The Rearview Mirror Retracing History at Queenscliff Bombora

In: The Rearview Mirror by Stu Nettle 9 Comments Sun 5th Jun '11
Tags: queenscliff bombora , dave jackman , claude west , isobel letham , duke kahanamoku , barton lynch , justin cook , greg dutch , victor levitt , paul burnett , tracks , the australian surfrider , Manly
2 click to enlarge
3 click to enlarge
4 click to enlarge
5 click to enlarge
6 click to enlarge
2 3 4 5 6

The young bucks can have their slabs, they'll get no fight from me. I'll move my middle-aged frame aside while they launch over yet another triple-sucking Shipsterns nightmare. Later, I'll watch the footage on the 'net with emotions switching between malicious glee and gentle aching jealousy.

Heavy water slabs are a young mans game and reality has recently been borne home: If I ever thought I was at the forward edge of history I now know that the inexorable march is continuing without me. Each new swell leaves I and my generation further behind.

But while the chase may be over I ain't buying a noserider just yet.

On Saturday, Queenscliff Bombora broke and I had my second session out there. The bommie is arguably the most visible wave in all of Australia – sitting in the line-up you can see high-density housing stretching from North Curl Curl to South Manly – yet three of us paddled out and surfed it alone. A few crew joined us later, but the rising tide had already done its damage.

Before that though we had an uncrowded big wave session in the centre of Sydney. It wasn't huge yet it had all the requisite elements for delivering a hearty dose of contained fear: a pitch-black paddle out, ten-foot clean up sets, heart-in-the-mouth takeoffs and hands-in-the-air drops. It's a shame it only lasted an hour.

It was only the second time I'd surfed the bommie. The first time being a month ago under big east swell conditions. Since I moved to the Northern Beaches a year ago I've only seen it break properly three times and I'm yet to see it surfed at real size.

Lack of attendance hasn't always been the case. Paul Burnett wrote about the bommie in a mid-80's issue of Big Surf, a periodical published by Tracks. The article was titled Big Waves: Manly Style and in it he said the bommie had "the best drop outside of Hawaii" while recalling some of the best sessions he'd had out there. Barton Lynch also spoke highly of the bommie in a later issue of Big Surf. Names that appeared in both those articles include Jason Garling, Justin Cook, Doug Lees, Greg Dutch, Victor Levitt and Barton Lynch. No doubt many others have put in the time over the years.

Despite its current lack of popularity, the bommie looms large in the collective memory of Australian surfers. In fact, it was fifty years ago today, June 6th 1961, that Dave Jackman famously rode the bommie. A photo from that session made the front page of a Sydney newspaper and created fervour amongst early 1960's surfers. It still stands as one of Australian surfing's most recognisable photos.

Afterward, in a great piece of period surf writing, Jackman gave an account of his first session at the bommie in The Australian Surfrider:

I was down on the North Steyne beach and the "bommie" was really raging. I suddenly thought of "cracking" it. Up to the club I went for a board and began the three-quarter mile paddle to the break. I had to break through a heavy sea before reaching the swell outside and then to where the "bommie" was breaking a long way above normal sea level. I rode it three times but the fourth attempt nearly produced real disaster as it resulted in a total "wipe-out", burying me in so much water that I wondered if I would ever see the top again. When I did emerge the grey murky clouds overhead looked as pretty as a picture.

Jackman subsequently became known as the first person to ride the bommie. When it comes to historical records these type of categories – 'the first ever' or 'the biggest ever' - are always a temptation. It's a credit to Jackman that he scotched all talk of being the first to ride the bommie. "I made no such claim" said Jackman in The Australian Surfrider, "Claude West, to name only one, had cracked it before I was born." West was a member of Freshwater Surf Club and became Australia's first male surfer - Isobel Letham being our first. Both were students of Duke Kahanamoku.

First wave or not, the most important aspect of Jackman's feat was the effect it had on other surfers. I imagine that Australian surfers, seeing the photo of Jackman at the bommie would've felt the same way as when surfers of our era first saw Laird's Millenium Wave at Teahupoo. It was an image that redefined what was possible and inspired a zealous search for similar waves.

For Jackman that led to Hawaii and a semi-final finish in the 1962 World Championships at Makaha. For our generation it's led to the discovery of Shipsterns Bluff, Cape Solander and The Right in WA. Waves of real consequence where boundaries are being broken and history being written with each significant swell.

No history was made at the bommie on Saturday - we were fifty years too late for all that. But "cracking" a few at the place where big wave surfing began in Australia was enough of a thrill for a trio of middle-aged surfers.

(Photos courtesy of Freshwater SLSC, Craig Brokensha, and Joel Coleman at Saltmotion)

Loading Comments
Loading
  • Location Search
  • Website Search