Tips From The Pros: Breaking Up The Pack!

Back in the early 70's, George and his Hodgman were out at Lennox Head on a pretty good day. A long lull let everyone filter back into position (no leashes yet, so that wasn't as easy or as common as it is today), and a good sized cluster of surfers was sitting on the peak towards the top of the point. After a few frustrating minutes, George decided that he'd had enough. He left the primary peak, and paddled up towards the top of the point.

"I really wanted to pick off a big one way out there!" George said at the time.

Paul Witzig was on the point shooting, and right on cue, the set George had summoned punched him square in the nose. I've never seen the footage of that ride, but this grab turned up in one of Nat Young's books back in the 80's. It's George, screaming across a wall, well outside the location where everyone else was sitting.

"That was the best wave I got out there that day," he recalled, "and everyone paddled up to where I was sitting when I caught it. By the time I paddled back, the main peak was almost empty. I broke up the pack with on an air mat!"