Many suggest that the concept of a ‘dream tour’ began with the inaugural Quiksilver Pro in G-land in 1995, but pro-surfing first flirted with Indo’ perfection in 1981 at the OM-Bali Pro.
As Kirk Willcox wrote for Tracks at the time, “It was an inaugural professional contest held on a lush, tropical island peopled by friendly locals, and it was blessed with good waves, good weather and good times.”
Australian ex-pat, Stephen Palmer, would later spearhead the surf brands in Bali, but by the early 80s his label OM, had hit a note with travellers seeking an alternate, eastern-influenced lifestyle. Palmer was a surfer and had done well enough from OM to lash out on a big surf contest.
When over 100 competitors arrived, representing nine nations, they were invited to take part in a march along Kuta beach. This includes a quartet of Maroubra surfers masquerading as the Ireland team. The colourful gathering, created quite a scene on the black sands of Kuta. Increasingly aware of the tourist dollars surfers brought to the island, the Balinese dignitaries were eager participants in the ceremony, along with the Australian ambassador to Indonesia. Later, the president of the Indonesian surf club, a school-teacher named Mr Rizanl, explained the unique contest criteria to participants. “There will be four judging categories: Rhythm and Style; Hot Dogging and Tricks; Tube Riding and Positioning.”
Meanwhile, Jim Banks flew in late, reasoning there wouldn’t be waves for the first few days of the contest. When the swell did kick in mid-way through the contest window, competitors enjoyed sparkling, eight-foot Uluwatu conditions. With the waves firing, the only problem was the freesurfers (some of them also competitors) who wanted to ride through the competition zone. According to Willcox in Tracks, this is when things got interesting. “A Japanese guy gets on the mic to tell one of his countrymen to get out of the water; the locals start throwing rocks off the cliff and Talking Heads’ Psycho Killer blares out from the speakers. Who said surfing contests are boring??”
The surf continued to pump. Returning from a heat, Bondi goofy-footer, George Wales, openly conveyed his gratitude for being involved. “I got the best wave of my life.” He wasn’t the only one making lofty claims.
Banksy had made himself a 6’0”, swallow twin fin and proceeded to tear through the early rounds, including a couple of heats at eight-foot Outside Corner. More recently, he told Tracks, “MR had the twin fins, and then the Hawaiians got the twin fins and it was obvious that they were just surfing circles around us on the twin fins, especially in the small waves.”
Towards the end of the event the swell tapered, and ultimately it came down to a goofy foot joust between big Jim and the slinky-limbed, Terry Richardson, who had been runner-up at the event a year earlier.
In the lead up to the final, Banksy prepped in The Cave with a back massage. Out in the water, Richo hunted the tubes, but it was Banksy who better satisfied the judging criteria that called for a proportionate response to its various components. A few moments from the final are featured in the Hoole/McCoy classic Storm Riders, along with a clip of Banksy tearing on the same green twinny with the red starburst he won the contest on.
While Banksy claimed victory and the fat prize cheque, Kirk Willcox obviously felt that Joe Engel was the stand-out performer in a separate category when he wrote, “At a post-contest party that night at the house of head judge David Wyllie, Joe Engel wins Rager of the Tour with a brilliantly sustained effort which included offering his host a bucket of rice wine and various other party tricks.”
Within a few months the thruster revolution had kicked in and Banksy’s winning twin fin was cast aside until he started riding keel fin twins 25 years later. After two, second place finishes Terry Richardson finally won the OM Bali Pro in 1982. Meanwhile Steve Palmer later said he had some regrets about holding the contest because it inspired the building of the road to Uluwatu, which subsequently changed the whole dynamic of the Bukit Peninsular forever.