"DAVO" GROMS FAVORITE

Chris "Davo" Davidson had an army of frothin' groms in his corner at this years Rip Curl Pro.

Davo, himself still a frothin' grom at 34 was ripping. On his way to the quarters he took out Kieren Perrow, Michel Bourez and Julian Wilson twice eventually falling to Jordy Smith. In stark contrast to the big money being paid to a handful of surfers, Davo, currently ranked 13th on the ASP World Title ranking is sponsor-less.

At a time when WCT surfers tend wear their game faces 24/7. It's great to see a personality like Davo on the tour.

Groms banner of support at Bird Rock.

Pumped for action on the final day.

Davo made it onto 2 Rip Curl Pro posters over the years.

(The feet belong to fiancee Carly)

WORK HARD, PLAY HARD?

Over Easter/Rip Curl Pro, Ford ran Mick Fanning and Ford Ranger Ads

with the tag line "Work hard, play hard"

This guy thought he could do a better job than Mick in his own version of the Ad.

Easter Saturday - Torquay.

RIP CURL PRO 2011

The 2011 Rip Curl Pro wheel begins to turn.

Mainstream media mingle with surf media all hoping to get a scoop!

10 time World Champ gives everyone something to think about .

If losing your heat isn't bad enough. You then face a long lonely climb to waiting media.

Gromets get fun size Rincon to show their wares.

View from the video tower. Aint too shabby!

:) :( What's goin' on here??

Blue Steel's got nothin' on Coolangatta Gold!

50 YEARS IN THE MAKING

The longest continuous running contest in the world

“Bells Beach Rally”/Rip Curl Pro, considered to be one of the most
prestigious events to win on the World Tour celebrates
it's 50th anniversary this Easter and the crew at Rip Curl are gearing up for a big one.

The event started way back in 1961 as the “Bells Beach Rally”.

Ad for event ran in Australian Surfer magazine- artwork by Spurter's dad - Knuckles

The first Rip Curl Pro Easter 1973, with surfers competing for cash prizes which amounted to little more than their petrol and living expenses, and considerably less than their airfares! But the contest, won by the legendary Michael Peterson, set the wheels of the
professional train in motion.

1973 Event poster.

1973 Bells Beach.

With the likes of MP, MR, Occy, Sunny, Lisa Anderson and co all in town, Torquay will be packed with surfing's greatest legends.
Rumours are bubbling about potential “legends” surf off, surfing original boards.
Multi-award winning author Michael Gordon will be releasing a hard cover coffee table book titled “Bells”
The whisper is the 2011 contest site is in for complete design makeover.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS

1962 - The “Bells Beach Rally” was originally scheduled to run Dec 31st 1961 but was changed at the last minute to the Australia Day weekend January ‘62 so as not to clash with a Torquay SLSC event. Winner Glynn Ritchie (NSW)

1965 - The swell peaked at almost 20 feet. Winner - Robert Conneeley (NSW)

70’s - Hawaii’s Reno Abellira surfing in a wetsuit with flared legs.

1977 - Simon Anderson (NSW) wins Quiksilver Trials & Rip Curl Pro

1981 - With the swell reminiscent of ’65 Surfer/shaper Simon Anderson wins on his new “Thruster” design surfboard.

1983 - Joe Engel (QLD) wins Quiksilver Trials & Rip Curl Pro
1992 - Richie Collins (USA) Had God on his side wins event on his way to GeelongHospital.After injuring his back during the final Collins made his way to the beach and off to hospital leaving Martin Potter alone in the Rincon line up. The ocean went flat for the remainder of the heat. Collins had amassed enough points before his exit to secure the win.
2009 - Adam Robertson the most successful Victorian surfer. Wins the trials and places 2nd to Joel Parkinson in the main event.

OTHER STUFF

Most Rip Curl Pro wins.
Women: Lisa Anderson four Rip Curl Pro wins. 1990, 1992, 1995,1997.
Mens: Mark Richards four Rip Curl Pro wins. 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982.
Kelly Slater four Rip Curl Pro wins. 1994, 2006, 2008, 2010.

MORE OTHER STUFF

1961 - Soviets build wall dividing East and West Berlin. "Barbie" doll hooks up with "Ken" doll. (Ken turns 50 this year)
1973 - The Elvis "Aloha Satellite Show" telecast from Honolulu - the most expensive entertainment special ever staged costing 2.5 million.(These days 2.5 mil would be just for the band rider)
Pink Floyd release "Dark side of the moon" album.
Marvin Gaye has a number one hit with "Lets get it on"

70's influenced 2011 Rip Curl Pro Mens and Womens event posters.

Thanks to Bob Smith "World Champion surfing historian"

JUNE SWELL LINES

New swell lines has been uploaded to You Tube.

Click on link below to take you direct to June Swell Lines.

>TAKE ME TO JUNE SWELL LINES NOW.

SURF COAST SIZZLE GOES GLOBAL

Surf Coast Sizzle is pleased to announce the blog is now getting hits from around the globe.
Australia, Austria, Brazil, Denmark, India, Indonesia, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, United Kingdom and USA to name a few. Just a small step towards world domination. You knows it!!

GROUNDHOG DAY ON THE SURFCOAST

Another great day of surfing on the Surfcoast. Sunshine, light offshore. Not as big as the other day but still a lot of fun to be had.

AC-DC AT THE 2010 RIP CURL PRO

The Rip Curl Pro event at Bells, every Easter is a major production. The site starts to go up three weeks before the event starting date.

There are around 200 people that work on, or in and around the event that keep the wheels turning.

This blog looks a the roll of sound engineer Jenny Moon of "MOON MOTHER PRODUCTIONS".

At the Rip Curl Pro, Jenny is responsible for all things sound for the Bells and Winkipop site, and also if the event goes mobile.

Jenny is no stranger to big productions and has a hands on role keeping the event live, with general communications, web and live music. Jenny's credits include, concerts for Blink 182, Iggy Pop, Pennywise, Blondie, John Butler Trio, and events the likes of, The Falls Festival, Queenscliff Music Festival and Big Day Out, just to name a few.

An interesting piece of equipment in Jenny's arsenal is a big PA used to relay information to competitors in the the water, affectionally named "ANGUS" a named given to it by Rip Curl's International Marketing Manager - Neil Ridgway.

"ANGUS" is a Altec Lansing multicell horn PA that once belonged to, none other than AC-DC!

Take my word for it this piece of equipment is capable taking your head clean off your shoulders if you tried to stand in front of it while it was operating. Now here's the thing, AC-DC used 2 of these suckers ontop of stacks each side of the stage for pub gigs! My ears are ringing just writing about it... will someone answer the bloody phone!

In what has become tradition at the Rip Curl Pro since the release of AC-DC's album "BACK IN BLACK" in '95, "HELLS BELLS" the first track on the album is blasted out from "ANGUS" each morning, to appease the Swell Gods.

Jenny Moon - at the controls.

Proud mum and Angus

Angus

Orchestrating the jigsaw puzzle, live music stage setup.

"THE ICEMAN COMETH"

Had his own surfing collector card #1

Appeared on 2 RCP posters.

You would be hard pressed to find a more qualified contest director for the Rip Curl Pro than Damien "Dooma" Hardman.

In his competitive days he was know as the "Iceman" a fierce competitor, super cool under pressure.

Dooma won countless WCT events during his career.

On 2 occasions, won the Rip Curl Pro and to cap it all off, 2 World Titles.

He relocated from his beloved Nth Narrabeen in 2007, and now lives and works on the Surfcoast, working for his long time sponsor, Rip Curl - Has been contest directing for 6 years.

This year Dooma will have an apprentice. Former WCT surfer Pancho Sullivan from Hawaii's North Shore.

Pancho's trademark gouge.

So what does a Contest Director do?

• Monitors swell forecasts, wind, weather, tides, wave consistency.

• Makes the call whether contest runs or heats continue.

• Consults with surfer reps.

• Also monitors backup wave locations.

These days there are numerous swell and weather forecast websites available, which certainly makes

life as a Contest Director a little easier.

Before the arrival of swell forecast websites, the ability to read weather maps and have reliable contacts down the coast to relay surf reports, was a must.

So when surf conditions are less than perfect for an event, spare a thought for the Contest Director and the tough calls they have to make.