In my 55 years, this contest result is the most easily recalled. Because it was the most defining result of any surf contest and monumentally changed surfing forever. What a story!!

The greatest free gift to the world of surfing. Thank you Simon Anderson.

What an awesome story. I was a ten yr old in 81' who loved to surf and was completely into everything surfing. I had every surf magazine from every continent that sold surf mags and totally remember the introduction of the tri-fin. Simon was the man. What a legendary story. Stoked. 🤙😃

I was there that year .Big congrats to Simon and his amazing board. Two mates and myself went to Bells to watch the contest . We slept in my HQ Holden wagon in the carpark and like others have mentioned it was an unforgettable swell. I took some pics but with the old camera I had then they never really captured what it was really like that day and weekend . Big Cheyne Horan fan back then. All the guns were there.

Twin fins never worked for my style - too squirrely. I went straight from a single to a thruster. Thanks Simon Anderson!

Perhaps the greatest innovation in surfboard design ever. Mahalo nui loa Simon.

He Singlehandedly Changed surfing forever, just Like Mark Richards did

Thank you Simon. You gave the world the correct board. And kicked ass in the process!

Was there that day to watch Simon Anderson tear it apart , head and shoulders above anyone else !! As it turned out it was an historical day for the surfing world with the thruster to become the board of choice !

We had 2 great surfers from Santa Cruz, California compete in this event. These being Richard Schmidt and Vince Collier. They came back from Oz raving. What a contest.

Thanks Simon ! We all recon you gave surfing a boost with this gift ! Good on you ~ALOHA !

I went out at Bells the following week (from memory, first time there) and it was almost as big. Paddling out I kept getting pummelled and my legrope (nylon cord with handkerchief) also broke and the board washed in. Didn't catch a wave except for a few I rode backwards while trying to paddle out the other way

I remember Simon taking a 20 footer on the head that contest maybe 30 foot whatever it was a huge wave and apart from his surfing Simon was a brilliant waterman tough strong and capable those were the days ..

I had a Simon Anderson thruster for a time, back in late 1980’s. Best board I ever had. An early thruster, square tale. Beautiful board.

This was amazing - Thanks for posting this one folks.. well done !!!

Simon ruled with style on his design!

Great story, thank you Simon

I still have the huge Piping Hot poster with Simon surfing Bells......and a photo of him mailed to me from the '83 Gunston 500. Legend!

I was there that weekend, it looked a lot bigger than 12ft , you could feel the ground shake when the big ones broke.

Thanks Simon!

Vince Collier (RIP) and Richard Schmidt were flown down all the way from Santa Cruz. They placed in this epic contest. And put Santa Cruz on the map as surfing was starting to go global. Tri fins became the standard.

Met Simon Anderson. in 1990. Good guy. Energy surfboards. Surfed 'Bells' and 'Winki Pop'. too. They hold up massive swells. A complete ditto of 'Zoomers' and 'Razor Blades' on the lower Ranch in SB County, California. Still surf my Doug Haute West Side Santa Cruz 6'-7" Thruster with a boxed center fin to change out for Big Waves . It surfs great as a twin too. Michael Peterson and Simon Anderson, the best of the best.

Hard to believe that is 40 years ago.

In 1970 he won the championship of Surfing Rolf Aurness the son of James Arness in Bell Beach, Australia..

A Big Thank you to Simon Anderson. We laughed when we first saw the Thruster in Huntington Beach in the early 80s. Little did we know within a very short time we will have ditched our twin fins and single fins and never looked back. Surfing definitely changed for the better. Thank you Simon !!

Fantastic.

thank you Simon Anderson

If you remember a swell in 1981 , it was a special day for sure.

The Lender and Legend! 🤙🏽

Two Santa Cruzers put themselves on the map in this historic event: Richard Schmidt and Vince Collier.

Man those days were the best

Most Excellent ¿

Surfed a minchinton. 7 3. Thruster at sunset by Oahu. 8 2 12 ft yea Simon see. I ripped it. Only on a thruster. 1986. Thx. Simon

So Rad!

Mind blowing...

Legend

Simons thumbnail looks like every bloke you meet paddling out at a new spot

Remember 81...Huge. I nearly drowned at Bells in about 75. 6-8 foot Solid Bells got caught inside and pinned on the bottom. Came up one short breath and back down to the bottom again. Fuck I was rooted luckily washed up onto beach my big wave days were over. Always remember that day when I see Big Surf. Oh yeh we measured surf from the back not the front LOL

Nothing beats a thruster.

Imagine what that board would be worth. Introducing the world to the thruster.

A turning point day for surfing. It's interesting that the "surfing world took notice of the Thruster" but the contest commentator didn't?

& he still rips.

....I have a collection of around 10 of these original SA Thrusters .....and around a thousand people trying to get one off me !!

And so it was....

Always rated Simon as a surfer. To me he was an animal in the mold of Nat. Him and Col Smith (both of them actually! Haha in joke for old blokes)

Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't thrusters being ridden in Hawaii before Bell 81, by the way Bells at 8-10' isn't that heavy paddling out to Winki at that size can be tricky, just time it right fellas.........

Back when good surfers taught themselves to surf and built and designed their own boards.... Now days people go to camps paid for by their parents and sponsors.

Teenager when the Thruster came out to Hawaii !!

Glad i never had a bonza though.

Some dude sold me that board. I didn't ask where he got it. Also, I promise not to carry weapons out in the water. Unless I'm night diving.

Great narrative, but where's the vid?

No jet ski assists to get out

I surfed the Whangamata Bar in 81. An Aussie showed up one day ( I was there a whole week on an epic swell) and he was surfing a 5 fin board. There I was on a single fin POS from California. I had never even seen a tri fin. My favorite board was a twin fin at the time. Of course, it was a MR knock off. When I returned home, I read about that Bell's contest and the Thruster in Surfer Magazine. No internet back then. Aussies were and are out in the front on design. I right away found a shaper in Carlsbad to make me my first of many thrusters.

This is great. I’m from Cornwall in the UK and in those days we only found out about what was happening through Tracks and the American surf mags, and they were always 3 months after the event. So in ‘81 the mags arrived and we saw the Bells pics and Simon’s victory on the new three finned boards. Then hot on the heels of this there was the first international pro event in Newquay (which actually had waves in the early rounds!!) and we got to see some of these guys surfing for the first time. Although I don’t know if Simon Anderson himself was at the event. Thanks for posting.