"From sunrise over the Pacific to sunset behind Mount Warning, the outlook is nothing short of spectacular."
The last time ol Trudy Todd, one of the feistier world tour competitors, was on these pages was one week ago when it was revealed she’d been arrested and charged with breaching an Apprehended Violence Order or AVO as we call ’em on the mean streets.
Nearly two decades after her last heat, the 1999 Triple Crown and J-Bay Pro winner, who is now 52, was in a Sydney police cell and charged with contravening an apprehended domestic violence order, accused of breaching a condition barring contact with a protected person.
She applied for bail through Legal Aid solicitor Bethany Burns before Judge Daniel Covington telling the beak,
“She’s staying in Newcastle to care for her aunt, who has recently had a heart attack. She has her own residence… it’s in the process of being sold.”
Her counsel wasn’t wrong about the house sale.
“From sunrise over the Pacific to sunset behind Mount Warning, the outlook is nothing short of spectacular. Gaze north across Rainbow Bay, through Surfers Paradise towards Moreton Island, north-east over Duranbah and its world-famous surf break, south-east along the sweeping coastline to Fingal Head, and south across Jack Evans Boat Harbour.”
Todd developed four units on Boundary Lane in Rainbow Bay, an area that has seen a real sharp rise in property values in recent years. Look at ol Coolie Karen’s joint as an example.
One of the units was purchased by the formidable big-wave shredder Laura Enever while Todd retained the penthouse for herself.
She now owns a second property on the Indonesian island of Nusa Lembongan, and her son, Jesse, 17, who’s chasing the pro surfing dream. Those developments, she said, factored into her decision to part with the Gold Coast unit and redirect her focus.
Among her plans is a bid to coach the Greek national surfing team ahead of the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane, a goal connected to her Greek heritage. She is also developing a surf therapy program in collaboration with major private health insurers and writing a book, part memoir and part motivational guide, titled “The Prodigal Daughter.”
Todd has not surfed in five years, since breaking her back in a car accident in Coolangatta.
“I’m really focused on moving forward with this whole surfing for health,” she told the Bulletin. “I really want to use what I’ve been through the past few years and bring it to a positive. I don’t have a lot of debt on the unit but I really want to put my money and energy into something I feel strongly about. I just want to move on and utilise the things I’ve learned.
“I can’t hold that property and do everything I want to do without any strain on me, physically and financially.”
Surfline has affixed a Surfline camera to the house and pays roughly one hundred dollars a week for it, which is real handy ’cause the building maintenance fees hit 30k every year.
How much y’think it gonna sell for? Four mill? Six?