From the age of 13 he consistently won every competition on offer, winning state Junior and Open titles.
He moved to Hawaii in the early 1970s in search of big waves and before a professional circuit had established.
[2] Cairns joined the Australian team at the 1970 and 1972 World Surfing Championships and at Laniakea off Oahu in December 1973 he won the Smirnoff Pro event at Sunset Beach from Hawaiian Jeff Hakman.
In 1975, Cairns and fellow Australian Peter Townend devised a rating and scoring system for surfing events.
In 1979, he moved to California and with Townend formed the National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA).