the start of surfing .. BY ANDY (CAPS) COCHRAN
ANDY C HERE ….
JUST A FEW NOTES ABOUT MIDGET .. that’s him on the left.
BACK IN THE 50’S MICK DOOLEY AND I STARTED SURFING AROUND THE SAME TIME, DOOLEY’S DAD USE TO DROP US OFF AT QUAY AND WE WOULD SURF ALL DAY WITH OUR LONG BOARDS
AT THAT TIME WE WERE 16,15 .. NOT SURE BUT THERE WERE NOT MANY OF US,
MIDGET’S BEST FRIEND, Sugar Ray Robinson, WAS ALSO A GREAT FRIEND OF MINE AND HE SURFED AS GOOD AS MIDGET, SO DOOLEY AND I BECAME CLOSE FRIENDS AS WE ARE TODAY AND WE SURFED 3 OR 4 DAYS A WEEK OR WHEN EVER DOOLEY’ S DAD COULD DROP US OFF AT THE MANLY FERRY.
WE ALL LEARNED A LOT FROM EACH OTHER, MIDGET WAS A SHY QUIET GUY, NOT LIKE ME.
I CHERISH THE DAYS WE HAD TOGETHER AND LEARNED A LOT ABOUT THE BOARDS WE RODE, BALSA I THINK.
I DON’T REMEMBER ANYONE IN THE WATER BUT US
I DON’T REMEMBER ANYONE IN THE WATER BUT US. IT WAS A LEARNING EXPERIENCE THAT I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER AT THE START OF SURFING ,
I HATE TO THINK ABOUT IT, BUT IT WAS 65 YEARS AGO.
DOOLEY AND I WERE SADDENED ABOUT THE DEATH OF MIDGET, BUT BEING THERE AT THE START, JUST 4 OF US, WE WERE ENJOYING LIFE.
Mike Doyle on the left, Joey (the gazelle) Cabell on the right
OUT OF THE 4 OF US 3 WENT TO THE 63 WORLD TITLE WHICH MIDGET WON – DOOLEY 4TH PLACE. I WAS ELIMINATED IN THE SEMI FINALS BY 1 POINT BY ROBBIE LANE, A MANLY BOY. BUT BEING AT THE FIRST WORLD TITLE EVER IS SOMETHING TO BE PART OF.
I HATE TO ADMIT IT BUT DOOLEY WAS THE BEST AND THE MASTER, SOME PEOPLE STILL SAY IT WAS A TOSS UP BETWEEN HIM AND MIDGET.
Dooley
petebowes.com 
So Andy has finally and “ in writing “ acknowledged Mick D as the best!! Wow, it’s only taken 60 odd years 😂😂. It must have something to do with Andy’s recent visit to Bondi where his story was finally and formally published in the Bondi Story Room. It was an interesting interview , but some of the R rated stories needed to be modified 🫣.
MickD says the Jack Eden shot was taken about 1965, and when I asked him why he was so upright in style he said it was the result of controlling toothpicks in his earlier years.