Piping Hot

Piping Hot Wetsuits set up office in the main street mall above the fruitshop back in the 80’s. They sponsored local riders like Glenn Pringle, Greeny, Matt Brown, Sean Fitzpatrick, Grome and Rod Baldwin. Piping Hot was blowing up at the time with Kong. This advertisement appeared in Tracks Dec 84 showing Brownie kneeling ,Grome on the left and Fitzy standing on the right who were Cronulla’s hottest rising stars. Brownie went on to win the Cronulla Boardriders Club Cadet  championship in ’85 and Fitzy won it in ’86 and the Junior title in ’87. 

Ratso

Iain “Ratso” Buchanan got his knickname after the hobo character played by Dustin Hoffman in the Hollywood movie Midnight Cowboy. Kiwi Ratso moved into Cronulla and soon became an integral part of The Alley scene surfing for Cronulla Boardriders, shaping boards for Hot Buttered and trying his luck on the World Tour. This photo was taken during a session behind the Rockpools between Northies and Southies on a clean northeast day. Ratso eventually moved back to NZ where he still resides today.   photo Stroh  circa mid 80’s.

Martin Potter

Early in his career Martin Potter the South African super kid  who was the hottest newcomer in the sport at the time due to his aerial assaults moved into Cronulla with the Darcy family for a time to get experience in Australia. It was around the mid 80’s and he was soon turning up at all the local breaks pulling huge airs and throwing plenty of tail. No matter whether it was KP, The Point or the Beachies he was going off and a huge inspiration for the local crew to see such talent ripping up their spots. It was also while staying in the Nulla the boys taught him how to party and by the time he moved on he had plenty of worldly experiences.This shot, heavy gouging carve by Potts was taken up the beach mid 80s by Chris Stroh

Sean Charters

So many good surfers have emerged out of the  The Alley Rip bowl over the years. The competitive nature of the wave hungry pack ensures that if you dont prove yourself and standout by ripping you just dont get any waves. Its dog eat dog and only the best survive. In the 80’s one of those who stood out  was a natural foot called Sean Charters. Sean had a clean style with cutting edge moves and was one of the first of the local crew to start busting aerials consistently after Martin Potter moved into town for a while and turned him onto them.This pic of Sean was taken outside Joes Milkbar around the mid 80’s   photo Stroh

Southside Open 1980

Sandshoes local Graham Cassidy was the driving force behind bringing the worlds best surfers to Cronulla for the $23000 Southside Open World Tour event. The 4 day waiting period was blessed with good to average waves which lucky considering  Cronullas usual fickle beachy standards. The Trials were held at Sandshoes and the 6 man heats found the small take off area a real battle where 72 riders were culled down to 13 only advancing to the main event.On the final day 2 surfers had stood out from the pack. Hawaiian Dane Kealoha and Queenslands Wayne Rabbit Bartholmew. A best of three set final saw Dane take the first with some explosive moves. The second went to Bugs and in the final heat Rabbit  had superior wave choice and walked away with the cheque presented by NSW Premier Nevil Wran. Info and pics from Waves Issue No 2.

Richard Maurer

Richard was another one of those Kurnel kids who in there Grom days would trudge over the Wanda sand dunes to have a surf. Along with his best mate Occy the pair would trade of heavy gouging front and backhand snaps wave for wave. Over the years Richard was a devoted Cronulla Boardriders Club  member surfing in there winning Surf League teams and at one stage a few years back he was even president of the club. This back hand blast was taken at The Alley sometime in the 80’s.  photo Chris Stroh

Dogs Toys

One of the benefits of being a Pro Surfer is having access to unlimited surfboards. Richard Dog Marsh showing off his arsenal around mid 80’s    pic Stroh

Fancy Dress Surfing

Heres another from the Fancy Dress novelty contests that used to run during the World Tour Pro Events held in Cronulla during the mid 80’s. This time its Tim Vanderlaan well known local surf photographer and mal rider who busted out his sexy lingerie.    pic Stroh

Elouera-watu

The year is 1987 when this pic appeared in the July issue of Lineup Mag. The bank in the middle of the beach directly in front of the Club House was firing incredible long barreling lefts for approx two weeks before it disappeared. The Goofyfoots were calling it all time and even gave it the title Elouera-watu after its resemblence to Bali’s Uluwatu. It was one of the best banks ever seen at Elouera Beach to this day.   pic Stroh

Cronulla Point Board Riders Club