Mandurah goofy footer Graham Walmsley has lived a surfing life since the 1960s. In June 1969 a surf trip to South Africa whet his appetite for further surf adventure in France and beyond.
In the early 70s Graham and his surfing mates built a 50ft ferro cement ketch named ‘Alias’ in a Scarborough back yard. They sailed the ketch around Australia before sailing to New Zealand and Fiji. In Fiji Graham and his crew were among the first to discover and surf the now famous Tavarua surf break.
Graham & the crew’s exploits in Fiji are acknowledged in the Barbarian Days – A Surfing Life book by acclaimed author William Finnegan. **Winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Autobiography** During his time in Fiji the author and his surfing mate Bryan surfed with Graham and the crew and served as pilots on Alias.
Extracts from ‘Barbarian Days – A Surfing life’ book published 2015.
1978 Alias crew in Fiji – extract courtesy Barbarian Days book.1978 Author William Finnegan aboard Alias Suva Harbour, Fiji. Image courtesy Barbarian Days book.1978 Tavarua Island, Fiji. Image courtesy Barbarian Days book.1978 Tavarua in Fiji – extract courtesy Barbarian Days book.
.
These are Graham’s ‘Alias’ memoirs
I guess the ”ALIAS” dream started on a surf trip to Jeffries Bay, South Africa, around June 1969. I met a lot of surfers from the East coast, but one in particular Mick Haines, had sailed via New Guinea. The rest of us all came via the ocean liners of the day.
Mick had great stories and we continued on as travel mates around the world. We meet in France, Summer of 70’s. He had a cutting of a yacht and we decided when we got back to Australia to try and build one.
We all met at Noosa 3 years later, packed up three dogs, three girls, three cars and headed West. I found a large block on Westview Street Doubleview, with a grand old house and views to Rotto, with a lane way at the back. I said to the Italian grocery man I want to rent for 3 years and his eyes lit up. The neighbours were great and didn’t bother with all the noise and work. Tools going day after day, along with the music at night, guitars, harmonicas etc.
We paid $250 for the plans for a 50ft ketch, Seabreeze design from Samson Marine, who luck would have it had a factory in Rockingham, with Navy architects who would help you when needed. It was built upside down on a timber frame, which was then covered in steel mesh and cemented all over about 20-25ml thick. Everything was sourced locally and recycled timber used throughout, Jarrah, Oregon, Cedar and Oak.
We worked nonstop, with someone working up North and always somebody on the hull. Once it was finished someone said, “that’s one tenth of the work done” and they were right.
After three years the Brambles truck came down the lane, cranes in the back yard and The Alias was off to Freo container terminal, down West Coast Highway. Mast stepped and off to Yanchep to do sea trials. It was December so we decided not to go North because of cyclones, so we headed South and East. We had nine people on board that first journey.
The trip across the Bight was life changing. Halfway to Tasmania a storm 10 was bearing down on us, luckily, we had a lot of sea room and 3,000 metres of water beneath us. We rode mountainous 90ft swells for nearly two days, did 1-hour shifts on the helm and tied ourselves to the mizzen mast in case we got washed over. We had a 10-person life raft but it would be impossible to launch. The wind was howling and the white foam going horizontal. Being the 70’s we had no way of knowing how long this would last, only having a sextant for sun shots, compass and radio transmitter for the time.
Three days later we limped into Port Adelaide under sail, as the starter motor for the engine had been drenched in sea water days earlier. We had navigation charts for most places but not South Australia. We were sailing blind. Making landfall the first person to greet us was Alby Mangles Australian adventurer and documentary film-maker, he said “lovely old boat you have there, boys,” he didn’t know it wasn’t 6 months old yet!! The wind and salt had stripped the paint off everything!
A few crew jumped ship and vowed never to go sailing again. For us it was repairs and recoup our strength. The Bass Strait was next. A pleasant stop over at Kangaroo Island, then the famous Sydney Heads. WOW, we did it! Watson’s Bay and cold Beer. Fish and chips at “Doyle’s.” The QE11 was in the harbour, so we sailed over and waved to Liz and Phillip 😊.
Next journey, up the NSW coast visiting old friends, then on to Queensland. After a stint of work in Gladstone we departed for New Zealand via Lord Howe Island. Gee what a spot, the Southern most coral Island, with Pacific Ocean one side and Tasman Sea on the other. The ocean was teeming with sea life, fish and birds. It was paradise – and throw in some magic waves. We sat in the lagoon a few weeks. With a cyclone bearing down from the North we were in a sheltered anchorage, a good place. We knew an American couple who left early for NZ never to be seen again. It was incredibly sad for us when we got to Auckland and no one knew anything .
Sailed the beautiful North Island making a home at Mt Manganui for a while, slipped the Alias at Taronga slip. It was due for a clean and anti foul. It had been a free ride for all sorts of ocean creatures – shells, crabs, weed etc. While here we noticed these old seadogs looking at us for days, only for them to say the propellor was on backwards, “it must have been good in reverse” they said. Not that we used it too much anyway, but good for pulling up to jetties. Hà! We got some work here, good surf at Raglan on the West coast and waves at the Mount.
Next trip we wanted to head North to get away from cold Winter, maybe Tonga, Fiji, as the wind plays a major part to our journey. As luck would have it, it was Suva, port of Fiji, plenty of fishing and diving. We met a Yank in the bar at the Yacht Club who said he knew of a wave on the other side of the island, he would show us the reef if we would give him a lift to Nandi. On our way through one passage to our right was this huge swell, breaking over shallow reef, it was massive! Later to be tamed and named Cloudbreak. Our destination was another 3km away to the North, Tavarua in the Malo lo Lai group. This was our magic island. Perfect head high barrels rolling down the reef. We were still no leg ropes and riding 6’10” – 7’3” boards, single fins we picked up on the Gold Coast. Pocket rocket of the day, fast down the line surfboards. We stayed as long as we could before cyclone season started. It was a fabulous time anchored in front of awesome left handers.
Mick and Lady Jane had son Jesse while there which changed on board life for a while. We decided to head back to Oz at this point, going via Noumea and Vanuatu, making landfall in Coffs Harbour, then Sydney Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club.
The crew had split up at this stage, with two guys going to America to go skiing and one to get married. My partner Christy and I drove West again and settled for a while in Lancelin.
The Alias got sold to another four blokes and they had many adventures to Tasmania and up to the Solomon Islands. She now rests in Cooktown as an aquarium for fish at the bottom of the Endeavour River.
What a journey!
Photo Gallery
Yal Mal
Graham has competed in the annual Yallingup Malibu Classic since 1999.
2020 Yal Mal Stewart Bettenay, Graham Walmsley & Steve Raynor. Photo the late Loz Smith.
Thanks Graham, for sharing your memories and photos.
Mandurah goofy footer Graham Walmsley has lived a surfing life since the 1960s. In June 1969 a surf trip to South Africa whet his appetite for further surf adventure in France and beyond.
In the early 70s Graham and his surfing mates built a 50ft ferro cement ketch named ‘Alias’ in a Scarborough back yard. They sailed the ketch around Australia before sailing to New Zealand and Fiji. In Fiji Graham and his crew were among the first to discover and surf the now famous Tavarua surf break.
Graham & the crew’s exploits in Fiji are acknowledged in the Barbarian Days – A Surfing Life book by acclaimed author William Finnegan. **Winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Autobiography** During his time in Fiji the author and his surfing mate Bryan surfed with Graham and the crew and served as pilots on Alias.
Extracts from ‘Barbarian Days – A Surfing life’ book published 2015.
.
These are Graham’s ‘Alias’ memoirs
I guess the ”ALIAS” dream started on a surf trip to Jeffries Bay, South Africa, around June 1969. I met a lot of surfers from the East coast, but one in particular Mick Haines, had sailed via New Guinea. The rest of us all came via the ocean liners of the day.
Mick had great stories and we continued on as travel mates around the world. We meet in France, Summer of 70’s. He had a cutting of a yacht and we decided when we got back to Australia to try and build one.
We all met at Noosa 3 years later, packed up three dogs, three girls, three cars and headed West. I found a large block on Westview Street Doubleview, with a grand old house and views to Rotto, with a lane way at the back. I said to the Italian grocery man I want to rent for 3 years and his eyes lit up. The neighbours were great and didn’t bother with all the noise and work. Tools going day after day, along with the music at night, guitars, harmonicas etc.
We paid $250 for the plans for a 50ft ketch, Seabreeze design from Samson Marine, who luck would have it had a factory in Rockingham, with Navy architects who would help you when needed. It was built upside down on a timber frame, which was then covered in steel mesh and cemented all over about 20-25ml thick. Everything was sourced locally and recycled timber used throughout, Jarrah, Oregon, Cedar and Oak.
We worked nonstop, with someone working up North and always somebody on the hull. Once it was finished someone said, “that’s one tenth of the work done” and they were right.
After three years the Brambles truck came down the lane, cranes in the back yard and The Alias was off to Freo container terminal, down West Coast Highway. Mast stepped and off to Yanchep to do sea trials. It was December so we decided not to go North because of cyclones, so we headed South and East. We had nine people on board that first journey.
The trip across the Bight was life changing. Halfway to Tasmania a storm 10 was bearing down on us, luckily, we had a lot of sea room and 3,000 metres of water beneath us. We rode mountainous 90ft swells for nearly two days, did 1-hour shifts on the helm and tied ourselves to the mizzen mast in case we got washed over. We had a 10-person life raft but it would be impossible to launch. The wind was howling and the white foam going horizontal. Being the 70’s we had no way of knowing how long this would last, only having a sextant for sun shots, compass and radio transmitter for the time.
Three days later we limped into Port Adelaide under sail, as the starter motor for the engine had been drenched in sea water days earlier. We had navigation charts for most places but not South Australia. We were sailing blind. Making landfall the first person to greet us was Alby Mangles Australian adventurer and documentary film-maker, he said “lovely old boat you have there, boys,” he didn’t know it wasn’t 6 months old yet!! The wind and salt had stripped the paint off everything!
A few crew jumped ship and vowed never to go sailing again. For us it was repairs and recoup our strength. The Bass Strait was next. A pleasant stop over at Kangaroo Island, then the famous Sydney Heads. WOW, we did it! Watson’s Bay and cold Beer. Fish and chips at “Doyle’s.” The QE11 was in the harbour, so we sailed over and waved to Liz and Phillip 😊.
Next journey, up the NSW coast visiting old friends, then on to Queensland. After a stint of work in Gladstone we departed for New Zealand via Lord Howe Island. Gee what a spot, the Southern most coral Island, with Pacific Ocean one side and Tasman Sea on the other. The ocean was teeming with sea life, fish and birds. It was paradise – and throw in some magic waves. We sat in the lagoon a few weeks. With a cyclone bearing down from the North we were in a sheltered anchorage, a good place. We knew an American couple who left early for NZ never to be seen again. It was incredibly sad for us when we got to Auckland and no one knew anything .
Sailed the beautiful North Island making a home at Mt Manganui for a while, slipped the Alias at Taronga slip. It was due for a clean and anti foul. It had been a free ride for all sorts of ocean creatures – shells, crabs, weed etc. While here we noticed these old seadogs looking at us for days, only for them to say the propellor was on backwards, “it must have been good in reverse” they said. Not that we used it too much anyway, but good for pulling up to jetties. Hà! We got some work here, good surf at Raglan on the West coast and waves at the Mount.
Next trip we wanted to head North to get away from cold Winter, maybe Tonga, Fiji, as the wind plays a major part to our journey. As luck would have it, it was Suva, port of Fiji, plenty of fishing and diving. We met a Yank in the bar at the Yacht Club who said he knew of a wave on the other side of the island, he would show us the reef if we would give him a lift to Nandi. On our way through one passage to our right was this huge swell, breaking over shallow reef, it was massive! Later to be tamed and named Cloudbreak. Our destination was another 3km away to the North, Tavarua in the Malo lo Lai group. This was our magic island. Perfect head high barrels rolling down the reef. We were still no leg ropes and riding 6’10” – 7’3” boards, single fins we picked up on the Gold Coast. Pocket rocket of the day, fast down the line surfboards. We stayed as long as we could before cyclone season started. It was a fabulous time anchored in front of awesome left handers.
Mick and Lady Jane had son Jesse while there which changed on board life for a while. We decided to head back to Oz at this point, going via Noumea and Vanuatu, making landfall in Coffs Harbour, then Sydney Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club.
The crew had split up at this stage, with two guys going to America to go skiing and one to get married. My partner Christy and I drove West again and settled for a while in Lancelin.
The Alias got sold to another four blokes and they had many adventures to Tasmania and up to the Solomon Islands. She now rests in Cooktown as an aquarium for fish at the bottom of the Endeavour River.
What a journey!
Photo Gallery
Yal Mal
Graham has competed in the annual Yallingup Malibu Classic since 1999.
Thanks Graham, for sharing your memories and photos.
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