Crystal Voyager premiered at the Sydney Opera House on 5 December 1973 and had a successful three-week run there before opening in other states.

It became one of Australia's most successful surf films, grossing more than A$100,000 (in 1973) on its initial Australian release, before being picked up by British Hemdale Corporation.

Crystal Voyager gained substantial press on its release, mostly due to its strong reception at the Cannes Film Festival.

It had a record-breaking 6-month run in London's West End, where it played a double bill with René Laloux's animated science-fiction film Fantastic Planet, grossing more than £100,000.

Filmed with a camera in a waterproof housing strapped to Greenough's back, the sequence is composed entirely of slow-motion footage shot inside the curl of waves, edited to the 23-minute song "Echoes" by Pink Floyd.