The Time and Place Blog has three posts in it taken from my 92 page book called ‘Time and Place’. It also has the Whale Tail image and the Whale Tale about getting it which was a very memorable moment in my life. It will also be, with other stories and images in the first edition of Port Fairy and Surrounds.

James Pevitt James Pevitt

Bells Beach Pro 1981.

Bells Beach 1981

A surfing story I would like to share with you happened way back in 1981. My mate had an old blue FC Holden. His older brothers owned it before him. The exhaust would heat up the

floor in the back of the car and smoke would rise up from it.

We had decided to go to Bells Beach for the 1981 Easter Surfing competition. What a decision that turned out to be! I'll never forget seeing the swell for the first time after coming around the bend at Bells on the Saturday. It looked huge! We had never seen anything like it before and watched in awe as

Nat Young surfed WinkiPop by him self that morning.

It was the year Simon Anderson won on his 3 fin thruster surfboard. It was the first time we had ever seen a 3 fin surfboard after mostly riding only single fin boards.

The ocean was alive and every now and then these huge15 feet plus sets would come through. The swell was still coming

up and would peak later that day.

We went into Torquay to get an early lunch and picked up a couple of girls who were hitchhiking on the way back. The girl who sat in the back seat was wondering what she had got herself into. She was very glad to get out of the old FC especially when smoke started coming up off the floor of the

car at her feet.

Back to Bells and it was pumping. Simon Anderson was surfing fantastic on his thruster. We were all inspired. That night after an amazing days competition a couple of us paddled out. We finally made it out the back after getting slammed for ages in the Bells shore break. There were only pros in the water. I don't think they could believe their eyes when they saw these very serious young blokes out there paddling around. "Don't worry we'll be all right" we bravely told them while secretly being as

scared as we had ever been and not taking our eyes off the

horizon watching nervously for the next set of waves.

When back at camp after such a memorable day. I can

remember the beer tasting very good that night!

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