Will Occy Dominate Tom Curren In The Bells Heritage Heat?

Let’s be honest – Bells is an old man’s wave. 

Sure, you can throw an air or chuck the fins in 2019, but Bowl performance peaked in 1997 when Occy won 11 straight heats in the skins event. Seriously, have a look at their surfing in this comp. It would beat most guys today.

Occy’s first wave is at 13:41.

And lest we forget when Brendon Margieson eviscerated Winki with his patented frontside hack.

My point is that Bells is a rail-first kinda joint, and nobody buries foam better than 20th-century leadfoots. That’s why the Occy vs. Curren Heritage Heat will be a highlight of the 2019 Rip Curl Pro.

And while we can’t be sure of what Curren is gonna wear, ride, or if he’ll even show up for his heat, we know for a fact that Occy is here to win. 

At the other night’s Aint That Swell live-airing, Occy looked trim, lucid, and drank nothing but lemon-tinted water. Even Kelly remarked on Occy’s current health status, noting the vast disparity between now and the “dark periods”, when Occy, in Slater’s words, was at “the depths of his soul.”

On the podcast, Occy revealed that he’s recently been bodyboarding (with flippers) to his increase his leg strength in preparation for this week’s Heritage Heat. He also picked up a brand new quiver of Jason Stevenson surfboards to prepare for every possible condition he might encounter between Rincon, Winki, and Bells. 

Old as one may become, picking up your board(s) at the factory never does.  

Here’s some more intel from the crew over at JS:

Occy’s spent the last 12 months on an intense training and surfing regime, getting him in the best physical condition we’ve seen in years. Last winter, he started spending extra time working with JS on an updated quiver, then he jumped on some Billabong trips to WA and Hawaii, throwing down some of his best performances in recent memory. 

In honor of the great man’s return to form, we’re updating his original Raging Bull shortboard and Bullseye step down. This quiver includes a beautiful 6’5” channel bottom that’s a throwback to what he rode during the infamous Bells domination at the skins event 20 years ago. 

With JS riding similar, generously proportioned dims in his own boards lately, he’s managed to dial in exactly what Oc needs to keep performance surfing easy at 52 years young. And considering how much Occy and Jase have loved these last two batches, it might be the only type of shortboard that gets Parko out of twin fin retirement and back onto a thruster.

Curren’s gonna need a wide variety of skimmers if he wants to keep up with the Oc.

 Occ dims (5’9” & 198lbs / 90kg)

Raging Bull

(round pin channel bottom)

6’5” x 19 3/4” x 2 3/4”  x 36.8L

(round tails)

6’3” x 19 3/4” x 2 3/4”  x 36L

6’2” x 19 3/4” x 2 3/4”  x 35.5L

Bullseye

6’0” x 20 3/4” x 2 13/16” x 37.2L

JS dims (5’11” & 194lbs / 88kg)

Raging Bull

6’0” x 19 3/4” x 2 9/16” x 31.7L

Bullseye

5’10” x 20” x 2 9/16” x 33L

Occy has done a number on his “training sandals” over the past 12 months.

While we caught a glimpse of Curren at last night’s Rip Curl media party, it’s hard to know if he’ll be able to match Occy’s ferocity at this year’s Heritage Heat. While there have been whispers about a few Black Beauties waiting for Old Tom, we’d be just as thrilled if he paddled out against Oc on a skimboard. 

So, who’s your money on?