Filipe Pomar story
Flashback Friday! – during the noosa festival of surfing 2016 the woody was called upon to carry out a very cool mission, visiting surf legend Filipe Pomar was in town and needed to get to the beach in style!
If you didn’t know Pomar, from Peru was the first ever surfing world champion in 1965, where he pipped aussie favourite Nat Young to the title. Throughout the 60’s the Peruvian was a solid big wave performer, particularly at home in the solid waves of Hawaii where he now calls home.
Pomar originally from Lima in Peru, (where the woody was a taxi for most of its life, then spent many years abandoned before being salvaged and brought back to Australia for an extensive restoration project) felt at home as he cruised in the debonair style he became known for in his era.
Still surfing big waves well into his 70’s Filipe is the definition of the old school, classic waterman.
Along for the ride with Filipe in the woody his team of caballito de totora surfers, representing Huanchacho in Peru, argued to be the birthplace of world surfing, is where fishermen began making caballitos from reeds and bamboo in pre-Inca times more than 5,000 years ago, and using them to set their fishing nets, then ride waves back to shore, Carlos Ucanan, who’s known as “huevito – king of the Caballito” whose family has been building and riding these boards for centuries and is acknowledged as the master of riding them.
It was a great day, filled with information and history, thanks to the cove noosa for arranging such a fun event, we know that everyone who witnessed this spectacle enjoyed it as much as we did!!
Check out www.thecovenoosa.com.au for your next noosa holiday, the woody is even available to get you there from the airport!