The Great September Swell
The
Great September Swell
by
Sam Bleakley
Cartoon Robbie MacIntosh
Many who lived and surfed in Newquay in the
‘60s remember 1966 as the year of ‘The Great September Swell.’ This huge long
distance ground swell closed out the Bay area at ten feet, while the Cribbar
reef, off the end of Towan headland, was breaking at fifteen to twenty feet. To
add insult to injury, the first crew to tackle the now famous big wave spot had
to paddle through raw sewage outlet at the old Newquay lifeboat slip. Three hardy
Australians lifeguards, Pete Russell, Rick Friar and Johnny McElroy, plus the American
Jack Lydgate, all looked back in disgust as if to say “What are we doing?” then
turned their attention to the long paddle and huge swell.
“It was a highlight that I vividly remember
to this day,” says Pete, who now lives back home in Australia. “Although I have
surfed on a lot of big days since, I’ve never experienced the adrenalin rush of
that day. In the glassy mist off the cliff face it was surreal.”
Jack Lydgate had learned to surf in Hawaii
and was a superb paddler. He was the first to make it passed the headland from
the old lifeboat slip and out back. But he positioned himself too deep in the
lull of waves. A sneaker set caught him.
“I can still picture Jack paddling under
the lip of a huge wall and getting absolutely creamed,” says Pete. “Boy did he
show some heart.”
In the pre-leash era, Jack’s board swept
in, was pinned against the rocks and broke in two. He got straight to work on
the long swim ashore. Pete paddled way outside and caught a giant left hander.
He was half way down a saltwater avalanche before everyone watching from the
cliffs realised the wave was being ridden. He charged right on a few more
monsters. On one enormous shoulder Doug Wilson clicked a photo’. It looks
eerily like Sunset Beach in Hawaii. This type of big wave surfing had never been seen before in Britain.
“Then I got caught inside and thought I was
gone,” says Pete. “Fortunately the wave that smashed me was the last in the
set, or I might not have lived to tell the tale.”
All four surfers eventually made it ashore.
Iron man Jack gained lasting respect for his gruelling one-hour swim against
the rip to reach safety. He finally clambered up the lifeboat slip at Towan
Head, absolutely exhausted, his face etched with relief. Pip Staffieri – the
first real stand-up surfer in the UK, who mastered the waves in the 1940s - had
been watching the whole show from his van. He scooped out a big ice cream for
Jack.
“On the house,” said Pip with a wink.
Nobody in the enthralled crowd on that headland on that momentous day for
surfing in Britain knew that Pip was Britain’s first surfer. Pip kept his
secret to himself and handed ‘Mahogany’ Jack the ice cream, beaming with pride.
