With another lay day, we decided to figure out how the new guys on tour learned to surf Bells. Nate Yeomans is one of the few surfers on the World Tour who hasn't competed at the famous Bells Bowl. We caught up with him to take us through his strategy for tackling one of the most notoriously tricky waves on tour.
You got here last Wednesday. Did you know there was swell coming?
Yeah, I did. I actually approached a few local boys, Jack Perry and Adam Robertson, when I was in Margaret River just because I've heard it's a tricky wave and it takes some getting used to. You've got to talk to the local boys.
Even in equipment, the difference between what you need here and on the Gold Coast is pretty radical. On the Goldie everyone's boards have a lot of rocker, but here you want a flatter rocker, a little more foam, maybe a little wider. I asked Adam Robertson if he could fill me in on lineup spots, how the tide effects the wave, the swell direction, all of that. He came second here last year, so I thought he'd be the man to talk to.
But with that being said, Robbo just said, 'There's a swell coming. Wednesday looks fun and Thursday looks pretty good, so you should just go.'
So Robbo basically said just to get her and surf it for yourself?
Yeah, pretty much. He was going to be in Tasmania for the O'Neill Coldwater Classic, but he said for sure to come down and surf it. Also, with so many guys being in Tasmania, it was good to try getting as many waves as I could because it's such a different wave.
Can you try and describe it?
It's a pretty fun wave, but it's not super high performance - you don't see too many airs going down. It's more like the old, raw, Sunny Garcia style of surfing. I was talking to him, and I think he said he's won the most heats out of anyone here. For me, I wanted to watch him and Occy. We went and tried to find a copy of 'Occumentary' but we couldn't get one. But obviously the way those guys surf is perfect for out here.
So you've been really trying to watch footage of goofy-footers out here?
Yeah, and being my first event didn't go so well - I got a 33rd - this is a good event to reposition myself. Now there are only five events before the cutoff, each one is really important.
But yeah, Occy, that one year he won the Skins Event when he blew everyone away, man, it would be the highest compliment if someone said you were surfing like Occy out here. You'd be doing pretty well.
What is it about Occy's surfing that's so good at Bells?
Occy is always coiled perfectly to unload. He's all on his back foot, and his back hand is low on his rail. The way he goes from his rail to his fins, just his whole approach is perfect. I thought that on your backhand you wouldn't want to get to the bottom of the wave too much, and then I watched that movie 'Litmus' with some great Occy footage, and he's going 50 yards out in front of the wave then just torquing back up into the pocket. His approach is insane.
Is this the sort of surfing you like to do? Laying out your turns like you can here?
Well, being one of the bigger guys on tour it's kind of an advantage, and it's an advantage I need to use. The smaller, lighter, faster guys have their advantages, but out here where bigger guys can throw a lot of spray. You need to surf to your powers.
From what you know of bells from the surfs you've had, what are your powers?
Just being bigger, you have more weight to push, which ideally throws more spray. Ideally you'd like to blend everything, but Sunny won a contest out here in the early '90s, and he's still doing the same surfing now, and he's still a force to be reckoned with. He's a bigger guy, so that still applies. A big turn is always going to be a big turn.
Ok. Talk us through a wave at the Bells Bowl.
First up, there's a fine line between being too deep and getting behind the section, or being on the shoulder and having it go fat. So having the right spot to take off is key. Then your first turn has to be a big one because it's a good first section, then there's a floater section, unless you're Occy, when you'd do an under the lip snap before the next section where it goes kinda fat. Then it goes into the end section, where it's hard to negotiate. It's kind of going away from you, so a cutback with a big rebound is a good finishing move. But you've definitely got to capitalize on the first section, because it's pretty flat after that.
So is it what you imagined it to be from all the photos you've seen?
Driving in here it's all kind of urban, and I was wondering if it was ever going to open up a bit more, so that was a surprise. But a lot of guys aren't the biggest fans of this wave. In West Oz, they were telling me I was going to be bored out of my mind, but it reminds me a lot of Northern California, and there's a lot more to do than in West Oz. You can go to Melbourne, which isn't too far. It's kind of a Santa Cruz vibe with the cliffs and hills and the setup of it all. And I did well there last year, so hopefully it will reapply!
What else did Robbo tell you?
There's a world of difference from Winki to Bells. Robbo told me to move from right to left, like, to start surfing over at Centreside, then work your way through the Bells Bowl then surf Winki. Because if you do it the other way around, you're going to get to Bells and think, 'F**k, this is hard to surf!' But if you surf Centreside, which is fun, then Bells is even better, then you get down to Winki and you're thinking, 'Man, this is classic!'
It's an iconic spot, huh?
Yeah. You kind of have an idea of what it might look like, but running down the stairs to the beach and having everyone patting you on the back and to be part of all that, it's sick. It really feels like you've arrived at the Dream Tour. I've been doing early sessions with the Gudangs, getting out super early when it's uncrowded.
That's what Occy always used to do. He'd be the first guy in the carpark at 4:30 in the morning.
Oh really? Sweet! That's cool. The whole coolness of this place...I feel comfortable here. Like, it's home.
You're in Heat One, Round One with Dane Reynolds and Andy Irons. How are you feeling?
It's kinda nice being in the first heat because the judges haven't set their scale yet. Also, against two regularfooters and early in the morning, if I can come out swinging, maybe I can get a good early score right off the bat and hopefully the time goes by quickly and I can hold that position. But you're not going to have much control with A.I. and Dane in your heat!
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