Bells Beach, a history: Australian Crawl, brawls and a brooding beast

Bells Beach, a history: Australian Crawl, brawls and a brooding beast

The world’s longest-running surf contest was once sponsored by a rock band and is held at an icy cold break that surfing greats love to hate.

Picking favourites on the WSL

Today (Good Friday) the window opens for stop #5 on the world championship tour at good old, reliable Bells Beach, and, if you’ll pardon the reference on this holy occasion, thank Christ for that! Not only can local surf fans watch in real time, but for the first time since the season opener at Pipeline back in January, we can expect to see consistently rippable waves, with a playful head-high plus for the opening couple of days, and a stronger …