Archive for the 'Waves' Category
Stern vid and Framies
VIDEO BY DAVE OTTO www.shipsterns.com
FRAME GRABS BY TIM BONYTHON
ALSO CHECK TIM’S VIDEOU OUT AT:
http://www.coastalwatch.com/news/article.aspx?articleId=9699&display=0&cateId=3&#ooid=o2d3Z4Mjp0qnKKHRD9yDajuFMU38z0iH
Yeahhhhhhhh Shippies
WEdnesday mad session at stern. Full story coming tomorrow. Frame grab courtesy Tim Bonython
Jy tearing Byron Apart
Here’s a clip that two really good mates put together. Jy Johannesen is the surfer and Alasdair Shurman is the filmer/editor. Sick track too
Tassie Devils
This was put together by Tassie film maker Simon Treweek of a swell which hit Shipsterns a month ago. Visiting Californian surfers Alex Gray and Nic Lamb tasted some southern juice. Video courtesy www.volcom.com.au
Its been a slow season down south, couple of big swells, mostly with shitty winds. At home we were getting itchy feet, but so were a couple of mates on the other side of the globe. Alex (Gray) and Chops (Nic Lamb) had been pumping emails back and fourth to me for months now. There motivation and thirst for shippies was something else. I wouldnt even have to check for swells, because as soon as a blob would even look remotely like it could produce, guaranteed either Chops or Alex (or both) would email me asking my thoughts. But Shipsterns isnt as forecast friendly as many other waves around the world.
The weather patterns can change in a split second (which happens nearly every swell), which is why each year theres always a couple of big swells me and my mates still get to surf by ourselves. It could be howling onshore (as predicted) and just after lunch a sea breeze would kick in creating light offshores. Or it can be predicted to be 40 knots southwest, but just as the sun comes up the winds will kick in with a land breeze and strong offshores will fan the crooked lumps of ocean for the early hours of the morning. These are the times where if you dont live there, you aint scoring it.
Over the months talking with the boys from the States, i mentioned these scenarios. So when this last swell began to appear the boys got there froth on. Conditions were far from looking ideal, but something in the weather pattern just got me excited. It was looking big, huge almost. If we could battle the 45 knot onshores on the jetskis, theres a chance we could ride some mammoth mutating lumps. The next day of the swell was also looking like it might provide with some small clean paddlers. So Al and Chops, frothing at the bit, booked there tickets, knowing full well it could be a complete hoax. I guess thats what i loved about these guys, they just wanted to come down and check out the place, the wilder the conditions the more exciting it sounded to them.
The day of the swell was exactly as forecast, 45 knots onshore. Alex jumped on the back of my ski, while Chops walked in with Treeks (filmer). That ride around to shippes was rediculous, the wind chop and backwash turned a 35 minute ride into one lasting almost an hour. Once around at the stern we were briefly disheartened, as it looked utterly disgraceful. Eight ft burgers were lapping over the reef, but due to the long period swell we still had hope there could be some bombs. And twenty minutes after we arrive we seen our first taste of what the day had in store for us. A solid 12ft plus nugget began deforming along the reef then blasting its insides out into the channel. I gave Alex the nod, which translated to, “it aint gonna get any better than this, so get ya arse in the water and lets get shit done”.
The next few hours the yanks proceeded to throw themselves over the ledge and into oblivion. Driving the ski was a task in itself, due to how windy and angry the ocean was, it was hard to get on a plane and get enough speed to get him on a wave. Once the rope had been dropped he would then have to negotiate the speed bumps even before he’d hit the first step. It was by far from ideal conditions to surf shippies for your first time. Alex ended up busting his arm on his last wipeout and although Chops didnt make this wave, he still got to stand tall in a shippies beast. Both surfers felt the power and fury this day and although it wasnt as big as hoped, it still got there hesarts racing. Local lad “wipeout mckean” got the bomb, living up to his name and took on a 15ft slab that he didnt have a chance on.
That night i took Alex into the hospital. The arm wasnt broke, but it wasnt in a good way. The doc gave him a script for pain relief and told him he would be out of the water for a good stint. Alex was devo’d, and tomorrow was starting to look the goods for some nice paddlers. We all walked in the next day. I love the walk, it means something to me as my friends and i did it for years on end when we first started surfing there, i guess it just brings back memories. Poor Alex’s arm was wrecked, there was no way he was surfing, but he still gave himself the benefit of the doubt and lugged his gear on the one hour walk in hope of the pain suddenly retreating.
Conditions were clean and the sky was sunny. The swell had dropped considerably, but we still had hope to get a couple. Once in the water after 2 hours of waiting for a good one, i began to realise things werent looking as good. The long breaks between sets would give your body plenty of time to feel hypothermic and we would find ourselves paddling in circles just to try stay warm. Only a few fun waves got ridden that day, but overall it gave the boys a taste of what the wave does. Rudi Schwartz got wave of the day with a super deep paddler. They experienced it at both ends of the scale, big and stormy, and small and clean. They also really appreciated how beautiful the place was and not once did they complain about the long travels, early starts and torturous walking tracks. They were troopers and earnt good respect from that.
The afternoon was spent in the sun downing brews and spinnin stories with the local lads. im sure Alex and Nic will be down again soon enough and with fingers crossed im sure there gonna score what they come down Tassie for……
Few Days Ago
Footage from session up in coupla days….
Photo Hayden O’Neill
stern last week
All Photos Andy Chisholm
Its been a slow season down south, couple of big swells, mostly with shitty winds. At home we were getting itchy feet, but so were a couple of mates on the other side of the globe. Alex (Gray) and Chops (Nic Lamb) had been pumping emails back and fourth to me for months now. There motivation and thirst for shippies was something else. I wouldnt even have to check for swells, because as soon as a blob would even look remotely like it could produce, guaranteed either Chops or Alex (or both) would email me asking my thoughts. But Shipsterns isnt as forecast friendly as many other waves around the world.
The weather patterns can change in a split second (which happens nearly every swell), which is why each year theres always a couple of big swells me and my mates still get to surf by ourselves. It could be howling onshore (as predicted) and just after lunch a sea breeze would kick in creating light offshores. Or it can be predicted to be 40 knots southwest, but just as the sun comes up the winds will kick in with a land breeze and strong offshores will fan the crooked lumps of ocean for the early hours of the morning. These are the times where if you dont live there, you aint scoring it.
Over the months talking with the boys from the States, i mentioned these scenarios. So when this last swell began to appear the boys got there froth on. Conditions were far from looking ideal, but something in the weather pattern just got me excited. It was looking big, huge almost. If we could battle the 45 knot onshores on the jetskis, theres a chance we could ride some mammoth mutating lumps. The next day of the swell was also looking like it might provide with some small clean paddlers. So Al and Chops, frothing at the bit, booked there tickets, knowing full well it could be a complete hoax. I guess thats what i loved about these guys, they just wanted to come down and check out the place, the wilder the conditions the more exciting it sounded to them.
The day of the swell was exactly as forecast, 45 knots onshore. Alex jumped on the back of my ski, while Chops walked in with Treeks (filmer). That ride around to shippes was rediculous, the wind chop and backwash turned a 35 minute ride into one lasting almost an hour. Once around at the stern we were briefly disheartened, as it looked utterly disgraceful. Eight ft burgers were lapping over the reef, but due to the long period swell we still had hope there could be some bombs. And twenty minutes after we arrive we seen our first taste of what the day had in store for us. A solid 12ft plus nugget began deforming along the reef then blasting its insides out into the channel. I gave Alex the nod, which translated to, “it aint gonna get any better than this, so get ya arse in the water and lets get shit done”.
The next few hours the yanks proceeded to throw themselves over the ledge and into oblivion. Driving the ski was a task in itself, due to how windy and angry the ocean was, it was hard to get on a plane and get enough speed to get him on a wave. Once the rope had been dropped he would then have to negotiate the speed bumps even before he’d hit the first step. It was by far from ideal conditions to surf shippies for your first time. Alex ended up busting his arm on his last wipeout and although Chops didnt make this wave, he still got to stand tall in a shippies beast. Both surfers felt the power and fury this day and although it wasnt as big as hoped, it still got there hesarts racing. Local lad “wipeout mckean” got the bomb, living up to his name and took on a 15ft slab that he didnt have a chance on.
That night i took Alex into the hospital. The arm wasnt broke, but it wasnt in a good way. The doc gave him a script for pain relief and told him he would be out of the water for a good stint. Alex was devo’d, and tomorrow was starting to look the goods for some nice paddlers. We all walked in the next day. I love the walk, it means something to me as my friends and i did it for years on end when we first started surfing there, i guess it just brings back memories. Poor Alex’s arm was wrecked, there was no way he was surfing, but he still gave himself the benefit of the doubt and lugged his gear on the one hour walk in hope of the pain suddenly retreating.
Conditions were clean and the sky was sunny. The swell had dropped considerably, but we still had hope to get a couple. Once in the water after 2 hours of waiting for a good one, i began to realise things werent looking as good. The long breaks between sets would give your body plenty of time to feel hypothermic and we would find ourselves paddling in circles just to try stay warm. Only a few fun waves got ridden that day, but overall it gave the boys a taste of what the wave does. Rudi Schwartz got wave of the day with a super deep paddler. They experienced it at both ends of the scale, big and stormy, and small and clean. They also really appreciated how beautiful the place was and not once did they complain about the long travels, early starts and torturous walking tracks. They were troopers and earnt good respect from that.
The afternoon was spent in the sun downing brews and spinnin stories with the local lads. im sure Alex and Nic will be down again soon enough and with fingers crossed im sure there gonna score what they come down Tassie for……
No commentsOakley BWA
The Oakley Big Wave Awards are well and truly up and running, being midway through the year there’s starting to be some entries flooding in. At the moment i have an entry in the “Biggest Paddle” also “Biggest Wave”…
Log onto http://www.bigwaveawards.com.au and follow the links to vote… Im not asking you to directly vote for me, im just wanting everyone to support these competitions as it helps push the big wave surf scene in Australia and New Zealand… Vote as you please by clicking on the stars under the entry you wish to vote for, ENJOY
Photo Stu Gibson
Photo Dunk Joyce
Fun Session
Photos mike Barber and Rob Warden http://robbiewarden.tumblr.com/
I first moved over to the Mornington Peninsula when i was 21. I made some good friends and the local beachies were great fun. But there was plenty of coastline that seemed unexplored and rarely surfed. All my friends were either working as tradies or at school, meaning most days i was chasing waves solo. All i wanted to do was surf, so i got a dish pig job at the local RSL working 6pm-1am 3-4 nights a week. Due to farming property lining most of the coastline, it wasnt easy to access waves and i’d usually end up walking for km’s over headlands in search of something new to surf. Although many of these treks ended in disappointment, there was one bay i came across that seemed to have more potential than the rest.
The wave bent around a rocky noel, blocking your view from on top of the hill, which made it look like it just pushed up onto dry rock. It wasnt until you walked down to the wave and seen it front on, that you could see it was rideable. Its the type of wave which you really have to be selective. Once you take off, by the time you start to bottom turn, you have a split second to decide whether the wave will go dry or let you pull in. The good thing about the place is no one surfs it and to my knowledge, my friends and i were the first ones.
After checking it for a few weeks and sussing what conditions it might work best in, I finally convinced a couple of mates, “Palmy” and “Wardo” that we need to hit this joint. So one day when the conditions looked good, we ventured over and paddled out. It was pretty eerie, the local fisherman frequently encounter very large sharks in these parts. We struggled to find anything rideable, but ended up getting a coupla waves each and were just stoked to of ridden it. Since that day, ive surfed the place almost a dozen times over the last 6 years and only twice with another person out. These days there’s a very small posse of locals who get out there when the place lights up, but im still yet to bump into them in the lineup….
Last month things came together. I met up with my mate “Skeeta Derham” and old mate “Wardo” (who now shoots stills) and hit the trail . As we were getting changed old mate “Palmy” showed up for a look. It felt pretty surreal, the original crew plus “Skeet” and the wave looking very inviting. A few high fives got thrown around on the rocks then off the platform we jumped and into the lineup. Next hour and half was slow, but we got some pits and had heaps of fun. It’s a complete novelty wave, far from any quality and It wasnt the best ive surfed it, but it was definitely the most enjoyable session id had out there.
1 commentBLOW………….HOLE
PHOTO MITCH NIBBS
Fun pits in the sun last weekend……Victorian Secret Slab
Fun session went down with my mate “Skeet”, “Mitch” took the shots and only a few tourists lined the shoreline.. Tune in the next few days, shots and story from a session at the same place not long ago….
Indonesiaaaaahhhh well…..
All photos Dave Thomas, Bobby’s Camp “GLAND”
Land shot is of Shanza, water shot is of me, both pits at speedies section of Gland
Big south swell hits and i do what i say il never do, “follow the sheep and head somewhere super crowded”. But with calls like “looks like the best swell in over a decade” and “its gonna be 8ft freight trains”, plus its a wave that every surfer has to surf one day, how could i say NO to a nice easy trip to G-LAND.
A week after being in Bali, it was well and truly time to get out. Although it was heaps of fun chilling up at Canguu, living at the beach, hanging with good crew, eating great food and surfing fun beachies. Mix that in with a couple of nights in the heart of Kuta and losing a motorbike and G-land sounded like a great idea. My friend Shanza was flying over from oz the night before we were leaving, so i gave hime the deatails for the trip and he was on board frothing. His plan was simple. Land in Kuta 11pm, head to hotel, wake 530am, head to Gland. However it ended up going, land in kuta 11pm, check into hotel, head to strip, drink lots of arak, get to hotel at 445am, head to gland 530am hahaha.
The boat ride was an experience in itself. It was like we were on a special forces operation. 30 pro surfers (including Makua and Koa Rothman, Chalk, Dingo, Twiggy list goes on) and half as many photogs and filmers all descending on G land , all with the same thing in mind. While everyone scrambvled for the best seats for the 2 hour journey, Shanza scrambled to the toilet for the “dead man walking, i need to spew, passedoutwookie.com”.
We were staying at Bobby’s Surf Camp. Included with our accomodation was all meals and a few beers a day. The staff were great too and every afternoon was spent watching the sunset down the foreshore, sinking binnies, listening to tunes and talking riddles with some great people. The surf was pretty good, but because of the crowds, it was hard to get the good ones. You would take off on a 6-10ft outside peak known as launching pads, once it squared back onto the reef, you would pick your line through the down the line barrell section known as speedies.
By the end of the trip, even though i hadnt had what i was after in the way of memorable pits, the best times were the ones just chillin out meeting surfers from all over the world, watching the sunsets, punishing bintangs and beating Twiggy at pool hahaha (i was one shot away from pantsing him off the break).
Back to Canguu for some more chillout therapy with a fun sesh at Bingin thrown in and some great time spent with my friends Eddie and Claire who got married over there, CONGRATS guys..