Veteran Yallingup surfer Mick Marlin (age 76) is a talented goofy footer, surf photographer, surf journalist & surf historian. Formerly from North Narrabeen in NSW, Mick travelled the world in the 70s before settling in WA. Originally in the Mandurah region now Yallingup in the southwest.
Mick researched and compiled this material on the discovery of waves on Tavarua Island in Fiji for Surfing Down South,
Rich Myers – Yallingup’s Californian expat
Rich was a professional US surfer & windsurfer in the 1980s and settled in Western Australia in the 1990s.
When Surfer Magazine’s long time travel writers Kevin Naughton and Craig Peterson were commissioned to write a piece on the new surf resort Tavarua in Fiji in 1984, they needed a media and windsurf crew.
Hundreds of applicants were screened in just a few days with the lucky applicants being filmmaker Greg Huglin and windsurfers Suzanne Gedayloo and Rich Myers.
With little wind expected Rich was loaned a Campbell Brothers surfboard by Dave Clarke and took to the waves.
The Tavarua article, written by Kevin Naughton raved about the island and the surf. “Rich Myers and I were chomping at the bit to surf.We hadn’t even landed on the island and Rich was scrambling for his surfboard “This is better than anything I’ve seen in California!” exclaimed Rich, as he leaped off the bow and into the tropical waters. Rich came to windsurf, but his Malibu surfing roots carried him through the long reaches between trade winds.
With no bar on the island the crew were becoming parched and made up a ruse to go to a nearby tourist island to make phone calls and do a fashion shoot. They arrived and the island was in the usual party mode with Aussie tourists and with copious amounts of rum on offer. The crew made the most of it and next morning they faced a $150 bar bill. With no money and a hostile bar staff Rich saved the day. Like a true sport Rich Myers had struck up a friendship with the resort owner’s son who happened to windsurf. Rich seized the opportunity to ease the pain of our tropical hangover and generously traded his spare sailboard and rig for our tab.”
Rich treasures the memories and the battered old copy of Surfer magazine shown in the photos.
Photos
Cover of December 1984 Surfer Magazine featuring Craig Peterson heading out to Cloudbreak. Photo by Kevin Naughton.1984 Surfer Magazine Fiji article. Rich Myers and Craig Peterson watching waves at Cloudbreak. Story Craig Peterson. Photos Kevin Naughton.1984 Surfer Magazine Fiji article. Rich Myers paddling out at Cloudbreak. Photo Kevin Naughton.1984 Surfer Magazine Fiji article. Rich Myers surfing Cloudbreak. Photo Kevin Naughton.1984 Surfer Magazine Fiji article. Close-up Rich Myers surfing Cloudbreak. Photo Kevin Naughton.1984 Cover of Ocean Sports International magazine Vol 3. No 3. featuring Rich Myers and Suzanne Gedayloo windsurfing Fiji with Tavarua Island in the background.
Tavarua surf history
The first to surf Tavarua is generally credited to John Ritter who was sailing his 30-foot Trimaran Off Sounding around the South Pacific in March 1978. John was teaching on American Samoa for four years while exploring the South Pacific and came upon the outer reef now known as Cloudbreak with an uninhabited island nearby.
William ‘Bill’ Finnegan, author of Barbarian Days was bumming around the islands with his mate Bryan and happened to meet Ritter in Suva. Ritter told them about the island, so he and Bryan got a ride out to the island on a fishing boat and camped for a month. The island was uninhabited with no fresh water; the only structure was a fish drying rack.
Back in Suva Fiji, Bill Finnegan ran into the crew of the yacht Alias which had sailed all the way from Two Rocks in Western Australia.
The Alias must have been showing signs of wear based on Bill’s description. “It had a rust-streaked hull and a salty heavy weather look with frayed old-fashioned fittings and bicycles and surfboards lashed to the bow rails. I guessed it was about eighty years old. It turned out to be two.”
Alias was built in Doubleview by Mandurah’s Graham Walmsley and Maroubra surfer Mick Haines and three mates over a period of several years. Alias sailed off from Two Rocks in 1977 calling in at Adelaide, Sydney, Auckland, and Lord Howe Island. Crossing the Australian bight, they ran into a horrendous storm with the crew thinking this was the end, with the yacht even turning turtle. They limped into Adelaide harbour for repairs and half of the crew leapt off onto the wharf and headed for greener pastures.
In Suva Bill told them of the island he’d camped on and he’d show them where it was. Bill and the crew of the Alias spent several glorious months surfing Tavarua, which they named Magic Island. Off the island was a reef they named Horror Reef, later to be called Cloudbreak.
Bill eventually took off for Queensland which is well documented in his Barbarian Days book.
The Alias crew fractured as some wanted to stay and surf and some wanted to live the Jimmy Buffet life in the Caribbean sipping cocktails tied to a wharf. They decided to split up and sell the yacht, so they sailed to Sydney and sold the Alias.
Mick Haines and wife Jane located up to Mullumbimby, later to New Brighton and Graham Walmsley and wife Christy to Lancelin WA.
Photos
1978 Alias yacht on route to Fiji. Photo Graham Walmsley.1978 William Finnegan aboard Alias sailing to Tavaurua. Photo courtesy Barbarian Days book.
Mick, Alf & Mick
In 1981 Mick Haines returned to the island with Yallingup’s Mick Marlin and an old mate they met in South Africa Alf Blakey, father of Vaughan and Ronnie, well known surf journos and WSL commentators.
The trio hired a 20-foot home-built Hartley (NZ) designed plywood fishing boat from a local fisherman and camped on the island for a month. There was still nothing on the island and they camped in tents taking all their supplies with them. They surfed the break on the island (now called Restaurants) and Horror Reef a few kilometres off the island (now called Cloudbreak).
One day they were out surfing Horror Reef when a speedboat dropped a couple of yanks off. Way out in the Pacific Ocean you’d think other surfers would be friendly, but not so!
Mick Marlin recalls “we said ‘giddaye and asked where did you blokes come from?’ but they just scowled at us and paddled away. We reckoned it was Scott Funk and Dave Clarke who would have been negotiating the lease of the island from the Fijian owners and didn’t want to know about other surfers.”
Mick Haines was especially pissed off when the island resort opened with exclusive rights to surf the island break, (now called Restaurants} and the nearby Cloudbreak with wealthy surfers paying the exorbitant fee of US$100 a day to stay there.
The island resort was open for business and Richie Myers was an invited guest.
In 2010 Fijian surfers took the resort to court and the resort was denied exclusivity to the surf breaks.
This opened up Cloudbreak to surfers staying on nearby islands.
Don’t expect any change from US $1000 a night these days!
Photos
1981 Cloudbreak surf break from the boat. Photo Mick Marlin
1981 Tavarua Island. Photo Mick Marlin.1981 Tavarua Alf Blakey & Mick Haines. Photo Mick Marlin.1981 Sunset at Tavarua. Photo Mick Marlin1981 Alf Blakey and Mick Haines at Tavarua. Photo Mick Marlin.1981 Mick Marlin and Alfie Blakey at Tavarua. Photo Mick Marlin.
Many thanks Mick Marlin for sharing your Tavarua memories.
Veteran Yallingup surfer Mick Marlin (age 76) is a talented goofy footer, surf photographer, surf journalist & surf historian. Formerly from North Narrabeen in NSW, Mick travelled the world in the 70s before settling in WA. Originally in the Mandurah region now Yallingup in the southwest.
Mick researched and compiled this material on the discovery of waves on Tavarua Island in Fiji for Surfing Down South,
Rich Myers – Yallingup’s Californian expat
Rich was a professional US surfer & windsurfer in the 1980s and settled in Western Australia in the 1990s.
When Surfer Magazine’s long time travel writers Kevin Naughton and Craig Peterson were commissioned to write a piece on the new surf resort Tavarua in Fiji in 1984, they needed a media and windsurf crew.
Hundreds of applicants were screened in just a few days with the lucky applicants being filmmaker Greg Huglin and windsurfers Suzanne Gedayloo and Rich Myers.
With little wind expected Rich was loaned a Campbell Brothers surfboard by Dave Clarke and took to the waves.
The Tavarua article, written by Kevin Naughton raved about the island and the surf. “Rich Myers and I were chomping at the bit to surf. We hadn’t even landed on the island and Rich was scrambling for his surfboard “This is better than anything I’ve seen in California!” exclaimed Rich, as he leaped off the bow and into the tropical waters. Rich came to windsurf, but his Malibu surfing roots carried him through the long reaches between trade winds.
With no bar on the island the crew were becoming parched and made up a ruse to go to a nearby tourist island to make phone calls and do a fashion shoot. They arrived and the island was in the usual party mode with Aussie tourists and with copious amounts of rum on offer. The crew made the most of it and next morning they faced a $150 bar bill. With no money and a hostile bar staff Rich saved the day. Like a true sport Rich Myers had struck up a friendship with the resort owner’s son who happened to windsurf. Rich seized the opportunity to ease the pain of our tropical hangover and generously traded his spare sailboard and rig for our tab.”
Rich treasures the memories and the battered old copy of Surfer magazine shown in the photos.
Photos
Tavarua surf history
The first to surf Tavarua is generally credited to John Ritter who was sailing his 30-foot Trimaran Off Sounding around the South Pacific in March 1978. John was teaching on American Samoa for four years while exploring the South Pacific and came upon the outer reef now known as Cloudbreak with an uninhabited island nearby.
William ‘Bill’ Finnegan, author of Barbarian Days was bumming around the islands with his mate Bryan and happened to meet Ritter in Suva. Ritter told them about the island, so he and Bryan got a ride out to the island on a fishing boat and camped for a month. The island was uninhabited with no fresh water; the only structure was a fish drying rack.
Back in Suva Fiji, Bill Finnegan ran into the crew of the yacht Alias which had sailed all the way from Two Rocks in Western Australia.
The Alias must have been showing signs of wear based on Bill’s description. “It had a rust-streaked hull and a salty heavy weather look with frayed old-fashioned fittings and bicycles and surfboards lashed to the bow rails. I guessed it was about eighty years old. It turned out to be two.”
Alias was built in Doubleview by Mandurah’s Graham Walmsley and Maroubra surfer Mick Haines and three mates over a period of several years. Alias sailed off from Two Rocks in 1977 calling in at Adelaide, Sydney, Auckland, and Lord Howe Island. Crossing the Australian bight, they ran into a horrendous storm with the crew thinking this was the end, with the yacht even turning turtle. They limped into Adelaide harbour for repairs and half of the crew leapt off onto the wharf and headed for greener pastures.
In Suva Bill told them of the island he’d camped on and he’d show them where it was. Bill and the crew of the Alias spent several glorious months surfing Tavarua, which they named Magic Island. Off the island was a reef they named Horror Reef, later to be called Cloudbreak.
Bill eventually took off for Queensland which is well documented in his Barbarian Days book.
The Alias crew fractured as some wanted to stay and surf and some wanted to live the Jimmy Buffet life in the Caribbean sipping cocktails tied to a wharf. They decided to split up and sell the yacht, so they sailed to Sydney and sold the Alias.
Mick Haines and wife Jane located up to Mullumbimby, later to New Brighton and Graham Walmsley and wife Christy to Lancelin WA.
Photos
Mick, Alf & Mick
In 1981 Mick Haines returned to the island with Yallingup’s Mick Marlin and an old mate they met in South Africa Alf Blakey, father of Vaughan and Ronnie, well known surf journos and WSL commentators.
The trio hired a 20-foot home-built Hartley (NZ) designed plywood fishing boat from a local fisherman and camped on the island for a month. There was still nothing on the island and they camped in tents taking all their supplies with them. They surfed the break on the island (now called Restaurants) and Horror Reef a few kilometres off the island (now called Cloudbreak).
One day they were out surfing Horror Reef when a speedboat dropped a couple of yanks off. Way out in the Pacific Ocean you’d think other surfers would be friendly, but not so!
Mick Marlin recalls “we said ‘giddaye and asked where did you blokes come from?’ but they just scowled at us and paddled away. We reckoned it was Scott Funk and Dave Clarke who would have been negotiating the lease of the island from the Fijian owners and didn’t want to know about other surfers.”
Mick Haines was especially pissed off when the island resort opened with exclusive rights to surf the island break, (now called Restaurants} and the nearby Cloudbreak with wealthy surfers paying the exorbitant fee of US$100 a day to stay there.
The island resort was open for business and Richie Myers was an invited guest.
In 2010 Fijian surfers took the resort to court and the resort was denied exclusivity to the surf breaks.
This opened up Cloudbreak to surfers staying on nearby islands.
Don’t expect any change from US $1000 a night these days!
Photos
1981 Cloudbreak surf break from the boat. Photo Mick Marlin
Many thanks Mick Marlin for sharing your Tavarua memories.
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Alias Dreaming by Graham Walmsley posted 24 May 2023
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