Todd Rosewall, Jew Rowley and Cahill Bell-Warren carry flowers and Rip Curl Pro bell down the famous stairs at Bells Beach. Photo: Liam Robertson/SurfingVic
100 local surfers formed a circle to show their respects for Andy Irons. Photo: Liam Robertson/SurfingVic
Hundreds gather to pay their respects to 3x surfing world champion Andy Irons.
(Bells Beach, Vic. Saturday, 6th November): A hundred local surfers paid their respects at Bells Beach today to surfer Andy Irons who tragically died during the week in the U.S.
A hundred surfers gathered in the water, with many more lining the cliffs, to form a circle and place flowers in the water.
As per surfing tradition, flowers were thrown into the middle of the circle and the water was splashed making for an emotional experience for all involved.
Irons had an affinity with Bells Beach after taking out the Rip Curl Pro contest at Easter in 2002 and 2003.
The event was organised by local surfers Jeff Rowley, Cahill Bell-Warren and Todd Rosewall less than a day before.
Rowley was amazed with the turn out on such short notice.
“Its something that means a lot to many people, so it was great to see so many people come at such short notice”
“Andy is such an incredible surfer and it shows how much of a hero he was to so many people”
Bell-Warren was equally as impressed with the turnout.
“This is such a great example of the unity of the surfing community”
“In less than 20 hours we were able to get over 100 surfers down to the beach to pay their respects to one of surfing’s greats”
“Its such a humbling experience for all that were involved”
The event was coordinated with many other paddle outs around the world including the Gold Coast, Perth, Bali and California.
