Winter Vincent’s Eponymous Season on the Surf Coast

Once referred to by Craig Anderson as “the perfect child,” Winter Vincent’s growth spurt has finally come to an end.

Not yet done with his teens, the 6’2″ Queenscliff kid (just North of The Coathanger — do keep up) has settled into his frame without any hint of awkward body English. If anything, he’s putting it to good use, leveraging all his length into seamless, elite rail-to-rail surfing.

Following some swishing and gurgling down in the Tasman, Winter joined Asher Pacey and filmmaker Dan Scott on a trip to Torquay, where the current leader of the Australia/Oceania QS rankings eased into Victoria’s most established wave. There are moments in the clip where you can maybe see a bit of the crystal forager’s lines bleeding into Winter’s surfing.

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“Asher was so cool and so different from the competitive surfers I’m normally surrounded by,” Winter told us. “He definitely showed me a different line to take.” 

Pardon the WSL commentator cliché, but Bells really does seem like the type of wave that exposes flaws and frustrates even the best of the best, making Winter’s maiden run on its crisp walls all the more impressive.

With enough rubber to withstand whatever weather the Surf Coast threw at him, Winter’s exploration stretched beyond the right point, giving his backhand a little practice at the adjacent beachies.

“I’m leaving in two days for Portugal, and I’ve heard the wave is a lot like Bells, so I’m pretty excited!”

If Ribeira d’Ilhas — Bells’ poor relative — turns on later this month, you can count Winter as a contender. With a 3rd place in Ballito, the Australian still has a mathematical chance at climbing the rankings and unlocking the gate to the 2025 CT.