Just general surfing stuff

[Nick Carroll]

Here's one from late 1990 in France, on the 6'9" Bells and Santa Cruz winner Maurice made for him:

[Yuke Hunt]

Well this is just me but I think Tom Curren has the best surfing style of all time.

No its not just you ... anyone who would state otherwise is either clueless or taking the piss.

[Nick Carroll]

here's another pretty cool one, this is from Sept '91 in France on the first reverse vee bottom, a 6'3" squaretail. Classic Tom "look-back" top turn. A lot of Tom's best surfing happened a bit out of sight in the French beachies, to find some evidence you have to hunt down the best French photogs like Eric Chauche who took this pic.

[Yuke Hunt]

A few yers back now, I was down at Snapper shooting the Quiky Pro during a heat between Adriano D'Souza and our Taj ... anyway there was much hullabaloo from the Brazza's when Taj was named heat winner. While both surfers had performed well, it was the linking of manoeuvres by Burrows that proved the difference. D'Souza's turns were good, but the surfing didn't have flow ... as usual the Zillas blamed racism and bias on their countrymans loss.

[Nick Carroll]

Hilariously enough, that heat was the basis of what may be the single biggest bet in pro surfing history.

A wealthy Billabong shareholder put $60,000 on Taj to win. Taj won...by .1 on his last ride.

[steve shearer]

hhhmmmm.....I saw that heat and thought De Souza won.

So did Kelly Slater, who I was standing beside at the time.

[Yuke Hunt]

hhhmmmm.....I saw that heat and thought De Souza won.

So did Kelly Slater, who I was standing beside at the time.

I beg to differ ... as mentioned, I was feet on the sand too and watched the heat very closely. Taj won as per the criteria of professional surfing: Speed, Power and FLOW ! In comparison, D'souza looked rigid and robotic.

As for slaters opinion ... its usually based on an agenda rather than facts.

[Beanpole]

Well this is just me but I think Tom Curren has the best surfing style of all time, incredible accuracy and balance, and great intuition re a wave's movement, to me he has only been outdone as a pure surfer by Andy Irons, who took some aspects of Tom's surfing and tied them into his own crazy freewheeling speed and power to dominate waves Tom never really got near.

From what I saw over time, Tom really grew into his surfing a bit over time, when he did eventually muscle up around 1990/91, that's when his surfing really flowered, all that balance and timing was infused with real power, and he also seemed to connect more with the backside thing at that time. Some of the images of him free surfing in France through 1991 on the fresh MC revees are just superb.

I've seen the seq of that Backdoor cuttie and Tom recovers really smoothly, finishes the turn in the bottom corner under the edge of the whitewater and just rides it out. The main thing to note about it is that Tom was doing that shit a lot at the time as mentioned above, he was at a surfing peak. I'll try and find a couple of other shots of him doing similar turns around that time.

That's when I really started liking his style. I must say I was paying scant attention to pro surfing in the early 90s though.
The Reverse V also had a bit to do with it.
Still don't know how he can surf those skim boards that good at his age.

[channels]

I never really liked Currens style when he was on the tour.

Really ?

This is one of my favourite surfing photos of all time.

[channels]

Along with this one. I saw this not long after I started surfing and I thought for years it was similar to a board slide on the coping of a skate bowl.

[Beanpole]

That one would put me right off.

[Thud]

I think Curren at that 92 first ever J Bay session was riding a 6’10 Kckee system quad. I’ve read that in several places.

[steve shearer]

the famous J-Bay wave was a 6'6" Mark Rabbidge thruster.

[Beanpole]

This is one of surfings debating points. It's definitely a quad but I've heard both stories. Then there's the Tommy Peterson Rocketfish at Bawa. My Favorite is the recent one at JBay when the local surf shop wasn't going to give him an Al Merrick to ride in the Masters Event.

[steve shearer]

It's actually not Beans.

It's an actual fact that the board was shaped by Rabbidge and was a 6'6" thruster.

he did ride McKee quads at J-Bay but that is not the classic ride.

And I think you mean the Tommy Peterson Fireball Fish.

[Beanpole]

Yes, you are right about the Tommy Peterson. Funny the last MP I had and one of the last he made was a 5'10" Stinger with side fins and a channel running down the middle. Classic MP Diamond Nose Squaretail. Tommy was into twin fins but MP hated them.
Re: Rabbidge....I think it's more McKee trying to claim it.

[Thud]

It's actually not Beans.

It's an actual fact that the board was shaped by Rabbidge and was a 6'6" thruster.

he did ride McKee quads at J-Bay but that is not the classic ride.

And I think you mean the Tommy Peterson Fireball Fish.

Hmmm, I’ve read otherwise. Also have a look at that clip. That ain’t a 6’6. I think I’ve read about the actual board in the Surfy Surfy site. I’ll try and dig it up.

It’s been taken off youtube now however, it features in Ultimate Sessions.

[Thud]

Actaully.....

“Mark Rabbidge remembers the phone call like it was yesterday. The year was 1993 and Derek Hynd, the one-eyed former-pro surfer turned leading finless exponent, was steering the ship at Rip Curl. He had a vision of his charger Tom Curren doing his thing at J-Bay and needed a board, the perfect board. He picked up the phone and called Rabbidge.

“I can still remember the thought process,” recalls Rabbidge of the call. “I thought, ‘Hmmmm, okay I believe that this is the best wave in the world. I also believe Tom (Curren) is best surfer in the world. This is a really unique opportunity,” he laughs.

Rabbidge, already an established pro surfer-shaper throughout the seventies and eighties, knew Curren well. He’d made him boards for contests in Australia in the past while Curren had returned the favour giving Mark’s wife, professional surfer Pam Burridge, one of his custom Maurice Cole shapes. Curren and Pam Burridge were also both world title winners in 1990.”