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 [...]
In the past, I’ve alluded to the fact that, as surfers go, the word that best describes me is “polite”. I tend to follow the rules, give up waves, smile, hoot for other people and try keep the tone in the water mellow. I was not that person today. I take that back. I showed [...]
A surfer’s wish this holiday season eh? ‘That’s easy’ you say with a Grinch-like grin! No, dear friends, it is not for a bigger quiver of surfboards or a surf break alone to myself every dawn session (although those things are quite desirable too!). It has been many years since I have indulged in that [...]
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 [...]
You never know what Mother Nature can and will do. After these many years of surfing, I have never experienced two surf days (or sessions) that were alike! I love picking up my board, I love packing my wax, towel, and wetsuit, I love the smell of the ocean, I love feeling the wet sand between my toes, [...]
The rules of surfing are eternally unwritten. They undulate from break to break like the surface of the water, but like the water, they adhere to the laws of nature – the delicate balance between gravity and surface tension. There are no referees in the water. There are no cops, supervisors, principals or mommies to [...]
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 [...]
Surfing may look easy but the reality of it is it is actually one of the toughest sports to conquer. Since this sport obviously requires a lot of patience it is important that your child be at least the age of nine or ten before beginning to surf. Children at this age will have the [...]
This technique is designed to get you in the right position to catch your wave on your SUP while paddling hard and fast down the wave face.
Beginning surfers often quietly share with me that they feel like giving up on the sport altogether, often due to the perception that they “just can’t seem to get it right“. Although I know plenty of surfers that would revel in the reduction of numbers in the lineup as a result of “learning-fallout”, it needs [...]
To surf you need to be able to paddle out and catch a wave. If your paddling is strong then you can get out around (or if necessary through) the white-water, you can catch waves and you can keep out of the way of the other surfers. Most importantly of all, you’ll feel more confident [...]
In surfing, you’re either a right foot or a left foot – meaning the foot you lead with and the one you attach the leash to. The rear foot you use for balance. If you lead with your right foot, you’re a goofy foot. I used to be a left foot (regular stance), but then [...]
Call it what you want – leg rope, surfboard leash, kook cord – but plainly put, a leash is something that connects a surfer to the surfboard. It serves a number of purposes, such as not letting your board get away from you, a safety device for flotation, allow you to kick your board away from you [...]
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 [...]
What is it about surfers? Even on the smallest of surf days they seem to be out there in the ocean hooting and having a swell time … almost always a picturesque moment frozen in time as they glide down the waves. Ask them … those crazy board riding people as to why they pursue [...]
