In the world of surfing, there are a handful of living legends. Tom Curren and Mark Occhilupo certainly fit the bill, and the World Surf League put them head-to-head in a heritage heat at the Bells event this weekend.
The duo had a pretty decent rivalry in the ’80s and ’90s, despite the fact that Occy recently said he wanted to surf the way Curren surfed. “It wasn’t until I saw Tom Curren,” he remembered. “I really loved the way he surfed and wanted to surf like that.”
They had some serious battles over the years. They had very different styles — Curren was smooth and stylish while was Occy a little more aggressive, but still stylish in a different way. Bells Beach was the scene of many a fantastic battle between the two.
So while the waves were not as good as they could have been, the heritage heat was a great watch. Occy and Curren are still surfing like only they can.
