Latest Surfs...

[Big H]

Small today...waist to head high....went to Balangan; never went there on a high tide when it was as small as it was and was surprised to find that for some reason (either size, tide, swell direction or a mix of all) the sections which are unmakeable much of the time were linking up....anyway, winds were side shore so waves were lumpy and choppy, but it was still a really fun sesh....not crowded at all, probably due to the chop, I rode a mini mal and was a good choice for the crumbly relatively weak, slow moving fat waves....got the longest rides I have ever had at that break today...hard to estimate how far but I'd guess around 150m....just kept going and going.....not dynamic, and not fast, but just rolled along.........good times!

[Big H]

Forgot...wanted to mention I used reef boots today....was high tide and could have gotten away without them, but seems that I ALWAYS cut my feet when I surf there so booties today and no cuts though it took a couple of waves to get used to the feeling (or lack thereof)....really don't like wearing them but they are comfortable enough, fit well, strap on tight and..........no cuts!

[drowningbitbybit]

Superb surf today - best there's been in months. Solid head-high+ waves, clean as, offshore wind

First waves of consequence I've seen in a while, but I wasn't too bad. Thought I'd be doing the Bambi-On-Ice-Skates session, but was straight on it.

Also, out of a fairly fierce crowd, I appeared to be the only one - the only one - who'd noticed that the big sets were reforming on the inside to give a nice, albeit smaller, left. I had the left set waves to myself half a dozen times

[Big H]

Longboard today....had some really long rides and nice lines....have been working on holding a high line then dropping down using footwork (crap at cross stepping but slowly coming along combined with shuffles) to drop down then come back up into the power of the wave.....every time out gets a little better and my timing of when to walk forward, how far and when to come back is getting better.....used bits of black duct tape squares on the top edge of the rail to mark the fattest part of the board and where the board's nose concave/nose foil starts (the big oval painted on the bottom of the nose is the giveaway, and if you look at the side profile of the board, that is where it starts to thin noticeably) as I bleed speed if my front foot goes past the middle fat part when moving back and when I get too much on the nose.....worked out and was blazing though to be fair I wasn't really looking too much at the tape; watching what was going on in front of me was way too engaging and I seemed to start to do this kind of rubbing thing with the board to get more speed....not really pumping but up in the top third of the wave I'd move the nose up to the peak then rub it down the face a little but keep the line up in the top third.....was really smoking down the line.....and I wore booties again to get used to them.....top it all off I'm making myself finish with a kick out move that I'd not been doing (W-chan's words that good riders have their boards under control at all times gave me pause since I was guilty of either being flushed off or jumping off in heavy whitewater more often than not as my way to end a ride....made a vow to improve that area)...............good times!

[drowningbitbybit]

Bigger today - overhead and a half, maybe double overhead on the sets - but woolier and less well organised compared to yesterday. Big crowd too.

The session went like this -
Tricky paddle out... big set and a snapped leash... recover board... catch double-overhead monster to ride to shore ... back to car, get new leash... tricky paddle out #2... big set and a wipeout so bad that someone paddles over to ask if I'm okay (I was fine)... go home after a lot of paddling and not much surfing!

A tricky session - the number of people leaving the car park at 7am suggests that most people sessions were the same. Should be a bit cleaner for the weekend

[Big H]

Better day today....sets were more filled out with 3-4 good waves a set, 1-2 good ones on the mid-setters.....waves were bigger as well, shoulder to just overhead on the bigger sets, and the waves had a better shape than yesterday in spite of the light on shores....looked like the bigger waves kept a lot of the beginners out of the water and it was less crowded and the crowd that was there was active and actively in position rather than parking the bus in the pits or taking waves and falling then splaying themselves all over the takeoff area while they wait for the set to finish and their board is flapping around like a marlin on the line...but I digress....

Best wave I've ever had today.....really long, connected all the way in, caught two floaters, worked the wave for speed, took the foam from the floater out into the flats then quick dip bottom turn to get around the section and back in the pocket.....never done that before but it just seemed to flow....once in the pocket worked up speed again with a fair top and bottom turn then some pumps and floater again.....it was one of the biggest waves that I saw while out there, part of the reason I was able to connect it all the way in....best part was that was my first wave.....the rest of the sesh the rest of the lineup gave me space and when I went for waves they would back off and let me take them uncontested......sweet sesh and good times!

[oldmansurfer]

My usual 2 day weekend of 30 minutes a day was on small shorebreak and I chose to use my 7'6" board. Yesterday the beach was lined up with fishing poles so I went down to the rivermouth where there were none. It was small, breaking all over and bowling up so it was a little difficult to lineup as the takeoff zone was very small, you had to be at the peak or if you caught the wave over from the peak, the fun part was mostly over. I forgot to put my helmet cam on my head and left it in my car so I didn't get any videos. Today was better I surfed the area I usually surf in the middle of the beach. It was shoulder high but fun waves with a bit if a wall to ride so managed a few foam climbs and cutbacks. I have video but haven't downloaded it yet. I guess because I only surf 30 minutes it hampers my learning rate a bit. Today it took me about 10 minutes to figure out which waves to catch and some days I still haven't figured it out by thirty minutes. Thought maybe I may have seen a shark. Have to go see if it's in the videos somewhere.

[Big H]

New break today....was really good and not crowded like other breaks around here....(sorry, that's as much as I'm giving away....I'll name the spots where the "secret" is out, but this gem I'm keeping for me).....going to start to hit this spot regularly as there were multiple peaks, rights and lefts and different wave shapes all roughly in the same spot....

It was fun today; waves bigger than I've been on the last week or so....had a choice but opted for the longboard since I've been in that vein lately....tried to buy a knee leash on the way to the spot but the shop was sold out....did get some stepping in, slowly but surely getting better at choosing when to go forward or back....managed a clumsy two steps and a squat to a front leg extended cheater five that managed to come up about 6in short of actually hanging 5......a day late and a dollar short, but I did recover and back pedal, make a cutback and then kick out under control which is miles better than how I used to walk forward until I fell off.......definite one way street not so long ago.....

Anyhow, conditions similar I'll break out the shortboard tomorrow...either way it's all..........good times!

[IanCaio]

Not really the latest surf, just an update on whatever is going on lately (we could have a random talk topic for those ).

I've been away for a while, because of technical difficulties with my computer. In those last months I was making some tests for a job in the docks, kind of my first step into moving to the coast, and so far it looks like I'm going to be called. I'll know the final results in the 22th, and most likely will be called to work in January (at least I hope so, I'm planning myself for January).
The job is about mooring (is that the word?) and the payment is not the highest (specially for someone who is about to graduate in enginner), but it might be enough to keep myself there and maybe save some money for a land. The city I'm going to is also not my final goal, It has a big city feeling, if you get what I mean, and the beachs aren't the best. It's a start though, a first step and an opportunity to be able to surf more often and be closer to where I want to be.

It was one of those crazy decisions, but for some reason I think I'm going in the right direction. I might be giving up some more valued career, but I think I'll be getting something else in return. While I'm there I plan to save some money for a land in the city I really aim to live in, which is a place I know for longer, where I have some family and where the surf is good and diverse.

Guess I just wanted to share it here, you guys have been friendly and helpful, and somehow part of how I ended up diving towards this dream

[dtc]

Guess I just wanted to share it here, you guys have been friendly and helpful, and somehow part of how I ended up diving towards this dream

Sounds like a plan! Hope it works out.

[312T4]

Hi guys I have to share the stoke with you!
I'm still high.

Saturday we went to Noosa. Tried TT first but too crowded. I ended up catching small stuff in front of the beach. 5m rides. A lot of them a still fun.
After some times we moved back to national park which was left in the hands of beginners
as it looked flat. But actually every ten minutes a 3/4ft set came by.
We got so many fun waves! oh god..
When Noosa works, even the small ones are such good shaped waves!
So we were meant to give up but we ended up staying for another 2 good hours..

Then we got a day off to surf on monday, and as Noosa would have been even smaller we went to currumbin.
Oh guys..
Away from the point, we were a bunch of longboarders surfing this sets of head/overhead high waves!!
It was the first time I got the chance to consistently catch big (for me) waves
and surf them!
So many!
Cristal clear water, sun up, perfect, big waves, no crowd...
I still have a smile in my face!

Then yes, thinking about it in bed, I realized I wasn't surfing them as one could have.
I didn't use the size and the speed and the wall of water available to do great things.
probably there was room to do amazing stuff, but I'm not at that level yet. And my mate and
the others seemed to be all on the same page, kind of.

Anyway.
Beautiful stuff. So happy.
SOOO HAPPY!

[Tudeo]

Getting stoked is the most amazing 'stuff' of them all.

[drowningbitbybit]

on monday, and as Noosa would have been even smaller we went to currumbin.
Away from the point, we were a bunch of longboarders surfing this sets of head/overhead high waves!!
It was the first time I got the chance to consistently catch big (for me) waves and surf them! So many!
Cristal clear water, sun up, perfect, big waves, no crowd...

I surfed just there on Monday as well
Smaller than the previous few days, but a nice shape, and less of a crowd than there had been (although still a zoo at the point).
Lovely conditions - I got a couple but a weekend of eating, drinking and no surfing meant I wasn't on tip-top form

[dtc]

Hi guys I have to share the stoke with you!
I'm still high. :

Great post

I feel sorry for our English surfers that they don't get this type of opportunity. Almost sorry.

[drowningbitbybit]

I feel sorry for our English surfers

That's why we move.

[312T4]

Hi guys,
I'm not sure how to upload a pic here, but this is my face after yet another ride!
(My mate is on the left, and if you wonder: I'm wearing long sleeves and gloves because I was/am sun-burned by the session in Noosa)

[312T4]

@drowingbitbybit
yes, we waited till monday to avoid big waves.. but they were still big for me! such a good fun!
Hey, next time if you see me (white longboard, black hat, stupid smile) come say hi!

[drowningbitbybit]

@drowingbitbybit
yes, we waited till monday to avoid big waves.. but they were still big for me! such a good fun!
Hey, next time if you see me (white longboard, black hat, stupid smile) come say hi!

Will do - the first GC SurfingWaves meet-up

[drowningbitbybit]

Sunday evening... time for my usual end-of-the-weekend mellow sunset session... for which I inexplicably - inexplicably! - decided to go to Snapper.
Now, the waves weren't all that great - just smallish low-period stuff - but I was still sharing them with several hundred of my closest world-class-talented friends.

It wasn't that mellow a session

[oldmansurfer]

My break has been relatively crowded recently (since usually I am alone).Yesterday I surfed with my friend who is older than me (longboarder) and one other guy (shortboard). Today there was a woman longboarder out. She was interesting and we talked a bit. Both days about shoulder high waves but nice conditions. This morning there was no wind. Fun waves both days. After a few times with the helmet and gopro it seems like the gopro from the helmet cam doesn't look where I look all the time. My head stays in the middle and my body moves around it during most turns but my eyes are looking to the side. The helmet hinders my head movement a bit too. I can't pop up as well with it on and it bothers me on steeper drops although I haven't had any really steep drops since I used it. Waiting for bigger waves. I'll post another video once I have something interesting. Maybe todays waves will have an interesting wave on it. I did one wave where I started to cut back and got hung up but managed to keep swinging the board around to back under me so I didn't fall but the whitewater passed me by.