when our film was invited into the main slate of the festival as well as the “Above and Beyond” surf film section. Since the announcement, Shaun, who with wife Carla has lived in the pretty city of Santa Barbara for more than 30 years, has spent as much time working on our behalf as he has been chasing cover-ups in Rincon’s never-ending winter swells.
Within a week of Wood and Foam’s acceptance, we had a sponsor, a press agent, a pre-screening party for 50 opinion-makers organised at a downtown bar, and a buzz about the film up and down the California coast. All this for an unpretentious little documentary about a bunch of proud old men who changed the face of surfing!
And finally, on the subject of Wood and Foam, if you happen to be in Bali this Saturday (28 January) don’t miss the world premiere of the live soundtrack special screening at the Deus Temple of Enthusiasm in Canggu. The Band of Frequencies will be kicking off their Bali tour with this integrated performance, one that will only play at a select few venues. The next one will be on the Zinc Stage at First Point on 7 March at the Laguna Real Estate Noosa Festival of Surfing.
Somewhere in Indonesia
I carried a ferocious wet season head cold around for much of last week, but it’s funny how when the sun finally comes out and you find yourself in a little piece of paradise, all those troubles just seem to drift away.
There’s a little chain of islands off the Lombok coast that I’ve been meaning to visit for years, so last week we paid a king’s ransom to a robber with a speedboat and snuck out there for a look-see. To my amazement, this is one part of the archipelago that has taken environmental issues seriously. Clean beaches, no plastic water bottles, solar power, and best of all, no powered vehicles apart from the odd electric moped. Land transport is by foot, pedal or cidomo, the traditional horse-drawn taxis of the Lesser Sundas.
Given its position halfway up the narrow Bali Sea, I was also pleasantly surprised to find quite good quality surf, which I attacked on a rented and decidedly beaten up Classic Malibu nine-three, having left my board at home in Bali. (It still went like a beauty, Pete!) With subtle tidal shifts and frequent squalls, you have to have your eye on the moods of the ocean all the time, and as soon as it cleans up, pedal like the clappers to the board rental and get out there. The reward was a couple of fun, head-high sessions with hardly anyone in the water.
With crystal-clear water and inshore reef drop-offs, there was also plenty of good snorkelling to be had, but I have to admit, I put in quite a bit of hammock time with a cold beer and a good book.
