As fans waited patiently to watch sub-par Supertubos break sporadically over the waiting period for the Rip Curl Pro Portugal, it was hard not to wonder about the other waves in the area. The Portugal event is listed as being mobile, but there was never a hint of going beyond Supertubos, which resembled a glorified, onshore closeout for much of the event. Indeed, at all its locations on tour in recent years, the WSL has been more static than a semi-trailer with a dozen flat tyres, an empty tank of gas and a freight load of cement.

The CT flaunts a judging system, which rewards risk, by inviting competitors to go bigger, deeper and higher in pursuit of points, meanwhile the contest site rarely looks like going any further. When finals day rolled around in Portugal, it was still cross-shore and crumbly. Supertubes was more Semi-tubes. Convincing myself to stay up and keep watching into the wee hours of the morning wasn’t easy. Many of the people I’ve spoken to expressed similar sentiments.  

Admittedly, relocating an entire CT contest site is a logistical challenge, particularly when you have a live webcast to deliver. It’s also expensive. And there is often push back from local councils, sponsors and tourism bodies who have backed the event on the premise that their specific region will be promoted. VIP’s and sponsors have also grown accustomed to watching-on from monuments to scaffolding, well-fed and furnished with creature comforts. The aim is to create a village atmosphere no-one wants to leave.   

However, it is possible to overcome all of this if you decide from the outset that you want a tour that is more flexible in general. It may mean sacrificing the scale of existing event sites and perhaps offering fewer luxuries to surfers and VIP’s on the contest deck, but give me pumping waves over stationary bikes any day. 

For fans watching both live and remotely, going mobile adds an air of mystique to proceedings. What will be revealed at the new location and how will competitors respond to the challenge? Being flexible with locations also dramatically increases the chance of scoring good waves and maintaining an event’s rhythm – instead of a lay day it’s competition ON around the corner.

As a mobile concept, Pro Surfing reached its pinnacle in the 70s and 80s. Some of the most memorable moments in the sport’s history are a direct result of nimble contest sites and bold event directors who were willing to take a chance on scoring better waves elsewhere.      

Throughout the 70s and much of the 80s, the major Hawaiian events were free to roam on the North Shore. After the early heats of the 1974 Smirnoff Pro ran at Sunset, the diminutive Reno Abellira famously beat Jeff Hakman by half a point at wild, 20-30 foot Waimea.

Twelve years later, at the 1986 Billabong Pro, the quarter-finalists were shuffled from Sunset down to Waimea where it was 20-30-feet. A semi-retired Mark Richards famously dominated at Waimea and then returned to Sunset to claim victory on finals day, overcoming Tom Curren, Gary Elkerton and Glen Winton to secure back-to-back Billabong Pros.

In Australia in the late 70s and early 80s the 2SM Coke Surfabout plainly stated its intentions to ‘Surfabout’. Depending on conditions, competitors jousted anywhere between Avalon on Sydney’s northern beaches and Bendalong on the south coast. The bus was loaded up with surfers each morning and off they went, a traveling band with a green light to descend upon whichever location was serving up the best waves of the day. The mobile theme was more of a mandate than a token tease. In 1982 the Surfabout went from Avalon to Aussie Pipe and Bendalong; back to Dee Why, and then over to Cronulla Point for the finals, where Rabbit defeated Dane Kealoha.  The waves weren’t always firing, but the TV special below, complete with voice over and classic soundtrack, captures the romance and sense of adventure associated with going on the road with the world’s best.

Between 1974 and 1991, The Surfabout featured epic finals at Narrabeen, Manly, Ferry Bower, and Dee Why Point. Not forgetting the fabled ‘79 Surfabout where the finalists flew from Sydney to surf Bells in a small squadron of Navajo planes. Pro surfer and part-time radio announcer Mark Warren took to the airwaves and rightfully called it ‘the biggest Surfari ever mounted in the history of surfing’. Cheyne Horan beat Larry Blair in the final. Flying back to Sydney in the Navajo jets, Cheyne Horan and Larry Blair played a backgammon tournament and wondered if pro surfing would ever get better… It didn’t.

In the modern era, some of the most celebrated days at the Bells event have come after relocating to Johanna Beach. Gibson’s Steps and Phillip Island have also featured over the years. However, in recent times the WSL have been reluctant to move the caravan any further than Winki Pop.

Over in WA a plethora of waves sits within the scope of the event site. There have been fleeting moments at North Point and some magic at The Box, but often the contest gets marooned at Mainbreak, where competitors have been forced to reinvent a left as a right, to make it contestable. It will be interesting to see what happens when the CT returns to Snapper Rocks in early May. Snapper, and much of the Gold Coast, is currently in urgent need of a visit from The Sandman after being gutted by Cyclone Alfred. Alternative locations may be a necessity.

It’s true, we live in a world with more red tape than ever, and there are certainly challenges associated with making the CT a little more fleet-footed. However, does that mean the idea of going mobile should keep being thrown in the too-hard basket?  

They still like to label it as ‘the dream tour’. Surfers are always dreaming about what’s just beyond the next headland. Perhaps it’s not possible to make each CT location a moveable wave feast, but surely certain events could place a little more emphasis on the mobile possibilities. It sure would make things a little more interesting.