For more than 50 years, the Rip Curl Pro has been held every Easter at Bells Beach, near the town of Torquay in Victoria, Australia. The event known simply as “Bells” starts this year on April 1 and is labeled as both a gathering of the surfing tribe and a meeting place for friends old and new.
It is also one of the great places to enjoy a surfing competition even if you don’t surf. The combination of a location of natural beauty, a town that comes alive, and plenty to do and see outside of the event makes this not only one of the world’s great surfing events, but also one of its must-see sporting spectacles.
1. The nightlife
Punters at last year’s Thursday-night Media Night party, the traditional opening of the festivities. Photo: Courtesy of Rip Curl
For 90 percent of the year, the town of Torquay is a relatively sleepy one that serves locals and the surfers who come down from Melbourne for the weekend. However, every Easter when the Rip Curl Pro is on, the town’s population swells by a factor of 10, with most people hell bent on having a good time. The town’s pubs, clubs, bars, and restaurants are all packed, while surf-industry parties are on every night. “It’s a marathon of partying and fun,” says local resident Matt Martin, who hasn’t missed a Bells in 22 years. “It’s the highlight of our year for sure; everyone knows it’s the best place in Oz at Easter to let your hair down.”
2. “Hells Bells”
Every morning of competition at the stroke of 7 a.m., the classic AC/DC tune “Hells Bells” is blared out over the Rip Curl Pro’s speakers, startling the kangaroos in the surrounding paddocks and signifying the start of another epic day’s wave riding and watching. The Bells competition is the longest-running professional surf competition in the world, and this year will be its 54th anniversary. The “Hells Bells” anthem is just one of the many traditions that make this event so special. It might be cold, it might be early with the sun just peeping out over the Southern Ocean (and you might be a little dusty from the night before), but when that familiar riff kicks off, all is right and proper in the surfing world.
3. The 50-year storm
Bodhi and Johnny Utah at Bells. Photo: Frame grab from “Point Break”
It was at Bells that Point Break’s Bodhi rode a monster wave to his death during a 50-year storm. While Hollywood (stop the presses!) can sometimes exaggerate, the wave at Bells Beach is capable of holding enormous size. The 1981 event, for example, boasted the biggest waves ever seen in competition outside of Hawaii. It doesn’t matter if you have never caught a wave in your life: You will be open mouthed in amazement as you watch a surfer who looks the size of an ant racing down a clean, huge Bells wall.
4. The Great Ocean Road
The Bells Beach Reserve is the very start of the Great Ocean Road, one of the most stunning stretches of coastal tarmac in the whole world. If the competition is off, hit the 160-mile drive that takes in the towering 12 Apostles, iconic surf breaks, misty waterfalls, stunning coastline, and native wildlife, and is dotted with great seaside villages bursting with great food and friendly locals.
5. Surf-celebrity spotting
Catch three-time world champion Mick Fanning in and out of the water. Photo: WSL
Without overemphasizing it, Torquay is a fairly small town, and as such your chance of running into the world’s best surfers is fairy high. It’s not uncommon to bump into Kelly Slater in the local juice bar, line up behind Mick Fanning at the buffet of the Torquay Hotel, or be seated next to John John Florence at one of the classic breakfast and coffee bars. Torquay tradition dictates that these are normal occurrences, so visible signs of overexcitement and requests for selfies are to be avoided.
6. For the bleachers
The bleachers, ready to be warmed. Photo: WSL/Robertson
The Bells Beach Surfing Reserve is well known in surfing circles as a natural amphitheater. The red clay cliffs rise up and envelope the reef break, providing an incredible bird’s-eye view of the surfers. The Rip Curl Pro capitalizes on this by building a series of temporary grandstands that overlook the break. In these tiered bleachers—the only such ones that exist in professional surfing, where usually most spectating is done from the beach—the atmosphere is more akin to watching a football or baseball game, with the crowds cheering their favorite surfers and every wave being hooted and hollered. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know a tailwhip from a wipeout, you simply get swept along with the crowd.
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