Michael Peterson (surfer) - 1973

1973

The Bells Beach Classic in 1973 offered a A$1000 prize, an amount that was very substantial at that time; the event was also run under a new "points per manoeuvre" system, which had been trialled at the Hang Ten event in Hawaii, US, a few months earlier. The idea was to eliminate subjectivity from judging by only counting the moves that were completed by each contestant. In the first few rounds, under difficult surf conditions, Peterson performed poorly and his total points score left him outside the top ten positions. On the final day at Bells Beach, the leading surfer, Midget Farrelly, was forced to withdraw due to a flu. After transitioning to a larger surfboard, Peterson subsequently won the contest and was amazed when told of his victory.

The 1973 Australian titles were held at Margaret River, Western Australia, and the contestants were required to contend with big surf conditions. Although Peterson scored highly in the early rounds, fellow Queenslander, Richard Harvey, emerged victorious and Townend was runner-up.

Following his return to the Gold Coast, Peterson engaged in more board shaping work; however, he left Larkin's factory to join Furry Austen, after Austen offered higher remuneration.