Beach walk

Nature the artist? Just love the colour combination and natural shapes!

This is a crab?

Further to................

................ my earlier posts here and here.
The TV was crap last night, so I suggested to Michelle that we watch a surf movie and I got out an old favourite Step into Liquid that was made in 2003.
It is a terrific movie portraying a wide gamut of what surfing is to all sorts of different folks. Anyway, there is a sequence featuring Taj Burrow which highlights his progressive surfing and includes a comment from Kelly Slater wondering that Taj had not won the ASP World Championship up to that point.
The reason, it has taken 6 years? since the film was made for the judges to finally start rewarding progressive surfing and guess who is leading the rankings this year! Yep, Taj!

Crazy Saturday!

There was a big swell in this long weekend. Here is some footage shot and edited by moi accompanied by music by moi also! Not bad sax playing for someone who doesn't play the sax? Find out how I did it here!

Crankin', absolutely crankin' and...............

.....big guys can surf smallish boards, particularly if the waves are big enough.
Thanks to Horace

Fatty is on the way!

The wave riding opportunities lately have been pretty mediocre ( closes outs in the main very like the pic ) and I have been making the choice to use my bodyboard as it was hopeless bothering about using anything else. Now don't get me wrong, as I have mentioned before, I don't have any problem with body boarding in fact, I really enjoy it.
Apart from the thrill I get from the unchanged perspective of the wave by not having to stand up as mentioned above, I also particularly appreciate the wave catching efficiency of a body board and really get off on the speed.

Because of the latter, I have lashed out and bought a surf mat 'cos it seems that they are the fastest wave riding craft of all!
Don't believe me?
Well check this out! Interesting that we share exactly the same last name.
I know it is going to be a real challenge to learn to ride as apparently everything one thought one knew about riding a wave changes. Can barely wait to try though!

Nude Surfing 5?

Well actually no but check out the 12 foot primitive wooden Paulownia board at Mount Maunganui. Essential riding gear required? A helmet, booties and a wetsuit specially designed to make one look naked in a black and white photo. Pretty cool if you are into it!!

With thanks to Roy Stewart whose blog is well worth a long visit as he has some fascinating ideas in regard to surfboard design that he puts in to successful practise like this!

A change of pace!

Just as a little contrast to what we have been seeing at Bells in the last couple of days. Graceful carving lines, a big spray off the lip and a 10 point ride which included a barrel in perfect 2 to 3 metre waves.

My prediction for World Champ this year?

Taj Burrow! Sorry MF, JP etc, but I reckon this is Taj's year. What a way to spend a lay day, watching the world's greatest surfers at Winkipop! Awesome in full screen on my 24" iMac!

ASP World Tour? The stakes have changed this year!

Finally, the judges are rewarding the progressive moves the young guns like to do in the air off the lip etc etc. So much so that we have just seen Lightning flying himself, with a beautifully executed no hands air, in his heat against Gabriel Medina. Didn't think I would enjoy the spectacle as much as I have been. Bring it on!

Quiver now complete!

Today I picked up my new longboard built specifically to suit the wave conditions here. Warren Thompson has shaped me the big beautiful blue 10' single fin you can see in the pic above.

After 2 sessions on it, I can report that it is a sensational board.

Gets me on the wave early, trims beautifully and noserides brilliantly.

It is also very forgiving because of soft rails so the big step back and the walk forward again is required to change direction at all quickly. Lots of fun!

The session in the morning started out with sharing a nice left with the young longboard crew who dominate normally but not any more! Yee hah!

I then noticed that the right on the other side of the channel was starting to work with some nice sized waves starting to peak up.

I had it to myself for quite sometime going right initially and then the big step back to avoid someone coming through from the other direction and straight into a fast little reform to the left all the way into the beach while I explored this boards noseriding capability!

The afternoon session was not quite as good but was characterised by a cranking noseride with an unfortunate hiccup in the middle as I had to step back around the current state under 18 women's longboard champion on her way back out before slotting straight back in again. Bloody wonderful stuff I can tell you!

Crowds, crowds and more bloody crowds!

It's my birthday today. What do most of us who surf really like to do on their birthday? Wow you got it so easily? Yep, go for a surf! With the knowledge that the annual 1 mile ocean swim was on in the morning, Michelle and I did not leave for the beach until the latter part of the morning and this is what we found!

People everywhere and nearly 50 surfers of all sorts in the water! We will have another look later in the day!

Easter Saturday goin' off!

I spend every 2nd Saturday morning with my youngest son who lives in in my former recent home town.
He is keen to learn body boarding at the moment so we usually go for a surf together at the main town beach which is just terrific for both of us really.
Unfortunately, yesterday morning a sizeable Easterly swell was in and closing out the section of the beach where we usually go and catch 1-2 foot peelers together.

So we went up to the main surf spot, which is an awesome wave when it is on which is not that often unfortunately, to check out the action and it was packed with three main peaks and about 30 riders enjoying themselves.

I have had some epic surfs there and some where I have come away feeling quite disheartened as it can be pretty quick and for an old stink eye like me very challenging.

But if you get on to them? Very much fun indeed.

This guy was in the right spot.