Excerpt from "North Shore: Plenty of Energy," by Jeff Divine, Steve Wilkings, Rory Crump; SURFER, March 1974

The Smirnoff Pro-Am was held in some relatively small Laniakea surf that was not deserving of the tremendous energy expended by the surfers on that day. It was still good Laniakea at 5-6 feet, but it was just a small taste of the quality surf Laniakea can attain at 12-15 feet.

However, a lot of good surfing was seen by those persons fortunate enough to have brought along binoculars to the contest. You rarely see photographs of Laniakea when it’s good, because it breaks a half-mile offshore, with lines virtually to the horizon, and it’s impossible to even see the surfer behind five stacked lines of soup, let alone try to photograph it. Only those interested enough to do without restrooms, snack bars and a good seat saw the entire show.

The Smirnoff was won by Ian Cairns, who, like Larry Bertlemann, is only one year out of the amateur division. Ian, virtually unheard of outside Australia, jumped over everyone in the scramble for the bucks. An outstanding gentleman, who only the day before the contest had gotten numerous stitches in his leg from a “small mistake’’ he made at Sunset Beach.

Ian was a darkhorse throughout the contest, just barely making the cut each time. However, in the finals, he seemed to have everything going right and showed us some Australian speed surfing comparable to only a few more recognized speed surfers (like Reno and Cabell).

“Surf Muscle” Hakman made another installment payment on his brand new house, with a strong second-place finish and $2,000. Whew—a LOTTA money riding on this one, folks.

Larry “Rubberman” Bertlemann is coming on extremely strong this year, with some new height and muscle to add dimension to his wizardry. Larry was phenomenal on the smaller inside waves at Laniakea but failed to pick up any of the higher-scoring set waves.

"Hawaii Doesn't Do it Again: Aussie Alternate Wins the Smirnoff," Ken Kobayashi, Honolulu Advertiser, Nov 22, 1973

A young Australian surfer who woke up yesterday morning without even knowing he would compete in the $10,000 Smirnoff Professional Meet ended up accepting the $5,000 first-place check at sunset yesterday.

Ian Cairns, originally selected as an alternate, is the new Smirnoff champion and winner of surfing’s richest purse.

The 21-year-old, who was virtually unknown in the surfing world until yesterday, edged Hawaii’s Jeff Hakman in the 60-minute final on Laniakea Beach’s eight-foot waves.

Hawaii's Larry Bertlemann took third and Jimmy Jones placed fourth, while California's Mike Purpus was fifth and Florida's David Balcerzak sixth.

Cairns’ triumph marks the fifth straight year the title has been taken by a non-Hawaiian surfer. His victory is also reminiscent of the 1971 Smirnoff, when another unknown—South Africa’s Gavin Rudolph—vaulted into surfing fame by taking the title at Sunset.

Like Rudolph, who was unfamiliar with Sunset, Cairns won his title on strange waves. He said he had surfed Laniakea’s long right-slide walls only once before yesterday. But then he never knew he was to compete until just before the first prelim, when Peru’s Ivo Hanza failed to show up and Cairns took his place.

From there, it was uphill all the way. Cairns barely made the semis, after a third-place finish in the prelims, and again was almost cut when he pulled off a hard-earned second in the semis.

In the final, Cairns started in last place before winning by the barest of margins over hard-luck Hakman, who placed second last year behind another Australian—Paul Nielson.

Cairns earned three first-place votes among the five judges and two second-place tallies. Hakman got the other two first places and three runner-up scores. The finish couldn’t have been closer.

The 60-minute final was one of the most dramatic endings ever to a major surf meet. As the tide went out under the somber and overcast afternoon skies, the long sections which Laniakea is famous for broke more sharply and those surfers who made it across the wall piled up points. Those who didn’t were trapped in foaming white water.

The surfers chose different strategies. Hakman and Cairns started slowly, preferring to sit outside for the best waves which would give them a chance to make the section. Cairns was last after 10 minutes, and Hakman was in the cellar after 20.

Balcerzak was the busiest, jumping into the lead with a half-dozen rides, but none was spectacular. Purpus had trouble with wipeouts and ended up swimming for his board at least three times. Jones pulled off solid rides and at one point held the lead before fading toward the end of the hour.

Bertlemann was the crowd-pleaser as he maneuvered brilliantly on the waves to cheers from about 500 spectators. But the waves he rode were a bit too small for the judges.

With seven minutes left, Hakman, Cairns and Bertlemann, who had just ridden a 10-footer, all appeared to be in a position to grab first place when the last huge set rolled toward the surfers.

Bertlemann was the first one up, nearly pulling off an unbelievable tuberide before falling off his board just as he broke out of the whitewater. Hakman then picked up a nine-footer which looked like the first-place clincher. But even as Hakman was on his wave. Cairns, far outside, caught a 10-footer, and he sliced across one of the biggest waves of the day toward surfing fame.

The Smirnoff was the first major pro surf meet to be held at Laniakea. and that caused some problems with judging. Two protests were dismissed and one was upheld—Oscar Malpartida of Peru protested that one judge didn’t see three of his rides in his prelim heat. Malpartida was given a place in the semis, where he finished fifth.

Laura Blears Ching, the first female to compete with men in a pro meet, caught some fine rides but placed fifth in her prelim.

[NOTE: Blears Ching was the only female pro invited to the 1973 Smirnoff, making her the first woman to compete in a professional surfing contest. In years to come, a single woman pro was added to each Smirnoff prelim heat; six women total, for example, competed in the 1974 Smirnoff.]

1973 Smirnoff Pro-Am

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