"GARY KONG ELKERTON" 1987: BEST EVER AT SUNSET BEACH

Before there was the WSL Hurley Pro at Sunset Beach there was the ASP Billabong Pro World Cup and The Hard Rock cafe pro, and in 1987 Gary Kong Elkerton won both- back to back- cementing his legacy as one of- if not THE- most dominant competitor ever at the fabled open ocean point/reef break of Paumalu- also known as Sunset Beach, Oahu, North Shore, Hawaii.
Gary Kong Elkerton grew up surfing Mooloolaba on Queensland's Sunshine Coast where he was given the nickname 'King Kong' as he was bigger than the other kids.
By the time he was fourteen, Gary worked for his dad as a deckhand on a shrimp (prawn) trawler, diving and surfing alone on the shark-infested, remote open ocean waves of the Great Barrier Reef and Queensland's isolated off-shore islands.
The first time I met Kong was at Kirra in 1984. He blew my mind with his powerful surfing and amazing tube riding skillz. Shortly thereafter "The Performers" came out and he became a favorite of surfers worldwide.
His North Shore act became legendary, matching the force of these massive open ocean waves with equal parts power and grace. He was the first non-Hawaiian to with the triple crown, but perhaps his greatest accolade there came in 1987, when there were two events run back-to-back at Sunset Beach, The Hard Rock Pro, and The Billabong Pro. Kong won both. In The Hard Rock, Kong won every one of his four-man heats. In The Billabong, he smoked the field with jazz handed power carving, impossibly deep fades to bottom turns and impeccable timing on one of the most challenging playing fields on the North Shore.
Surfing magazine stated "Gary Elkerton's professional metamorphosis had puzzled many supporters who appreciated his brash, devil may care attitude. Elkerton's extreme commitment to hard, pure, radical surfing when it gets good and heavy puts Gary's in a class of his own!"

Music: Sunnyboys: "Trouble In My Brain"
Hoon: "Australian Dream" https://lnk.to/AusDream

Addl' Sources:
Tracks
Surfing Magazine
Surfer Magazine
Quiksilver
Gordinho
Don King
Dick Hoole

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