Earlier this year, I went up to the Noosa Festival of Surfing for a couple of days. Friends of mine were competing so I wanted to watch and support them and as an extra added bonus, the waves were amazing!! The days were spent surfing, chatting, sitting, eating, drinking and teasing each other mercilessly (some [...]
There are few more satisfying feelings in the world than that waterlogged, salty, muscle-aching, red-eyed, stoked exhaustion after a really, really, really fun surf. You know when you stay in the water until you are not even sure you can make it in and you decide that this is your wave in, and then that [...]
I see dolphins a lot. I know that is connected to spending time in the ocean, but I honestly seem to be a magnet for sea life. Especially dolphins. The other week I was driving into town from the highway when I looked up and saw this cloud that looked disarmingly like a dolphin jumping [...]
Some days, it all just works. Some days it feels right. You have flow, inspiration, motivation, enthusiasm, energy and it all comes easily and without effort. Your ideas, thoughts, excitement, heart, mind and body all spill out through your fingers, hands and feet. They move out through the things you create and easily become lines, [...]
Moving north from Byron Bay to live and work and study in Brisbane for the past few years has meant a big shift in my access to surfing. In the past I would surf at least once every day and had an ongoing and real relationship to conditions, banks and spots that were working. I [...]
A few days ago I was waiting at the water’s edge for a break in the swell, trying to organise my timing so I could get out past the massive wash that was about to hinder me as I paddled out. The swell was solid and the sweep was still really strong and there were [...]
On Friday, I went for my first surf in a month. It was wonderful! I went with some friends – Noe, Nat and Rich. We turned up at the only viable spot, where it was breaking one to two foot. It was small, but the waves were lovely and clean and they were breaking all [...]
I have a more than healthy respect for salt water, currents, rips, tides, storms, waves, gutters, schools of fish (flocks of birds), and scary conditions. I learned my limits and I learned that you are never quite in control. I learned that there are risks.
I surf longboards. I have a few boards, but two of them are 9’2″ and wide and thick and have heavy glass. I often find that my arm gets tired if I have to carry one of them too far, but when that happens, I just put it on my head and let it rest [...]
I’ve heard quite a few of my girlfriends talk about how they would find it hard to go out with someone who didn’t surf. They’ve told me how they’ve had partners who didn’t understand when they wanted to get up early and get in the ocean or when they want to just surf all weekend. [...]
Yesterday I went surfing with some friends. We were all on mals, including Bruce, who I had only just met. Bruce surfs a lot, but this was the first time he’d ever ridden a longboard! As we dried off and changed back at our cars, I asked him if he enjoyed it? Yeah! It was [...]
Yesterday I went surfing with my friend, April. She just won a new board in a comp raffle and was excited to try it out. She rang to invite me to come along with her, so we met up in the carpark of a busy local break and I sat and chatted with her as [...]
My friend Lyn reckons there’s a really simple equation for going surfing – Less Is More. As in, the less you wear, the more waves you get. It’s a cracker isn’t it! That doesn’t mean that she uses it to her benefit though! In fact, the Lyn I know and love works right against it [...]
This morning I was sitting listening to a talk, when I got distracted by the hem of my jeans. It was slightly turned up, which in the scheme of things means little, but when you are looking for something, anything to occupy you as you politely endure someone else’s rant, it seems significant, so I [...]
I made a new friend from Oz recently, and I am very happy to tell everyone that her writing makes me laugh … full out, open-mouthed guffaw! It’s not often that other writers make me burst out into laughter and shake my head in open agreement, but she is one of those people. I like [...]
