Local Knowledge

I had these pics sent to recently of this weeks big blow that hit the East Coast of Australia…..it was pumping down here in Jervis Bay as well, but I was unfortunately out of the water with one killer virus/bug that had me laid up fairly well….thanks to Charlie Straumietis for the words and pictures below



The swell was up to its tricks again Thursday morning.
The south end of the 'Bra was the only spot that looked likely - no-one surfing anywhere else  though I didn't check Bondi. Bronte still had a bit of size but no takers. Lurline not quite big enough and tide issues.
It must have frustrated the hell out of all those who were waiting to snaffle up the left overs of the 'Big Blow'.
Just before noon it was cleaning up nicely at the south end of Maroubra and oddly enough the lone surfer picking off the set waves was a local kneelo (Pete MaClure) who used his local knowledge to his advantage.
Pete picked off three nice set waves and I guess it may have been a case of "it's off to work I go". Don't know where the 'regulars' were.
While I was at La Perouse checking Ours earlier in the morning I spotted the leftovers of a launch at Yarra Bay that had come off second best during the storm. The hull had been ripped clean off and busted into pieces. (Last 2 pics)

Cheers

Charlie 

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Postcard from Western Australia

“Da Bolt” goes West - May 2012
Gidday Adam
Well back from another “crazy” trip to the wild west of OZ…this time the weather was slightly against me in that it was pouring with rain for the first two days and onshore at 40 knots…totally unsurfable down south. So we checked out where the bushfire had been in Cow Bay and left.



Next stop was Denmark and we had a look at Ocean Beach which was just
surfable but not on a mat

.

We then caught up with Robin Thompson (Colin or ramsnake) to his mates for a good chat and a coffee. It was a shame we could have not stayed longer and waited until the swell dropped and cleaned up so I could have had a ride on his fatboy…..Gf4 mat.
 


Next stop was Albany and the onshore wind persisted also I did not know the area well and the local fishing supply shop owner who was an ex surfer gave me directions to the windmills just north of Albany which is supposed to be the spot but not while we were there so we contented ourselves with
a bit of fishing



Back to Cottesloe in Perth and wow they are into uncrowded big wave riding in that place, it was such treacherous conditions Pedro would not let me go out, saying “think of your wife and mistress”



So it was with great regret I headed off to sunny Broome..I had asked my mates wife if there was any surf in Broome…”Nah nuffin to ride here” so I left the mat and board in Perth…So of course there were waves not big but FUN..so I hired a board from the local van on the beach and had a ball.



You can hire most things at this beach van and the “stinger “ first aid van is next to the water just in case, they had not had an Irukandji sting for a month, good news when you are swimming in the raw. Lotsa backpackers from all over the world here and the coffee shops are serviced by Irish lassies.
Met up with Mad Dave and went fishing around the back of Broome for some nice Mangrove Jacks. While trying to spot the Crocs.



These fish fight hard and taste even better pan fried in breadcrumbs and sesame seeds, washed down with a cold fake beer. We were the only ones out this day it was 34 degrees and the fish cooperated nicely. Shame about Dave dropping the electric winch control in the water at the boat ramp causing it to fuse out. Lucky we had a manual winch as the 8 meter tide was coming in and his wife's car was progressively going under…hey it was only an $80,000 range rover.
My last day was spent surfing a cute little left and right at Cable beach.



Clean 26 degree water, offshore and no stingers or crowds, the waves do not have a lot of power but would definitely suit a mat…as an added bonus just up the beach is a nudist section and it had a nice peak with great scenery.
One thing I did discover is that pigs do fly



The local “indigenous” people thought I was stoned when I pointed out the flying pink pigs to the Jehovah witnesses standing by as they told me to F**K off yak drug addict…no sense of humour some people maybe they need to lighten up or something…
Off to Hawaii next November and that should be fun on a red back mat



SEEYA NEXT TIME.

ECCA

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"SEA CREATURES.mov"

A few frame grabs and video from the other day, all shot with the GoPro Hero2

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Surfing my paipo the other day