Watch: G'Land Revisited
So, the G'Land Pro redux starts tomorrow - almost 25 years to the day since the '97 comp, which is considered the best of the three Grajagan comps that ran through the 90's.
Heat sheets from the 1997 Quik Pro include daily conditions such as:
- May 30th: 11am start,6-8 feet "Money Trees" break. 3 heats held then "Speedies" break. Sunny, hot. Excellent surf.
- May 31st: "Speedies",6 feet,strong offshore wind. Hot and sunny. Very shallow.
- June 6th: Glassy early, 10 feet "Speedies" for event with 12-15 feet "Kongs" outside.
Back in the 90s, Tim Bonython used to do a lot of work for Quiksilver so his ticket into Alas Purwo National Park was assured.
This edit includes plenty of surf, plus interviews from contest director Rod Brooks, Ross Williams, Sunny Garcia, Michael Lowe, Pat O’Connell, Kelly Slater, surf photographers Jason Childs and Maurice Rebeix, and lifeguards Terry Ahue & Melvin Pu'u.
Comments
Was an enjoyable watch the other night.
Few burns went down. Top-Cat in top form.
How good was raw Pottz.
33:22... nuts - imagine if he got into that thing 30m further up the reef
Only 7min into it, but it's great. Got another 40min and a cold beer to enjoy!
One thing has really struck me watching this and all the other '97 comp footage: the boards look perfect! Often '90s slippers look anaemic and boggy and like they're pushing water, but those narrow mini guns in those waves, faaark!
Who wants to go back to 90s for a Hundred big ones
https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/aldinga-beach/surfing/surfboard/1295761…
Yeah IB 1st thing that stuck me longer boards and they looked just right
Totally agree IB.
I took a narrow Mitchell Rae flex tail to G-Land and it was something like heaven.
Could not make the board work anywhere else and sold it- wish I hadn't.
We've all done silly things, FR - don't be too hard on yourself.
I had a 7'4 T&C reverse vee, less than 19" wide. Sold it for f all. Would have been sooo good in waves like that.
IB my best ever indo board was 7'2'' 18 3/4 2 5/8 reverse vee circa 93
Hah, that sounds familiar!
Occ and Pottz most enjoyable for me.
Was this the pinnacle of pro surfing? The best surfing on the best boards; the most incredible waves, and none of them over-ridden. A commercial event, yes, but still just a few handful of guys on the edge of the jungle.
Shame about the sunglasses :-)
Great edit, Tim!
Agree, almost all the boards look perfect for the wave.
Just realised we have a late 90's/early 00s 7'4 x 18 3/4 x something MC reverse vee gun stashed at rellies in the West, one day the young one might end up giving it a go out there...
It's pretty dreamy footage, and I enjoyed all the interviews so far.
Loved watching this, all the stars from the past that I use to look up to, loved seeing Egan and Pottz. The Hawaiian Lifeguards "Legends"
Wow, the pan around at 21 minutes, perhaps the greatest period of an intergenerational talent of all time! Oh, hark, the time before the rise of the highly programmed surfing cyborgs.
re boards, a guy who competed there in the 90's commented that the boards back then were too narrow and he wished he had modern boards, back then.
but yeah, its wild to see crew on old skool step ups. I reckon lots of crew could benefit from longer, bigger boards
TC
BOG
For mine