ENTERTAINMENT: Bells rings for Airey’s

ERIN PEARSON
BOOK worms will get their own fix of Rip Curl Pro action this weekend when the competition’s history barrels down the coast, according to organisers.
Two literary events and live crosses from the event at Airey’s Inlet will feature the stories related to the famous Easter surfing event.
Great Escape Books owner Nicole Maher said Good Friday would include a tribute to surfing legend Peter Troy before Age national editor Michael Gordon will visit on Sunday to promote his own book about the Bells championships.
Troy, who died in 2008, was an original organiser of the first few Bells Beach surfing competitions.
His surfing travels were the stuff of surf legend. An influential figure in the early days at Bells Beach, Troy left Australia in 1963 to roam the planet with a three-metre surfboard under his arm.
He documented his adventures in letters home, which remained undiscovered until his death.
The letters have been published for the first time in To the Four Corners of the World.
Surfing legends Terry Wall and Rod Brooks will pay homage to Troy from 6pm on Good Friday at Sunny’s Pizza Restaurant.
On Sunday, Gordon will speak about his book, Bells: The Beach, the Contest, the Surfers, about the 50-year history of the world’s longest-running surfing contest.
The book features interviews with some of the biggest names in surfing over the half-century.
Maher said Gordon would read from his book from 3pm.
“Michael knows the stories behind the stories, what happened to the guys after they won Bells – some have never surfed again,” Maher said.
“The story of Bells is just amazing.”
Maher said live streaming of the Rip Curl Pro would allow non-surfers to experience the magic of surfing as it celebrated 50 years of competition at Bells.
“These events will help make Bells part of the whole Surf Coast.”