No waves

No decent waves over the weekend or so far this week.

But wax up for next week as I'm flying to Melbourne tomorrow so the waves will start pumping now !!

Blah

Too much north in the wind this morning. There is still plenty of swell but no one really bothering  to go out.

There was a big spike in swell yesterday afternoon. Coastalwatch is claiming some places hit 10 feet and the spike showed on the harbour buoy. The swell is back on its way up, just under a metre here and just under three at Naturaliste.

Maybe the everything will come together tomorrow.

Whales

Finally able to shuffle things around so that I could get a very early surf in before work. Headed down the beach at first light to see that there was still a little swell and a light northerly blowing. There was a bit of a bubble off the surf club so I stopped for a look and it was a whale.

Watched it for a little while but still wanted a surf. BP was a disappointment. The swell was very inconsistent and the high tide was stopping it from hitting the banks. No matter how hard I tried I wasn't seeing anything surfable.

On the way home I decided to check the Clam. Now there were two whales. I was on the new lookout by myself but no more than five minutes later the carpark was packed with whale watchers.

Work Sucks !

The Coastalwatch surf report hit my inbox early this morning and the call was "joy conditions". Which made having to go to work very difficult. Only one thing could make it harder and that was being stupid enough to stop at the beach on the way to the office.

No one out just a dolphin, mocking me.

When I finally finished work the swell had dropped a bit and the wind was light southerly. It didn't look like it was worth surfing so I chose the handplane instead and went out at Juniors. Turns out that the waves were probably good enough for a little bash on one of my boards but still I wasn't disappointed. In fact I probably got one of my better handplane rides today.

Hopefully the little banks around BP will hang around for a while and we'll get some waves with the next front.

Jordy wins

Jordy Smith has won the Billabong Pro at J-Bay beating Adam Melling. This is Jordy's first ever win on the WCT and he is now number 1 in the world and one world ratings.

Taj was knocked out in the semis when he made probably his first mistake all contest on his last wave. Needing a mid six with less than 30 seconds to go he caught a wave that would have been good enough for the score and started well but blew it on a big hack towards the end of the ride and was out.

Next event is Chopes in about a month.

Other Contests

The Billabong Pro isn't the only surf contest on at the moment. There is a "star" event at Puerto Escondido in Mexico. Mexican Pipe looks like it was firing for a change as can be seen in the highlight video from day 1.

Finals at J-Bay

The Billabong Pro flows straight into its fourth day and the finals. Jordy Smith is in the water against Adriano De'Souza and with two monster airs has a 9 and a high 7.

Bede Durbridge takes on local wildcard Sean Holmes. Taj has Dane Reynolds is probably the hardest quarter final. Damo Hopgood, the last goofy in the event, then takes on Aussie rookie Adam Melling. 

With Slater out in round three and Mick in round 4 both Taj and Jordy could put themselves in a great position for the world title. They have been the standout surfers of the event so far and a bit a little margin. Both have been able to find the best waves, hunt the barrel and their lip hits are more critical and more fins out than anyone else. The difference between the top guys and the next rung down is the smoothness of their surfing. The next tier seem to always need to double pump their bottom turns where the best surfer hold their rail in one move off the bottom.

It will be an interesting day in waves that aren't great for J-Bay but obviously the forecast for the rest of the waiting period isn't good.

Holmes at Home

Sean Holmes has surfed his second heat for the day and taken his second big scalp. In a really tight heat he just sneaked past Kelly Slater in round three and has just beaten Andy Irons in round four. He will be taking on Bede Durbridge in the quarters.

Taj is in the water at the moment and has just blasted out the doggie door on a long barrel for an 6.8. His second wave had a tube and a series of massive, fins out hacks for a 9.77 leaving Tiago Pires in a combo with half a heat to go.

Jordy Smith destroyed Owen Wright and took advantage of being out at J-Bay with only one guy out by catching a fistful of waves.

Dane Reynolds, Mick Fanning, Damo Hopgood are amongst those left to surf in this round. Mick v Damo should be a good heat.

J-Bay Hat Trick

Day three of the waiting period and the rest of round three is being run. AI has just snuck past the stink bug style of Luke Stedmman and Slater is in the water against local wildcard Sean Holmes. The winner will take on AI in the next round.  Taj is in the next heat against Frances Joan Duru.

The waves are similar to yesterday although smaller and not quite as clean. Still you would die happy if this was as bad as your local ever got !

J-Bay Day Two

Into the second round at J-Bay after yesterday's non-elimination round one. Most of the seeds got through easily in the classic surf and so far today the heats have been okay but no stars.

Although the surf has dropped to about three foot plus it is still cranking and probably better than anything you've ever surfed !!!! Still that hasn't stopped the first ten of the event being scored by Bottle Thompson. With some big carves, a deep deep tube and a floater it deserved the ten. Check it at the heats on demand on the website.

As the day has progressed the size hasn't really dropped but it has become a little inconsistent with some heats being a little starved for waves. CJ Hopgood is the only significant loss so far, losing to Timmy Reynes, who was Parko's injury replacement. CJ is having a horror start to his year with his second 33rd to go with a 17th and a 5th. This means he will hold the 17th for the rest of the year.

Unfortunately some of the South African spectators have brought along those stupid bugle things from the soccer world cup. Luckily they only seem to blow them when a local is in a heat and only Jordy and Travis Logie (who seems to have learnt how to surf this year) left.

Looks like they will run to round 3 heat 5 today and hope for more swell tomorrow. Watch it live on FuelTV or the net.

Heaven

The Billabong Pro J-Bay has started in classic 4 - 6 foot offshore conditions. These are the waves you dream off, long fast open sweeping sections with a tube ride thrown in for good measure.

The heats are bashing through but the last four have been classics. Jordy Smith just smashed his heat, Slater threw a lazy carving 360 to score 15 Plus for his two waves. This was despite his filght being delayed and him not arriving in J-Bay till this morning, with boards but not clothes as his bags are still travelling. He rode a 5'8" ish round tail with five fin plugs.

Taj was next up and ripped out two big layback snaps and a coverup or two. Mick Fanning then tore the roof off some for the highest heat score so far in round one.

As usual for a Billabong event the webcast is top notch but it is also being broadcast live on Fuel TV for those with Foxtel. If you missed it there are heats on demand on the Billabong Pro site.

J Bay Tomorrow

The ASP world tour finally kicks back into life for event 4, the Billabong Pro at J-Bay. This event always seems to get waves although the wind can be an issue sometimes.

It will be interesting to see how the long lay off has effected the surfers. Kelly always seems to be able to switch it on and off as does Mick. Taj will be the most interesting as he was on a roll prior to the break but J-Bay is a place he generally does well at and really suits his style. Interestingly Taj, Mick, Parko and Slater have basically owned this event in the last few years. Between them they have had 40 starts in 13 events for 9 wins, 3 seconds, 7 thirds and 6 fifths.

Parko wont win this year as his foot injury will keep him out. Below is news footage of the wave that has probably killed any chance of him being world champ this year.



THE TOECUTTER from Joel Parkinson on Vimeo.

Sick

I've got one of those colds that won't quit and keeps coming back. While it gave me a day off work it has also kept me out of the water. Judging from the flag in my neighbours's back yard the winds had a little offshore in them for most of the morning.

By the time I felt human enough to go outside the wind had swung but it was still pretty light. There were a couple of guys out here and there and there were some rideable if mushy waves. BP Groyne seemed to be popular.

Swell is still over 0.5 but the wind should go more onshore tomorrow with another front on Friday. The long range forecasts for Sunday to Tuesday look ok.

Change

There was a change in the weather and with the clear skies and light winds came some decent sized, ridable waves. Only really Fraggles and the Wall weren't reasonable and even then there were some surf ski at the Wall and waves at Fraggles if you wanted them.

Everywhere from Fawlty Towers to the Bay had people out late this afternoon. Most people seemed to get at least one or two that made the paddle and the cold worth it.

BP had waves up and down the beach from the rip off Juniors all the way to the Groyne (where a decent looking bank is starting to form).

Tomorrow is predicted to have light offshores early with pretty light WNW in the arvo. The swell should straighten a bit so it could be okay again. But it is winter so you never know.

Battering

This front is a beauty. Winds have been over 75 ks a few times during the night and it is still smashing through. At 6.00 am the wind was a gentle 76 kmh. Overnight it sounded like trucks were smashing into the house.

We are being hit by the low behind the main front. It's always worse when you can see speckled clouds on the satelitte following the main band and that is what we have at the moment.

It will be interesting to see what the beach is like. The swell at Naturaliste has doubled since lunch time yesterday and is now sitting near six metres. The harbour is nearly 1.3 but the seas are a touch under two metres. The ocean will be a good thing to look at but not to venture into.

Batten down

The next front is just starting to smash in. The wind has picked up and the rain is pretty solid. Just went to check out the Wall but the rain turned me back. There was a few cars parked at the entry so I'm thinking that people got there before the weather. With the lowish tide it was probably alright.

Fraggles is big and messy and waves along the back beach are very very solid.

Looks like an afternoon to stay inside. I suspect that tomorrow wont be great either.

Better

Better than expected this morning. The swell is still hanging around and there are some decent sized sets pounding in. If you're lucky and prepared to take the odd one on the head there are some rideable waves, especially around the surf club. The wind is slightly offshore but bloody cold.

The Bay is a bit wonky and there is just the start of a decent bank at the groyne. There are a couple out at Juniors dodging sets for some of the smaller and cleaner ones.

Two tow crews were out, one at the Bay and one trying their hand off the BP groyne. Neither was being particularly successful but it is a lot harder than it looks.

Swells coming down at the moment but there is more bad weather on the way so another kick could be coming.

Ouch !!!!

Parko is out of the Billabong Pro starting at J-Bay next week after cutting his foot. If you think that sounds a bit wimpy check out the photo on his site.

BIg Swell

Over a metre the harbour for the first time in ages and between four and five at Naturaliste. Too bad the wind is shitty.

There was a pile of cars at the end of the inner harbour late this arvo so I suspect the Wall might have been working. It was too cold and wet for me to bother taking my lazy arse down there to look. I expect it to be full of groms tomorrow, especially with no junior sport.

Front

Maybe a winter pattern might finally be forming. There are some forecasts of huge waves down south over the next few days but that doesn't mean surf.

It is possible that the Dunsborough side of the cape might be ok but it is school holidays so expect crowds.

Winter ???

Isn't it supposed to be winter ? Another beautiful day, cold but fine. I would like a little rain and a front or two to make some banks but its hard to feel bad on a day like today.

There was a smige of swell but only sidewash seemed popular. BP had one guy out in close outs at the groyne and two groms on the reef. It was too nice to not get wet so I did the hydro-plane thing at Barnacles. The water was super clear, so clear that it very easy to see the reef ripping past just under your guts.

Apparently there is a front coming through mid-week. Until then find a thick jumper for the coooooold mornings.