Classic Middleton lineup
Self indulgent at Middleton
This wonderful autumn weather continues with daytime temperatures of 24C (75F) and at night 14C (55F), the water is around about 16C (60F). On Tuesday morning we went down to the Mid Coast only to find the surf pitiful, so we decided to drive on down south and have a look. When we arrived at Middleton, we found it a consistent 3-5 foot with slight cross offshore winds with say, one out of every twenty waves breaking with a bit of shape.
Surfing Middleton is like having the winning ticket in "Cross Lotto", as getting the wave of your life here is just as hard to achieve. But Middleton has a strange attraction for me: it’s always a challenge getting out the back, and when you get there you need all your surfing experience to pick the right wave to ride. The water here never really gets warm and it’s always a milky colour, so if there is ever anything lurking over a half a metre under the surface you’re never going to see it. Also, there’s the different smells that hang about this place, from rotting seaweed to a strong fishy odour which tends to get the imagination going.
I first surfed here in the very early sixties and the journey from your vehicle to the Point hasn’t changed one iota in all these years: it’s a challenge in itself. If you don’t die from over exertion from getting into your wetsuit then the climb down to the beach is going to test your mountain goat abilities. Once you reach the beach you’re confronted with the odd sneaky rock hiding just below a thin cover of sand waiting for an unwary foot. If you make it over this, the next major barrier you will encounter is clambering over the Point itself, where the rocks vary from smooth to sharp, and I generally find all the sharp ones these days (I think this may be due to my failing eyesight). The next challenge comes at the take-off point where you inch your way down from the sharp rocks to the slippery, smooth seaweed covered ones, where you wait for a lull in the sets.
So there you are, standing knee deep in the surge on this slippery surface, almost below sea level, waiting for a lull in the sets or until your patience runs out. When you reckon that it’s safe to go, you launch yourself just after the last wave of the set has passed. And if you’re lucky you’re away, unless you haven’t left part of your leg rope looped around a rock. This can look quite hilarious to the onlooker and very embarrassing for the professional surfer and can be a dangerous practice.
Now comes the hard part, getting out through the breaks. The swell rolls in over a number of sandbars and can start breaking about a quarter of a mile out. So you can bet your life it doesn’t matter how good your judgement was at taking off, you are always going to get pounded a few times before you reach clear water. Even when you feel you’re safe out the back it’s always good to have the ability to know how to turtle roll as every now and then an extra large set sneaks through.
The argument over wave sizing will always be around and I have my own way of judging wave size. If a surfer around 6 foot in height has reached the bottom of the wave and it has a bit of the lip of the wave above him I regard that as a six foot wave. So on Tuesday it, was 3-5 foot with a few larger sets sneaking through. I often wonder, if this was a reef break, how much bigger would it be, as the face of the wave before you pick it up has quite a long slope. I managed to get a couple of reasonable rides, but nothing that I would call memorable; it was a good workout to keep the fitness up.
On Friday, conditions were the best I’ve seen here for a long time, the swell was about the same size, and the offshore breeze was almost non-existent. The word must have gotten around about the quality of the surf, as there were decidedly more guys out. I don’t know how it works with me, but when conditions are good anywhere I manage to get a good ride almost as soon as I get out the back, and Friday was no exception. The first wave I caught was an absolute screamer, which walled up very nicely with a few tight sections that tested my capabilities, and I’m pleased to say that my reaction time was adequate, if not spot on. The length of the ride was about 150 metres and well past the Point into the shorebreak, and in some ways it was almost equal to any ride I’ve had at Crescents. When I finished the ride I felt so exhilarated that I almost raised my arms in triumph but stopped myself as I thought that would be a little self-indulgent.
Isn’t it always the same that when you manage to pick up a decent ride first up, you rush out the back again as if the good waves are going to dry up soon and you’re going to miss your share. There are not too many breaks around this country that I haven’t ridden over the years; a lot of them have been reef breaks that have a regular pattern. And I reckon that sometimes a person can get bored with regular patterns and that’s why places like Middleton can be appealing if not challenging and improve your surfing and your appreciation for the sea.
The decision to come out of the water is usually governed by what sort of session you’ve had. I generally try to come out when I’m either buggered or had a terrific one, or just before I may have completely embarrassed myself. So on Friday when I finished my ripper session I came out of the water, and strutted up the beach like I owned it only to get to the car and have my ego deflated by my girlfriend saying ‘is that all you can do on a board?’
So this little story should really be titled "self indulgent person deflated at Middleton"
A Glassy Wednesday
We went down to Middleton yesterday even though the surf report said it was only two foot (I always add an extra 2-3 foot to that) to find it about 3-6 foot and as glassy as hell. Normally I would have been jumping out my skin to get out there but due to a recent illness I was concerned about my lack of fitness. I haven’t had a wave for a few weeks and was still feeling a little bit wobbly. The girl was as keen as mustard to get out, so for the first time ever she went out by herself. The tide was an extremely high one, so it was going to be very tricky launching from the Point as every now and then a big set would come through and was almost washing over it. I watched her as she made her way to the Point and I was hoping that she remembered all I had taught her about watching the sea and waiting for the lull in the sets.
She stood there for about ten minutes on that slippery surface with the surge washing around her knees, which almost threatened to wash her off the Point. She slipped once and almost lost it and then in the same minute she was in the water on the board and paddling on her way out the back. I sat there watching her and the horizon, hoping that some big sneakers wouldn’t be coming through to spoil her good efforts so far and there wasn’t. She made it out the back with very little effort and I was really pleased as punch for her.
I couldn’t stand it any longer and in less than five minutes I was standing on the Point myself, board in hand, waiting for a lull. As I waited I saw my girl paddling for a nice looking; medium sized wave which she caught. And to my delight I watched her as she stood up and to my surprise she didn’t fall off the back like she usually does, she rode the sucker past me! I thought to myself, "she’s come a long way from the girl who was crying on the beach at Torquay a few months ago because she couldn’t surf properly". Finally I launched myself and made it out the back without even getting my hair wet, which is pretty rare at this place.
Even though it’s winter here the water temperature wasn’t too bad, about 14C (58F), air temperature about 17C (64F) with no wind at all and six other guys out. The water was the same milky turquoise colour it always is and as usual there is no chance you’re ever going to see any nasties sneaking up on you. I don’t suppose any one of us who was out there was feeling really comfortable in light of the fact that last weekend a sailboarder was taken by a big white at Hardwicke Bay on Yorke Peninsula.
I got a few good rides, even a couple of rippers, and one in particular took me almost into the beach. So instead of paddling out through the breaks I decided to go off the Point again. My girl must have been looking for me out the back and when she couldn’t see me she decided to come in. When I got out the back I could see her in the shallows so I decided to take to next wave in to see if she was all right. When I finally caught up with her on the beach, I asked her if she was ok. She said she was so I started making my way out to the Point again with her behind me. The tide was a bit higher now and a really large set was coming through and then I did something really stupid. I took my eyes off the sea for a second while holding my board parallel to the surf and that’s when it hit me. A wall of whitewater from one of the waves of this large set hit me and slammed me and my board onto the rocks. At first I thought my leg and ribs were broken but I didn’t have the time to worry about that, I had to get to my feet again in case there was another sneaker wave following the one that hit me. I managed to stand up and to my surprise I quickly figured out all my bones were in their right places if not a little bit sore and numb from the hammering they had taken.
So I thought BUGGER IT! I’m going out again! I stood there for a few seconds looking to see if my girl was ok and this time watching the surf, as I wasn’t going to be caught again with my lack of concentration. As the initial shock of this episode started to wear off along with the pain, I felt numbness in my left foot. Taking a quick look I could see that I had done some damage there as blood was running freely from the inside of my ankle. So I made the obvious decision not to go off the point but hobbled back over the rocks and beach and back to the car, humbled once again by Middleton.
So now I’m sitting here at 3:00am in the morning watching the "Foxtel" weather report and from what I’m seeing it looks like I’ll be out there again to-day
Surf, Tea and Sympathy
Yesterday morning I was sitting here at my computer doing a bit of work with the "Foxtel" surf report on in the background and every now and then I’d look up and check out what the winds were doing. At about 3:30am I took the dogs for their usual walk down to my local non surf beach. There was a slight offshore breeze coming from the northeast and as I walked to the waters edge and I noticed there wasn’t very much of a swell about (if there is any size swell here, that means it’s bigger down the coast). But somehow I had a feeling that when the sun came up I’d be going for a wave down the South Coast.
At about 7:10am I looked at the surf report, it said Mid Coast, dead flat give it a miss. South Coast 5 foot, light offshore wind, with a five out ten of rating. In a flash the boards were on the car and we were on our way down south. All the way down there I had a very strong feeling that today the surf was going to be something special. As we drove down the last stretch of road it wasn’t hard to notice that Middleton was big and as when we pulled up we saw a large set marching in with the first wave peaking and breaking perfectly left and right. I’m not going to argue about wave size but the surf out there in my humble opinion was a lot bigger that 5 foot, I would say 7.
There were about twenty guys out there with most of them in the bay and a handful straight out from the Point, all of them a long way out. I got out of the car, took a good long look and quickly realised that the only way out was through the bay with the rip. As we watched, a guy was heading for the Point and I said to my girl ‘watch this!’ This guy must have been crazy as some of the waves were washing over the Point. Anyway he was lucky enough to launch himself, but what he couldn’t see was a big set was just about to hit him. Ten minutes later he was back on the beach and making his way to the bay for the easy way out.
My girl mentioned that she wasn’t going out and if she had a thought she might, I wouldn’t let her, this surf wasn’t for novices. Eventually I got my board and myself ready and started walking down towards the bay that is about a 200-metre walk from where the car was parked. As I walked past the other cars, I noticed that a lot of them still had their boards on and most of the occupants would remain spectators today. When I reached the spot where the rip goes out I was joined by a guy on a shortboard who proceeded to do a few muscle stretches (something I should have done). After the last wave of a big set hit the beach he took off with me right behind him and with the aid of the rip we were both in clear water in less than five minutes.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been this far out, and looking back towards shore it was a little bit difficult to see where all the rocks were. Most of the guys who had been in the bay had moved over to the left hander on the other side of the Point which was a further 300 metre paddle. As I was paddling, an extra large set came through so I pointed my board out to sea in an attempt to get out past it. The third wave of the set was the biggest and as I approached it started to feather on top, then it broke. As it broke I was just going up the face of it and very quickly did a turtle roll and as the whitewater passed I swung back on my board and continued paddling horizontally towards the point. A few more minutes passed and I was getting closer to the desired position when another large set approached. I thought to myself ‘I’ll try and pick up the last one of these and see what they’re like’. As it got closer I started thrusting my arms deeper into the water to get some speed going because it was going to be hard catching one of these with that offshore wind blowing so strong. The next thing I knew was that it was peaking and I was on it and as I looked quickly left and right I made the decision to go left as it was starting to break from my right. I started to make the move to get to my feet as I was sliding down a now sharp incline when I felt a very acute pain in the back of my upper left leg as if someone had shot me. I couldn’t get up to my feet and in the next few seconds I was being rushed into shore caught in the wall of white water, heading straight towards the Point and the rocks.
Somehow I managed to get out of that wave just a few metres short of the rocks but I was still in a lot of danger because there would be more waves coming shortly, threatening to push me onto the Point. I then paddled diagonally to my left to put a bit of distance between myself and the rocks and closer to any waves that might be coming. When I was in a reasonably safe position I thought for one stupid moment I’d paddle out the back again and continue my session. Then I suppose to my good luck another big set was coming through, making my mind up for me. So I turned my board around and caught the first wave that carried me to the beach. My girl was waiting for me as I tried to stand, that was when I realised that there was something wrong with my leg and it wasn’t just a simple cramp. My girl carried my board back up to the car while I hobbled along behind on one leg with mixed emotions. My worst fears were realised later when I went and saw my Doc, a torn hamstring, which means I won’t be out in the surf for a few days.
With the boards back on the car and leaving Middleton I had feelings of anger, frustration and loss. I was angry with myself for not doing a few stretches before I went out. Frustration, that a part of my body had let me down. And loss, that I had missed out on riding what has become my favourite spot at its best. What a week it’s been, last Tuesday I chipped a bone in my left ankle after being hit by a wave trying to launch from Middleton Point and now this. In between I’ve had a few good days in the surf but now for the next few days it looks like tea and sympathy. I don’t know if I can handle that!
Wednesday, 25 August 1999 13:32
Last Saturday at Middleton I had just left the water, climbed the steps and was walking to the boot of the car when I felt a heavy pain in my chest. I somehow managed to get out of my wetsuit and while doing so the girl had also reached the car. I said to her, "I think you better get me to a doctor or better still a hospital". Twenty minutes or so later I was receiving treatment for a serious heart attack. My girl said at one stage the situation got critical as I no longer registered on the graph. I then was transported by helicopter to the Flinders Hospital in Adelaide. I was given all the appropriate tests and so it looks like I'm going to have to take it easy for a while which is doing nothing for my current disposition.
Tuesday, 7 September 1999 17:45
Well it's been two and a half weeks since the attack and today my girl wanted to go for a wave albeit by herself. The conditions were perfect with no wind and the swell was 3-4 foot and glassy although I would have to say I have seen it breaking with a better shape to it. Even so it was a beautiful day with an air temperature of 19C (65F) and just to be out for paddling practice would have been worth it. As we pulled up and looked we could see within eyesight a dozen people out, scattered up and down the coast, all looking for the most consistent breaking pattern. My first impression was, "Yeah! I wouldn't mind going out there but that is totally out of the question as I still have a couple of weeks before I'd be trying anything like that". And even while I was thinking about it the girl was taking her board off the car and out of its cover and starting to get into her wetsuit. She asked my advice where would be the best place to position herself and I told her it didn't really matter as it was sort of peaking everywhere. So for the first time ever I watched her walk down the steps with her board under her arm to the beach by herself. Under normal circumstances this would not have concerned me but this time it was different, I felt detached from the whole scene and my only concern was that she'd be all right by herself.
I watched as she attached her leg rope and walked out into the surf. She stood there for about five minutes waiting for the current big set to pass and then launched herself. She seems to have listened to what I'd told her and stayed close to the point and in less than a few minutes she was sitting out the back. I kept a close eye on her with a pair of binoculars until I felt the urgent need to relieve my bladder, which meant climbing down some crude steps that definitely weren't designed for that purpose. As I stood on the precipice looking down toward the toilet block I thought to myself, "God! Those steps have gotten steeper since the last time and when I get down there how the hell am I going able to get back up? What I mean is that sure! I'm allowed to climb some stairs but these are ridiculous and were designed for mountain goats and not human beings that are slightly disabled". Somehow I made it down there, did my business and started my treck back to the top again with some reservations.
When I reached the top of the cliff again I thought to myself, Wwell that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and maybe my convalescence is much further advanced than I thought". This whole story may sound a bit ridiculous in light of the fact that less than three weeks ago I was out in the surf, risking my life in a more extreme environment. I walked back to the car checking out the surf with the same indifference. I got back in the car and turned the radio on, picked up the binoculars and resumed my observing of my girl out there, wondering if she was enjoying her endeavours and hoping that she would come in soon so we could get the hell out of this place.
I wonder will it ever be the same for me again, will I ever get back the passion I had for going for a wave that I had before the attack? Or will I remain a victim who occasionally returns to the scene of the crime?
Tuesday, 21 September 1999 2:22
It is one month to the day since I had the attack and the agenda today was that at 2:00 PM I had to go back to the hospital for the Cardiac Rehabilitation Program. Afterwards I had an appointment at 4:30 PM with the cardiologist for my ECG test which would determine if I would ever go out into the surf again. I wasn't nervous at all, as this was the day I had been looking forward to. I only wished that these two events had occurred a bit sooner because I don't have much patience with things like this.
From the Rehab Program I left, now joined by my girlfriend to keep my appointment with my cardiologist and the dreaded but necessary ECG test. One thing I dislike more than anything else is waiting around for any doctor, and it was an hour before we eventually saw him. After being shown into the torture chamber a young nurse started the test by attaching numerous electronic wiring to my upper torso that soon I started to look like the back of my computer. Eventually the doctor came in with an almost evil smirk on his face and before I knew it he had me started on his walking treadmill. After a minute or two the pace was increased and I thought "God! This is too hard, I'm going to toss this in!" But a voice inside my head argued back "if you don't finish this then that's the end of your surfing days!" So I persisted and then the nurse said that in ten seconds the speed would be increased. Oh bloody great! For a second or two I thought I was going to fall flat on my face as I was having trouble keeping up with the pace. I felt no pain in my chest at all but the pain in my calves was excruciating and my legs were starting to feel a bit wobbly when all of a sudden it was over. I felt a bit dizzy as I staggered over to a bench type bed were I sat down and the nurse started taking all the wiring off me and offered me a drink which I declined. All I wanted was a towel and the results of the test and when I had found out that I had passed I was over the moon.
The results of the test were terrific and he gave me the ok to go back to what I wanted to do - surfing! So it looks like I'll be checking the weather and surf reports overnight and I just hope there's a wave going tomorrow!
Thursday, 23 September 1999 18:53
Not that I'm counting the days but it's been four weeks and two days since the attack and the first night that I've paid any attention to the Foxtel weather report in all that time. And at 3:00 this morning I did what I used to do and took my dogs for their usual walk down to our local beach. When we got about half way down the hill I noticed the sound of wave breaking and thought to myself, "I reckon there might be a wave down the south coast worthwhile checking out later when the sun comes up". So at about 7.30 we were on our way down south and about 45 minutes later we were wetsuited up and walking on our way to the point at Middleton.
The Point
The sky was sort of hazy with a slight cross-offshore wind blowing with a half reasonable 3-4 foot wave pushing through. On another occasion I personally would have given surfing a miss today but I needed the exercise, also I needed to go out there again for the sake of my sanity and rehabilitation. It's not that I had any worries while I was out there but the coming in was going to be the real challenge to my sad lack of confidence. The reason being it was when I had just finished my last session here and climbed the stairs, got to the car was when the heart attack happened. Finally we reached the end of the point and I was taking every precaution that when I launched myself I'd be able to get out the back with the least amount of strife. I checked my leg rope while watching the surf and then gradually made my way down and over the slippery seaweed covered rocks to the final launching spot.
I waited until the last wave of a set and then made the decision to jump with my board beneath me on top of the passing wave. For a half a second I thought to myself "well I'm away now, no going back". Then all of a sudden I came to a sudden jerking stop! I quickly turned my head and looked back and saw that part of my leg rope was still hooked around a rock on the point. Talk about Déjà vu, this same thing happened to me only six months before, I couldn't believe it. How could I be so bloody stupid again especially on this particular day and after how very cautious I thought I had been? Anyway I finally got untangled from the rock and away from the point with no great drama, with only a bruised big toe and a little dented pride. If I thought my pride had already taken enough of a beating, well on the first wave I caught I fell flat on my puss. It wouldn't have been that bad but what made it worse was the cackling of my girlfriend who had witnessed it. After paddling around for about another half an hour, trying for this wave and that with no great effort and very little success I decided that the next wave I caught would be my ride in.
I did eventually catch a reasonable one that had a little bit of shape to it but instead of my usual performance I decided to angle left back into the small beach alongside the point. I stood on the beach for a few moments and considered the whole situation and then looked up to where the car was and thought to myself, 'Well this is almost the end of the test and when I reach the car this will be a milestone in my rehabilitation and my comeback as a surfer'. I climbed the stairs and reached the car just as another guy was heading out and I looked at him and said, "It's not as good as it looks out there!" And I felt like a real surfer again.
It's 10:42:58 Wednesday, September 29, 1999 and the sun is shining through the lounge room windows, the overnight storm has cleared the air of all the germs except the ones that I cough and splutter around with this cold I've been lucky enough to catch. It's strange how the weather changes in this state as we have four distinct seasons, for example last week I was sitting here with the fire going freezing my butt off. Now this week everyone's walking past my window in T-shirts and shorts on their way down to the beach. I'm sure there's a wave breaking somewhere on a nearby coastline and all I know is that I'm not on it, not that I could do any justice to it at the moment.
This old body of mine has taken a fair hammering so far this year and I'm not sure that it's going to make the distance. What with a cracked bone in my foot in February, followed by a very painful fall on the point of my knee at Crescent Head where I nearly passed out. Then in June I got slammed into the rocks on the point at Middleton and cracked a bone in my ankle followed in July by a torn hamstring on one of the best surf days there in recent history, plus the absolute beaut struck me in August. Now I've got this smart arsed kid or so called friend of mine in California calling me names like "Weenie" and "Big Baby" just because he thinks I can't handle this little cold of mine. Well let me tell you I'm no stranger to pain and in my fifty-odd years I've had plenty and I can handle it. I've survived a number of serious car accidents plus a couple of scary wipeouts. The first memorable one was at Bells beach at the age of sixteen and got caught inside when it was breaking 15 foot plus and another on a gutsy lefthander at Southport which really caught me by surprise, and that one was the scariest of all. Worse than any wipeout I survived Pam, Vivienne and Sandy, and that took some doing.
Now comes the biggest survival test of my life that will happen at 6:00 pm on Saturday the 2nd of October as that is the day Sibylle and I get married.
Tuesday, 7 December 1999
There was never any doubt in my mind that there wasn’t going to be a rideable wave today, not after what we saw yesterday. Middleton on late Monday was breaking way out but with the onshore winds it was hardly inviting. So with a forecast of 37C for today it was only a matter of formality driving the seventy-odd kilometres down there this morning. Driving down that last bit of road before the point we could see that it was 3-4 foot with a slight cross-offshore wind with the tide about mid to high which, in my humble opinion are almost perfect conditions. There was no standing around contemplating whether or not to go out this morning, as there was a sea breeze forecast, so not a minute was wasted in getting out.
The girl and I both launched off from the point at the same time but I could see that she had made a mistake and was paddling out away from the point when the easiest way out is to paddle as close as possible to it and even slightly in front of it. So when I reached clear water I looked back to see her still struggling behind me and like before I thought she might give up and turn around and go back in. To my delight a little while later I saw her sitting about 50 metres away and over to my right. I considered this achievement by her a major milestone in her learning how to surf.
My first two waves were absolute belters with the initial one being my wave of the day and a good 75 metre ride in length at that. As soon as I picked it up I knew I was in for something special as it began to form nicely right from the start. After the takeoff and bottom turn I climbed and kissed the lip with the bottom of my board then dropped down beneath it just as it started to pitch. I did this a couple of times and then I noticed a section in front was really starting to wall up. With split second thinking I took the gamble and walked to the nose to gain extra speed to get through the section and to my good luck it was well worth it. The next thing I knew I was completely covered up as it broke over me and the next minute I blasted out onto the shoulder just as the shorebreak was starting to form. I dropped down again and just before the wave closed out I zipped up the face and over the back of the wave catching my board just before it hit the water. If I thought that ride was more than reasonable then so did the young grom who had witnessed half of it while he was paddling out. I can't remember his exact words but they sort of went like this... 'Hey man! That was awesome...you were right inside!’ What I do remember is the look on his face when his eyes met mine and really nothing more needed to be said.
It seemed like it was a good day for everyone as the girl managed to get two of the best rides of her short surfing life as well and I was fortunate enough to see them. The only reason she went in a bit early was that she didn't want to spoil such a good session by perhaps one bad ride. So she went in and picked up the camera to get some shots of me but unfortunately for some unknown reason the pics she took never came out. It's a good thing we have our memories!
Speaking of memories, I had one terrific wipeout today that I can share and laugh about and that happened in the shorebreak towards the end of my session. I picked up a wave similar to my first ride and was trying to repeat the same performance. The wave was breaking very nicely and I was doing my dropping and climbing stunt, I figured I had one more climb to do and then a drop then over the back of the wave I'd go. This time the wave pitched a fraction early as I was mid-way through my final climb and the last thing I remember is seeing my board being swallowed in that green hollow tunnel as I was falling in the opposite direction. The power in that particular shorebreak was exceptional as at first I thought my leash had snapped, as I couldn't feel it anymore. And I had gotten dragged under the water for quite a few metres until eventually the wave gave up and I came up to the surface and fortunately for me everything was intact. If it's one thing I don't like about Middleton and never have is the long swim one has to do if you happen to lose your board.
If there was one down side to the whole session it happened when I finally came out of the water and clumsily stubbed my big toe on a rock. It sort of makes me wonder if someone's watching and reminding me of just what I am...just another average surfer.
It looks like Tuesdays are becoming lucky days here for surfing, as once again it was a lazy 4-6 foot with slight offshores bordering on glassy. The forecast for today was for 33C air and 18C water temperature with slight North Easterly winds. We got a reasonably early start this morning and upon arriving at Middleton we found that the tide was at half-mast and the sets breaking way, way out with about 6 guys out. So much so, that despite my advice on the girl and I paddling out through the bay which generally is a dry hair paddle she declined. I took a gamble on my fitness and went off the point only to find myself confronted with a series of large sets, one after the other. After a 10 minute battering through the breaks I finally made it out to clear water, not knowing that the girl who was sitting on the point watching, was mentally willing me out there.
A lot of the waves coming through had plenty of water in them and it was deceptive just which one to go for, also the peaks seemed to be shifting fairly regularly. The first wave I catch of any new session is always special for me, as I love that sensation of dropping down the face, the hiss of the board and the smell of the ocean in my nostrils. All my senses seem to be alert and I'm alive again, I'm certain that I'm not the only surfer who experiences these feelings.
I managed to get a few good rides and after awhile I was joined by a new found friend, Chris Bowen who happens to be the secretary for the "Maladjusted Longboarders Club" that I've been invited to join. It was good for a change to have a mate to talk to while sitting out there waiting for the larger sets to come through. So for the next half hour or so we virtually had it to ourselves until some of the guys who may have been watching realised that it must be better out there than what it looked like from the shore. One wave I went for, there was another guy on my right and I guess he thought I wouldn't get it, but I did. To his surprise I was right up his hammer pushing him, and if he wasn't going to do the wave justice then I certainly was. So I pushed his capabilities right up to the point that eventually he decided to pull out of the wave realising that dropping in on someone like myself wasn't always a good idea. Chris, who had seen all this happening while he was paddling back out said the guy had a real shocked look on his face when he realised I was there. I'm pleased to report for once that nothing horrendous happened during this three-hour session. No horrific wipeouts or injuries were sustained.
The only thing wrong with the day was coming in through the huge pile up of stinking seaweed that was choking up the shoreline. Looking at the weather map now it looks like we're going to have a similar day tomorrow, weatherwise. I only hope that the swell doesn't drop in size.
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Photographs by Sibylle Taylor
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