In February 1978, Phil, Peter Wilkinson, and I set off together to the Island for a State round scheduled at Woolamai. It looked certain that the comp would be postponed, so Pete suggested quietly sneaking off to Express Point. Upon arrival, we spotted some high-quality 6-to-7-foot hollow waves wrapping into the black reef with only three guys out. We were waxed up and in the lineup within 10 minutes—Phil wearing his distinctive yellow wetsuit. What a museum piece that would make today! (No wonder, as it was a promo from Brooko at Piping Hot.)

Phil at Express Point in his distinctive yellow wetsuit. We were absolutely stoked on the session until Wilko literally fell out of the sky and, to Phil’s surprise, landed on him in the barrel of an 8-footer. Phil survived, but Pete, with a damaged body and board, paddled in. Luckily, he was able to shoot a roll of film. Apparently, Pete had run a little too close to the boil and been sucked back over the falls. In recent years, we all give Pete a wide berth, as I swear he’s as blind as a bat when he surfs at Leo.

Not known for his tube riding, Phil had a couple of rippers on this day. Strangely, even though we rated Blacks so highly, we only ever surfed there on half a dozen occasions at most. Our young shaper at the time, Ian Cochrane, on the other hand, skipped out of work every time the barrel at Blacks was working during his short surfing career. In the eighties, it was Garry Taylor’s turn to pay regular visits to Barrys Beach and Express.