stunet, 1747283368

Plus footage from the two days of competition. The 480p resolution makes it feel like you're really there.

daisy duke kahanamoku, 1747284812

"The 2001 Shark Island Challenge was arguably the wildest surf contest ever staged in Australia."

I'll argue it with examples of two pretty wild contests.
The 2016 Red Bull Cape Fear
The clubbie contest you sometimes see footage of at the pub where the boats get turned into splinters.

MM, 1747286438

Thanks for the story and for sharing the YouTube link. It brings back many memories. Contests are rarely worth watching, but I was lucky enough to have just moved to Cronulla in June 2001. I've never seen anything like it before or since. I also experienced the worst pummeling of my life at third reef Cronulla Point on day two.

Although the days of true professional bodyboarders is over, most of the contestants are still out there shredding.

durutti, 1747288880

As someone who grew up on Riptide and idolising the SI chargers I really appreciate these yarns. Makes me want to get a lid!

Major kong, 1747292801

Awesome stuff, rad

conrico, 1747292813

Great read. Good to see the eskies getting some recognition!

Nuttynatty99, 1747295393

I remember watching this comp from the headland, absolutely crazy stuff.
Me and a few mates surfed bay surf later that day and it was pretty good.
Cronulla really has to have some of the most insane waves in all of OZ if not the world.
So many crazy reefs packed into a small area.

Sprout, 1747296182

Great stuff Dan cheers mate! Hopefully pumping for the comp!

Nick Bone, 1747297601

Backhanded compliment? Hope not.

Swany, 1747298452

Cheers that is well worth a watch. Relentless charging.

Sealife, 1747303363

Jeff Hubbard at 15.17 is brutal. In fact that whole video is insane. Amazed nobody died. Although a broken back is heavy enough.

Spuddups, 1747338153

The Bodyboarders who chase slabs are about as hardcore as it gets. They are a good crew to be around. Their enthusiasm for dangerous waves is infectious. Much respect.

dannyz, 1747349240

Hopefully this year they opt to run it in the biggest and best conditions regardless of the tide being in the absolute perfect time of the day for them.. like the contests we all reminisce about

walkar, 1747354377

I reckon I watched this VHS about 100 times

WaffleStomp, 1747365698

Great gritty footage, awesome tunes and no doubt more than a few dicks dragged right off

peabo, 1747373397

Had the VHS back in the day. There was another really awesome year around the time too. Can't remember which. Have an image of Wingnut on a big roll in from out back stuck in my head forever.

How's the forecast looking for this year?

benskii, 1747384307

Awesome read and memories. I grew up just ahead of this time, bodyboarding on the eastern beaches. Me and my mates absolutely idolised the Cronulla crew.

I've still got a booger and take it out when the conditions suit.

And I still allow myself to get really irritated at the disrespect we used to cop. When the finless craze hit surfing and you'd see these people awkwardly squatting on longer boards with round tails I'd wonder why they didn't just look back to Danny Kim standing up on a booger and actually being able to surf it. Or skim boarders for that matter.

And then when the bra boys thugged their way over to Solander and kicked the boogers off who'd been there for years. It's "ours". FFS, piss off. Teenagers had been charging that shit for years before you bought a jet ski.

Made me grumpy. But this was a great trip back down memory lane so I should relax. It's Friday night.

Maybe I'll take the booger out tomorrow :-)

Psychosocial Dillpickle, 1747385237

Definitely a defining comp
I remember thinking ' fuck yeah this is what people need to see, the surfing & non-surfing world alike '..
The floppo/spin comps were just an embarrassment and putrid stain on true bodyboarding and should never have happened.
Core boogers keep it fucking real, always have and still do...
Maximum gonads..

basesix, 1747385393

hahaha

Psychosocial Dillpickle, 1747385514

Heaps of core Shark Island footage on Chris Stroh's Underground Tapes series too, especially the earlier ones, always had sick soundtracks too.. if anyone's interested, worth a watch..

Psychosocial Dillpickle, 1747385721

Mob mentality and ego mate..
' Ours '...
What a wanky name.
Says it all there doesn't it?
Although think they've grown up a bit these days maybe n chilled out?

southernraw, 1747392872

Yeahhh.Strohs vids were epic. Addiction i reckon was one i had that was a ripper.
Unreal article and footatge.
Ahh get misty eyed everytime i hear 'The Swell' mentioned. Weren't the maroubra lads surfing off Gordons Bay(?) that swell also?
Surfed Terrigal Haven on the 6th and Nth Shelley that evening as the swell peaked., then Copa point on the 7th. Was great waves but fark me, nothing like what the Island was dishing out. Respect!

Nick Gee, 1747394111

spent my very early grommet days using a boog as much as a standup... my dad's house was a minutes' walk from a now over exposed and over run wedge. spent full days on that beach.

the wave type determined which craft i'd use.

an anecdote, sure, but even back then i would've thought Nick Carroll was wide of the mark. i guess we're all confidently wrong at some point.

see.saw, 1747427149

I seem to remember Kelly Slater turning up and surfing the island in that swell? Is my memory correct? Be a first!

stunet, 1747437408

Nah, that was a few years later, about 2007.

some_guy, 1747450846

Good read dandob - very reminiscent.
I was a teenager living in Cronulla in 80s and 90s. Struggled on the stand up so took to the esky lid.
Nulla had the chargers. Doug Robson was another local who set the standard very high. Tristan Barfield, Brett Young, Ross Hawke (not local), scrawny Teeth. Even Warren Fienbier's dad was out on the heavy days.
I was always amazed at the things some guys would paddle into.
Northies (original), Joe's Milk Bar, Jetty Burgers, Emerald moved from Taren Point to Cronulla (the local chargers seemed at arms distance from Emerald though - not hard core enough for them I guess).
Mach7s were mostly ridden, a few Turbos before Manta established themselves - Terry would let you visit the factory & order a customized board. Wish I still had mine.
Arm ropes then leg ropes then back to arm ropes.
Used football laces before fin savers were made. A heavy lip would blow the fins right off your feet. Churchills of course.
Getting your forecasts from the Daily Telegraph newspaper weather page.
Walking out on the rocks to the Point at dawn and the stand-ups already in the water would be yelling "fuck off" because you had a boog under your arm. We went out anyway and got our waves.
There are a few other sucky rock ledge waves in the area too that you'd be lucky to hear named anywhere. Best suited for the boog.
Living in units, skating when not surfing.
Weekend influx of shit carnts coming in by the trainload all summer.
Cronulla was best in the winter, no tourists.
The sport was growing fast. Strohy, first Riptide magazine, VHS video tapes, etc. The mags and vids were filled with Cronulla crew.
I've moved just a little south and now in my 50s. Ride the stand up mostly now but I was on the boog only 5 days ago on a sucky rock ledge. Fuck it was fun.

Adam Lilley, 1747464012

Hi, are there any surviving copies of the 2016 cape fear red bull doco? Only seems to be a trailer and a few other clips of the day. Cheers.

marcus, 1747555682

Hey stu. I free surfed that day, mainly second reef ones. I get a few wave on that youtube. Wearing a white helmet. Two different boards as I lost one never to see it again.
You may find this bit interesting though. Matt and I went out to pikers hole to surf that later as the tide dropped. We called it farkernell then.
Matt parked where the carpark table is now, by the rocks and we checked it but it wasn't makable. Was big tubes and pinching on the end.
Whilst watching it some middle eastern looking fisherman came over to fish it. We warned them how dangerous it was that day and suggested going around into botany Bay.

As we were about to leave, a big set came up over my legs as I stood on the rock in front of the break. My jeans were drenched. I tied them to matt's spare tyre on the back of his 4wd in the hope they would dry.
We'd never surfed it that crazy before so we bailed down the coast.
But on the way down we heard on jjj that 3 fishermen were lost off Cape solander and there was a search for them. We never heard if they were found alive. Maybe you could settle this for me as I've always wondered.

Anyway you know the history of the place a few years after when the secret unfortunately got out. But I hope you find that interesting.

A great day of waves out island during the comp. Then later at Cape just blown away by how crazy it was.

Oh that's the day Matt and I changed our name for it from farkurnell to death.

Bnkref, 1748689529

Thanks Stu.

Bringing back some great memories.

Can someone remind of the track after Tool? Good tune. Wouldn’t have heard it for 20 years.

some_guy, 1748756236

Bleed American by Jimmy Eat World

Bnkref, 1748775966

Ah yep. Cheers.

joesydney, 1748855823

And then at the other end of the spectrum we had this :-)

https://youtu.be/UjrnhkBHZvw?si=61x86xU7ODdoCnhE

I watched Spencer Skipper surf the north shore a couple of seasons - certified lunatic. Paddling out in the dark at pipe with second reef wash through…just rogue and ugly