Closed for the Ever

This is the last post of this blog: its run its course, it's done. Hope you enjoyed it, if you read it.
I'll probably delete the whole thing in a couple of weeks.
Keep surfin'!

Shark Attack on the Hoax Coast

Shark attacks surfer on Mornington Peninsula. 25/11/2005.

This is the first documented shark attack in Victoria in about 7 years. An expert on the ABC described the Flinders area as a 'shark breeding zone', something we've known for years.


Shark attacks surfer on Mornington Peninsula. 25/11/2005. ABC News Online: "Shark attacks surfer on Mornington Peninsula

A surfer has been attacked by a shark at Flinders on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria.

Police say 18-year-old Tom Burke was with friends about 50 metres off the beach at Flinders when he was pushed off his board at 6:00pm AEDT.

He suffered bites to the lower left leg and was taken to the Rosebud hospital by his friends.

Acting Sergeant Jim Martin says his injuries are not life threatening.

'There's two teeth marks, each one about four to five inches long,' he said.

'The sighting of the shark from the people that were down there was approximately six-foot long, but obviously we don't know what type of shark it was.'

Mr Burke told Southern Cross radio he fought back when he realised what was happening.

'This thing just came up and grabbed my leg and sort of ripped me off my board and then I don't know - I just sort of got back up and sort of saw it again and just punched it real hard,' he said."

Surfer punches shark to escape WA attack. 24/09/2005. ABC News Online

Surfer punches shark to escape WA attack

A Western Australian surfer has had a lucky escape, after being attacked by a shark off Scarborough beach in Perth.

Brad Satchell, 44, says he was surfing about 120 metres off the coast this morning, when the shark came straight at him.

He says he was able to punch the shark several times before paddling to safety.

Mr Satchell believes the shark may have been a bronze whaler, more than one metre in length.

He says it was a frightening experience.

"I actually had a smile on my face when I first seen the thing because I thought it was a seal," he said.

"I can remember I was actually smiling, but then it just changed and I thought wow this thing is going to have a go at me.

"Probably two or three foot before it tried to attack me, I turned my board on the side to use it as a shield.

"I lifted my body out of the water and I just got my fists and I remember what I'd read in the paper - I just started punching and I connected with its head."

ABC NEWS

Evocative Quarra

Gorgeous shot of the Q-train (Dean Morrison about to enjoy the ride)

Epic Tow-In Action

More epic tow-in action from mysto secret spots inaccessible by car on the Hoax Coast. This shot from the latest i-surf dvd mag. More cool shots on the Hoax Coast Home Page

Hurricane caused 'tallest wave'

Biggest wave ever recorded!

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Hurricane caused 'tallest wave'

Computer device makes big waves - Jul 5, 2005

I'll believe this when I see it!

CNN.com - Computer device makes big waves - Jul 5, 2005

Surfing makes waves in New York

Surfing NY, NY!!

HoustonChronicle.com - Surfing makes waves in New York

Closed for Winter 

Documenting Great Lakes surfers

Surfing the great lakes sounds a lot like the Port Phillip Bay surfing me and my friends did as kids, and later, surfing the storm and wind swells whenever we could. Except that this is fresh water, which would be weird. I wouldn't mind seeing this film; its kinda the opposite of where pro surfing has gone; into the unreality of tubes like Tahiti, from windchop.

Documenting Great Lakes surfers

Two goofy-footer legends of Victoria: Mick Pierce and Wayne Lynch, discuss design at the recent PSC 30th Anniversary single - fin competition at Pt Leo 

Another surfing frontier: Angola

It might be that the future surfing frontiers come out of places that have been ravaged by war for a long time, like Angola.

Life & Leisure News Article | Reuters.com

The day the music died

60+ guys out one of my favourite right-hand point breaks, including attack of the killer mals; a whole new crew of grumpy old men on absurdly long boards, and a stack of young kids scratching around for any ripple that moved. Add SCHOOL HOLIDAYS, and a KNOWN SWELL from the day before + a 29 degree day in the middle of April + a ONSHORE change coming tomorrow, and you have the recipe for a shit-fight. It was the least enjoyable surfing experience I've had in years, and there were good quality waves coming through.

Attack of the killer guilts

Yesterday I decided to stay in town for a street party with the people in the neighbourhood; a great idea and a good way to meet people you sometimes pass in the street, with a nod or not.

Trouble is, it's was northerly and the tail end of the great week of surf that the Ripcurl Pro had at Woollami; I was watching coastalwatch in the morning before the party and Portsea looked so fun: clear blue waves, small and uncrowded, not too windy.

So I'm at the party talking to very nice people, not enjoying myself coz I think I should be surfing. And I get a couple of SMSs saying how good the waves are etc. etc and an email! Sheez.

Surfing can do that! It's done it to me for twenty-five years, and here am I in my late 40s, sitting around in Hawthorn at a lovely barbeque with some new and interesting people who all live in the area, and I'm wishing I was down the surf! I don't know anything else that can do that to you. Which is kinda the beauty and the terror of surfing.

Bells Beach Pro Live from Woolami

Spent some time this afternoon enjoying the surfing in the Rip Curl Pro live on the internet from Woolami (Phillip Island) It's the first time I've seen the live webtelecast really work effectively, both in the quality of the video and audio via broadband, but also because of the nature of the break; a beach-break with plenty of action happening. It was great to watch.

Rip Curl - The Surfing Company

The richest surf club in Australia

Is the Peninsula Surfriders Club based on the hoax coast, according to the latest issue of ASL, and based on the club owning a chunk of increasingly valuable land near Gunna. The club house and surrounding land, just up the road from the best beach breaks on the coast, give the club something that lots of other clubs would want: a foothold on their own coast.

INSIDE - SURFIN

Not the best designed site in the world, but there seems to be some good content on this site I found today. The SURFERS section is very good.

INSIDE - SURFIN

The shafts of light

Surfing today, at last, and the water was warm and not many guys around on a little onshore point break. Between sets I watched the shafts of light penetrating into the green water, like in an old cathedral or gallery, the sand so fine it floated in the water, in single yellow grains, against the green.

Thirty Years of Peninsula Surfriders Club

Thirty year celebrations of PSC coming up soon with plans for a sngle fin contest on the 30th of April, and rumors that all time goofy legend Wayne Lynch will be joining the crew for the celebrations that night.

Check the PSC pages for details.

Peninsula Surfriders Club

Six Seasons

Melbourne's Six Seasons; one researcher argues that our seasons aren't simply a model of the European ones; maybe we'd understand the surf better if we were more specific and more local in our conceptions, rather than just saying 'summer surf' etc. I'd like to see a surf calendar like the one above with Victorian surfing conditions delineated.

Swell Rising

Just got back after a week away camping down the coast, and watching and surfing waves a lot. I feel sore and tired and buffeted and water-logged and wind-soaked and sun-baked. On Tuesday the waves in the bay were six inches high. By Thursday there were solid eight foot sets and more water moving and swirling around than I'd ever seen there before, and I'd been going there for twenty-five years.

On Tuesday I tried to get my 9' mal moving on tiny little waves breaking in waist-deep water, amidsts boogie boarders, swimmers and floating old ladies.

Next day the swell picked up and we had two good surfs; increasing each hour in size, light onshore, but promsing.

By Thursday I was riding the 'short' board (7' 6") and struggling at times to get out the back as set after set pounded in, and riding too far meant negotiating a tricky paddle out. Big peaks too, some breaking way outside and rolling in tons of white water ages before it even hit the bank.

By Friday the swell had already begun to drop, and I had the best surf of the week, even though I was sore and tirerd; 4-5' sets and absolutley still and clean, the bottom of the sandy bay shining through, fine sand floating in the water between sets like grains of gold, longish lefts and fun peaks. It was a great way to finish the trip.

The Way of the Surfer

I just finished reading this; I was stoked to find it under the tree on Christmas Day and enjoyed it a lot; a good mix of interviews and some insightful essays about surfing culture. The surfers interviewed are:

The Surfers:
1) Woody Brown - surf pioneer, over 90 and still surfing
2) John Severson - co-inventor of surf culture and Surfer mag
3) Dick Brewer - top surfboard builder, psychedelic guru
4) Nat Young - 1966 World Champ, surfboard pioneer, iconoclastic Aussie
5) Bill Hamilton - top star, dropped out to do it all on Kauai
6) Rolf Aurness - 1970 World Champ, son of Gunsmoke Jim, mysto seeker
7) Gerry Lopez - Zen surfer, Pipeline master, movie star
8) Tom Curren - 3-time World Champ, huge fame, soul man
9) Lisa Andersen - 4-time champ, most popular female surfer of all time
10) Kelly Slater - 6-time Champ, best surfer in the world
11) Titus Kinimaka - Hawaiian warrior, tow-in surfer & king of Hanalei

The essays though are just as interesting, and sometimes challenging. There's lots of pictures, but this is one of the most thoughtful books about surfing I've read for a while, even if it does take the zen/spirituality/Christian thing a bit far for most Oz surfer's sensibilities.

Toxic Gunna

The dark toxic looking poison that SE Water and the State government is okay to dump at one of the best surf beaches on the Hoax Coast. A protest is schedued for tomorrow.

Check the CLEANOCEAN site for details

Classic Bells 1966

When I was trying to find out who the Soulwater people were who originally designed the 'Tribal Law' poster, I found this site, which they are somehow connected with. One of the things for sale at the site are some great images of Bellsin 1965, 1966 by Barrie Sutherland, like this one. You can buy them at this address at SHOREZONE

Last day of the year

34 degrees, a small but very clean swell and a little left peeling off a shallow rock-studded sandbar were the ingredients for my last surf for 2004, and one of the most fun. It was great to get some good waves in warm weather, the best surf I've had this summer, and a great way to end the year.

Tribal Law

A New Year; time to reflect on the old rules. I found this 'Tribal Law' diagram in the front of Nat Young's book, 'Surf Rage' and the NSW government seems to have taken it up in some of their surf safety campaigns.

Tsumani

Tragic to think that waves, the things we ride, the things we think about and draw and dream of and aspire to riding, and which have given us so much pleasure over the years, could cause such massive loss of life this week as the death toll from the tsunamis rise incredibly over the last 24 hours.

There is already a blogspot site about the disaster here: http://tsunamihelp.blogspot.com/

There is also a developing aid response. The details below are from the ABC website:

Oxfam

Donate online: http://www.oxfam.org.au/world/emergencies/asia_tsunami.html

Phone: 1800 034 034

Red Cross

Donate online: RED CROSS

Phone: 1800 811 700

Send a cheque or money order to: GPO Box 9949 in your capital city

World Vision

Donate online: https://www.worldvision.com.au/appeals/asiaearthquake/

Phone: 13 32 40

In person: ANZ or National Australia Bank branches

Medecins Sans Frontieres

Donate online: http://www.msf.org.au/support/sa.shtml

Phone: 1800 788 100

Sri Lanka Disaster Relief Fund

Phone: (02) 98048679

Floating Around

Spent an hour or so floating around, getting a couple of small ones but generally just floating, waiting for the sets that didn't come, on a nice enough afternoon. It was the first surf I've had for a few weeks but it was kind of a lacklustre affair. I egged a couple, got one good one, it was nice to get wet but nothing special.

Clean Ocean Foundation

A timely Christmas reminder that the battle to clean up Gunnamatta is not over yet. I heard Environment Minister Thwaites twising and dodging on the radio this morning, and the Clean Ocean Site today says:



Clean Ocean Christmas Update:



We have won some battles this year however the War on Wally's is far from over and the Foundation needs all hands on deck. This Christmas we must send a clear message to the State Governments around the country that ocean outfall technology is a dead technology.

As the end of 2004 approaches a new campaign to close the Gunnamatta outfall (Vic) is about to begin. This is because we fear Melbourne Water and the State Government may have asked for legal action this Christmas to avoid upgrading the Eastern Treatment Plant to Class A.

The Water Minister, John Thwaites, who seems to have forgotten that voters remember who’s been bad or good at election time, should start being good for goodness sake, or run the risk of an empty ballot stocking come election day..

Upgrading the Eastern Treatment Plant to class A would significantly cut down the amount of wastewater pollution at Gunnamatta; Australia’s worst shoreline outfall.

Clean Ocean Foundation - home

Voice of the Sea

The sea as a religious experience; it's probably no surprise to surfers.

Compass - ABC TV Religion | Stories: "Voice of the Sea"

Still crazy after all these years

It was a pretty big milestone last night; my daughter's 21st and lots of family and friends gathered around on a nice warm early summer evening. Her friends were there, but also lots of old friends of ours, including lots of the surfing crew from d-bay way way back, before we had 21sts. I haven't surfed that much in the last few months but of course the first thing I asked about was the surf. Turns out that the day had been a real fun one 2-4' beach breaks and clean offshores all day. I was a bit put out I'd missed it, but pleased for them, and surprised and pleased too to hear that four or five of them had been competing in a club competitoin that day, surfing in the over 45 section most of them, and still loving it. They were all tired, a bit sunburnt, and relaxed, just like you should be after a club comp. It was good to have them all there.

The Way of the Surfer

The Way of the Surfer - Drew Kampion

focuses on the 'soul of surfing' and riding waves as a life path.
Profiles of eleven icons of modern surf culture reveal both both the
physical and the spiritual dimensions of surfing. Between these
profiles, a series of short essays describes the evolution of surfing
and surf culture."

One for the Christmas wishlist if you're into the zen of surfing.

Drew Kampion - The Way of the Surfer

Surfing Magazines Greatest Surfers of All Time

The current issue of SURFING magazine has a list of the 16 Greatest Surfers of all time; a list which focuses on the top PERFORMANCE surfers.

They say. 'No Dukes, No Blakes, No Freeths. No Docs. These are the 16 surfers who made history by leaving it behind...They're the guys who, more than anyone else, opened our eyes to what riding a wave can be at its very best'

So, in essence, it's a list of the most radical or innovative surfers of all time; kinda surfer as change agent. I was pretty critical of some of the entries in TRACKS magazines 'Top 50 Surfers of All Time' (see January 2004 postings) especially with Taj Burrow as the 5th best surfer of all time and also with Mick Fanning and Joel Parkinson in the top 10. Of all time.

At least Surfing mag has dispensed with the need for history and is going for performance. Their list (I can't detect that it's in any order):

• Phil Edwards
• Nat Young
• Wayne Lynch
• Gerry Lopez
• Michael Peterson
• Larry Bertlemann
• Shaun Tomson
• Mark Richards
• Tom Carroll
• Tom Curren
• Martin Potter
• Christian Fletcher
• Laird Hamilton
• Kelly Slater
• Andy Irons

There's a lot to like about the list; especially with my 2 all time faves MP and Lynchy, but Christian Fletcher? What the *#KD*IED#@!!