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dillon : bombora, 1962

Scott Dillon : Queenscliff Bombora, 1962.

Scott Dillon : Bombora
Surfabout Quarterly
Volume 1 Number 1 August 1962.

Introduction.
Account by noted big wave rider and Sydney board builder, Scott Dillon, of surf session at the Queenscliff Bombora, a rare surf break that attained considerable fame following Dave Jackman's widely publicised ride of June 6,1961.

In Great Beaches, a chapter in Jack Pollard's The Australian Surfrider (1963), Dave Jackman noted:
Newspaper reports made me appear as the first surfer to ride that Queenscliff Bombora.
I made no such claim.
Claude West, to name only one, had cracked it before I was born.
I used the short board, which made it easier for me.
The difference was that I paddled my board out, while Claude says he made his approach from a surfboat.
All credit to Claude West as he lacked the highly manageable "plank" of today. (page 100).

Also see:
Kerry Yates: Down the Mine, The Australian Women's Weekly, Wednesday 20 September 1961, page S4 (Supplement- Teenagers' Weekly).
and
Bob Evans: The Bombora, Surfing World, Volume 2 Number 6, August, 1963.

Also in this issue:
Scott Dillon Surfboards - Mickey Mabbitt of Avalon
Long Reef - Photographs of Scott Dillon and Les Patterson, later of Dale Surfboards.
Board Rally at Bondi

Page 23 "Bombora"

by Scott Dillon

Just a year after Dave Jackman mastered the mighty Queenscliff Bombora, the conditions were again perfect, with a heavy swell and slight off-shore winds.
Bob McTavish and myself paddled down from "Fairy Bower" while Midget, Dave Passenger and Kelvin Platt came out from Freshwater.

As we approached from the distance the waves grew bigger and bigger as they peaked over 20 ft. and crashed with a thundering roar on to the reef below.
After picking our position to sit, we awaited our fate as a set rolled in.

I took off first on my new 11' 3" gun board and as the wave lifted under my tail I knew just how Jackman felt a year ago.
These waves were different to anything I had tackled before; a vertical take-off with a feeling of weightlessness as your board falls faster than your body.
Finally almost driven to your knees as your body weight catches up with you, a moment of hesitation as you fight for balance, then that fearful split second as you wheel to the right to escape the crest as it peels off the top and crashes in a cascade of spewing foam at your heels.
Ten seconds later it was all over as you burst out on to the fat shoulder and safety.

This was to be the pattern of events for the next three hours as we each felt the thrill of the Bombora Giant.
Finding the correct position to sit and await your fate is the problem; two yards either way spells the difference between a blistering ride or utter annihilation.

Once in position the swells bowl up a fraction to your left with a long wall to your right and eventual safety.
To the left a perfect shape but free falls claim the majority who attempt it.

The "Bombora" has been beaten before and will be beaten again, so next time it is rolling, in all its glory, and you fancy having a go, remember two things: BRING A BIG GUN AND YOUR HEART.

Scott Dillon
(inside)
and Bob McTavish
at Bombora

Photo from
John William's
new movie

Page 8

- adjusted

Page 9

Long Reef

Les Patterson

Scott Dillon

Page 24

Board Rally at Bondi

On Sunday, 25th March, the 1962 Metropolitan Board Championships were held.
The day was a complete success, with full credit going to South Bondi Board Club for a well-organised and well-run event.

Although the surf wasn't ideal, it was the young riders who made the most of the conditions and thrilled the large crowd of spectators with their skill.

The most outstanding rider of the day was young Bobby Brown from Cronulla, who won the cadet section.
Bob also put on a good display last February to win the board-riding event at the Surf Life Saving Championships held at Wanda.

Section of the crowd.

Page 25

Dave Miller

Mick Dooley

Robert Kanerly
(sic: Conneeley)

Bobby Brown

Surfabout Quarterly
Volume 1 Number 1
August 1962.

Cover : Wally Carle.
Photograph by Jack Eden.
Identified by Julia Carle by a phone call, August 2010.
Many thanks to Julia.

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Geoff Cater (2010-2020) : Scott Dilon : Queenscliff Bombora, 1962.
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