Do you like boats, sunsets and the lingering odour of a big-wave stud? Me too!
Bruce Raymond, do you know? He’s the brutal looking stud with the open jacket and open container of beer in hand from the famous Quikilsver ad, reproduced below.
The Encyclopedia of Surfing is rich with his story. Let’s read, in part:
Australian pro surfer and surf businessman from Sydney’s Bondi Beach; world-ranked #16 in 1977, and the managing director for Quiksilver International surfwear from 1979 to 2008. “He has that dark-eyed sinister air about him that appeals to women and makes men wonder,” surf journalist Phil Jarratt said of Raymond in 1977. “He would have made a good con man, hustler or gigolo.”
Raymond was born (1954) in Wauchope, New South Wales, moved with his family to Sydney at age four, and began surfing at 10, the same year his father died. He lied about his age and became a fireman at 17, then resigned three years later to join the fledgling pro surfing tour. Raymond wasn’t an especially good competitor, but put in first-class performances each winter on the North Shore of Oahu, where he earned a reputation as a brave and sometimes reckless big-wave rider. “I didn’t think I had a death wish,” Raymond later said, “but everyone around me thought I did.”
Anyway, Bruce was smart with the cash he made from Quiksilver, and in 2004, dropped six-million Australian dollars on a slice of beautiful waterfront land near Avalon in Sydney.
Just over a decade later the place is selling, at tender, with a price of around 13 million.
Let’s read the selling agent’s take:
Iconic Waterfront Position. Wow!
Arguably the most desirable position on the entire Northern Beaches, this award winning Gartner design and Dampney built residence occupies the strategic Northernmost tip of prestigious Taylors Point, Avalon.
Positions simply don’t get better than this!
* Wrap around 270 degree water panorama, north to Lion Island
* Very gently sloping, easy to live on site, over 1330 sq metres
* Enviable privacy, warm winters, cool summers.
* Sophisticated design offering seamless indoor / outdoor living and entertaining in a spectacular North facing setting
* Chefs kitchen opens to waterfront terrace and lush level lawns
* Massive master suite with dressing room and stunning ensuite
* Private boathouse and lawned waterfront terrace with cosy firepit.
* Jetty, pontoon, boat ramp and sandy beach at low tide
* Underfloor heating in living area and en-suites
* 6 KW solar panel system
* Large indoor/outdoor koi ponds
Magnificent. Iconic. And now for sale.
Does that sound like you?
Only got a mill or so to spend?
Sally Fitzgibbons is selling her house, too! Investigate here.
Finally a house with enough SUP paddles for all
Only a 6 KW solar system? What a tight-arse…
nice , I hear Bruce is upgrading his house , to live in something that reflects that Quik yuppie image , and I hear that Phil is moving next door , ah that Quik Gravy train …ah sorry was a GT !
U guys still haven’t fixed your pics for iPhone viewing. So annoying.
…help! Do I make smaller? Do they work in landscape, i.e., when you flip your phone horizontally?
Seems to be working now.
Ps Bruce house is epic. I’ve hanged out there a few times