Trick or treat ?

Trick - flat

0.28 @ 12

Sloppy

The swell has dropped again and the wind is southerly. This means its small and sloppy at the moment and not likely to improve today.

0.45 @ 12

Surf Movie Sunday

Another small batch to pick from this week. The end of summer in the northern hemisphere means a drop in the number of quality clips.

Here's part four of Yadin's journey.



Fractions.



Dane Reynolds and friends in Indo.



And some high-def women's longboarding to finish.

Sunday

There is a bit more swell than yesterday. The wind is a bit suss with north in it.

There isn't much shape anywhere but you could jag one here and there if you were desperate but I wouldn't wait too long.

0.62 @ 14

Warm

The swell has come up again and the offshores have stuck around. Unfortunately that hasn't really translated into decent surf however there have been a few trying the bank and rip at Juniors with mostly limited success.

Its sunny and warm so there are worse things to do than float around a little. Maybe you'll pick up one here and there.

0.52 at a very long period of 15 seconds

Little

Swell dropped off overnight. There is a great bank at Juniors but only the occasional hip height set. I tried to catch a couple on the slab but they were too small. Great for a handboard session but !

The wind gusting up to 30 kmh from the east and is getting stronger. The tide is still ultra low. Maybe this afternoon if everything comes together there might be a little wave. Its less than a 50/50 chance but might be worth a quick peek if the beach is on your way home.

0.30 @ 11

Good news/bad news

Been a while since I've had a good news/bad news day which I think is kind of good news.

Good news - went down south with a mate.

Bad news - strong wind warning - southerlies

Good news - buckets of swell and the wind is offshore and just right

Bad news - none for this bit

Good news - Smiths is cranking. The beachies, the reef and supers are all throwing up more than fun waves. The reef is even tubing. The sun is out and the water crystal clear.

Bad news - none here either

Good news - chose one of my favourite places, a series of banks between the reef and Supers. The big ones are closing out but the in between ones look good.

Bad news - my back, which was getting better, chose today to seize up. No paddling power and whenever I try to stand I'm so stiff I can't get my feet underneath me.

Good news - I'll just go in and take a picture or two on my new camera

Bad news - camera stops working. I assume that was because the battery wasn't really charged but when I get home I find its because the camera is full of water !!!!!!!!

Bad news - the SD card has died

Good news - dried out and wait long enough and the SD card starts working again

Good news - came home, had a great lunch at Happy Wife with my happy wife and then a great little hand plane session at Juniors. Got some nice rides, little cover ups and one left that wouldn't quit.

All in all more good news than bad.

If you are looking for a wave there is a few out of the rip at Juniors but although the wind is swinging more south it should stay ok for the rest of the day.

0.51 @ 11

No surf day

Plenty of swell and the odd peak but the onshore is taking any desire with it.

If you really want to get wet there are some brown ones but they will be a lot of work. You have to really, really want to get wet.

0.71 @ 10

Why ?

If you were wondering why there was no surf report today when there was swell it was because the onshore was already in a 9.00 and by 9.30 it wasn't surfable.

Not looking good for tomorrow and with the current tides, banks and rips it could go anyway most of next week.

Surf Movie Sunday

Better late than never.

Start with the lovely Kassia Meador leaving summer as we move into it.

Kassia Meador & Mikey DeTemple - Farewell to Summer from The Avant/Garde Diaries on Vimeo.

No Taj this week so we go back to Jay Davies for our local footage. Produced by his brother his clips just get better each time.



Bit of re-mixed of the John Florence footage from last week's Vans release GetNClasic 2.



Jordy and Julian Wilson air it out on Paradise Isalnd.



And one for the multi-board waterman. One European mixing up the boards. Just missing the hand plane.

Check

Check it yourself and decide if you are happy with closeouts. The tide should be coming up from a really low low and the wind hanging in the offshore directions so there may be a decent window some time.

Nice day to be getting wet.

0.69 and rising @ 12

Julian Wilson wins

With a wave in the last 30 seconds

Parko gone

Gabriel Medina will meet the winner of Wilson v DeSouza. Julian has thrown down two nines already so I'm leaning his way.

Finals day

Pretty clean conditions for the final day of the Rip Curl Pro Portugal.

Mick Fanning was taken down in round five, giving him a ninth and 2250 more points than Slater in this event. Parko met John John in the quarters and won. This gives JJ a fifth and 3450 points over Slater and 1200 over Fanning.

Parko will meet Gabriel Medina in the semis, with the other between Julian Wilson and the winner of the quarter in the water at the moment.

At this stage the Mick's ninth is a keeper, John John will have nothing lower than a fifth. Regardless of what happens from now on Parko will have nothing lower than a third.

My literally back of the envelope calculations tell me that Parko would have to win to overtake Kelly after dropping the worst two events to this stage.

Kelly Slater - 45 400
Parko - 3rd 43 500, 2nd 45 000, 1st 47 000
Fanning - 43 500
John Florence - 38 600

Kelly's two bad events (really three) only drop his raw total by a small amount compared to the others (especially Parko) who drop big points. His four finals and three wins are keeping him in the race against the consistent but not winning Parko. Looks like it might go down at Pipeline, hopefully in some decent waves.

Humbled !

I've got over 25 years experience riding boards of all types. I've got a quiver that goes from 6 to 10' in fibreglass and includes handboards and a SUP. And I've surfed Bunbury for around 15 years. So after two flat water paddles around the boat harbour surely catching a few waves on the SUP shouldn't be that hard.

Fraggles was the chosen spot. The waves roll in from the deep and its sheltered from the sea breeze so once I'm past the shore break it should be a piece of cake. I'll wear a leg rope but only so when I kick out the board want hit the rocks.

It has been a while since I last surfed Fraggles, probably near to four years. In that time I forgot just how much the water moved around, bouncing off the groyne and the sea wall and surging back from the steep beach. The board that floated perfectly in the flat now wanted to sink and pitch and I was quickly in the water. Try again, same deal. And again and again. Eventually I got up long enough for a couple of strokes but fell in again.

Back to the beach and regroup. I adjusted a couple of things in my stance and actually made it a little way out and a little way in but was soon on the beach for a re-think.

Answer - paddle the thing prone and catch a couple of waves just to feel it out as a surfboard. It paddles prone like the wide long monster it is but I did get one wave. There won't be any off the lips on this board.

The fisherman on the beach was getting a bit annoyed with me going near his line (he wasn't catching any fish) and I'd had enough so that was it for session three. Lots of lessons to be learned and a few things to think about.

Fraggles is still very deep and sharky !

Insult

It's cleaned up since they went on hold and while it is still inconsistent there is enough tubes to make it fair.

Yadin in the water against an over scored Fanning.

Stupid

Just watched the Taj and Kelly heats on demand. What a joke.

Taj only got two waves in the whole heat, neither much chop. Kolohe got a clean throaty barrel and came out clean so deserved his 7.0. Compared to what was to come it probably should have been an 11.

Kelly's heat was worse. Both surfers had a wave in their two scorers that was a close out barrel that they didn't make it out of. Raoni's was a 3.7 with one judge giving it a 4.0. If there were decent waves he would have been lucky to get a two. He just took off and stood straight while the wave collapsed on his head. He was never ever getting out. His second scoring waves was three little lip hits that I could do and he gets a 5.5 with one judge giving it a 6.0 !

Kelly got a little backhand coverup, coming out clean and got less than the close out he pulled into and almost made out the doggie door. He had more chance that his opponent's 3.7 and got  a 2.67. Neither surfer deserved to win because they shouldn't have been out in those conditions but Slater's made wave was probably a 0.1 better than the Brazilian's.

They put the event on hold straight after the heat.

This ridiculous heat could have cost Slater his 12th title.

Upset

Slater out, losing to Raoni Monteiro. Bad waves cause these types of upsets. Slater's scoring waves were both twos and the Brazilian didn't even get a double figure winning total. Days like this suck badly and aren't good for surfing.

Parko is already through to round four, Mick takes on Yadin in the last heat and John Florence got through last surfing day. Slater will now have to hold a 13th in his final eight scores.

Portugal on

Portugal has started in pretty marginal surf. There is size but it is messy from yesterday's storm. Winning heats will come down to fluking the two good waves a heat. Or if you are Brazilian claiming after each wave (Alejo Muniz) !

Unfortunately as predicted yesterday Taj was sent out to test the conditions and lost. This will basically knock out his slim chances of winning the title this year as he will need to hold a 13th and two 9ths.

As usual its on Fuel TV or webcast.

Hold

The Rip Curl Pro in Portugal is burning through the waiting period. No consistent surf for a few days and now a massive storm is bering down on the contest site. The commentators are trying to talk it up but they are also trying to lay the foundations for a move to one of the back up venues where the wind will be side rather than onshore.

It's day 8 of 11 and they still have the bulk of round three to go. Even though it stays light for ages they still need a solid two days to run the event. It will be hard to squeeze out any extra time as the Cold Water Classic starts in the US on 1st November.

As usual Taj will be in the guinea pig first heat of whatever day they run. He always seems to end up going first and when the conditions are likely to be suspect he draws someone who can fluke a few waves and win. This time its Kolohe Andino who is desperate for any sort of result after not living up to his publicity so far. He is in danger of falling off the tour so will be a danger man for TB.

Yadin has Mick Fanning. The waves could be big and lean toward Mick because his poo stance isn't as suspect as in smaller waves. Parko will have to watch out for Dusty Payne and the rest of the heats are pretty even and could go either way depending on wave size and quality.

RIP CURL PRO PORTUGAL REMAINING ROUND 3 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 3: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Kolohe Andino (USA)
Heat 4: Josh Kerr (AUS) vs. Alejo Muniz (BRA)
Heat 5: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. C.J. Hobgood (USA)
Heat 6: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Dusty Payne (HAW)
Heat 7: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Raoni Monteiro (BRA)
Heat 8: Julian Wilson (AUS) vs. Michel Bourez (PYF)
Heat 9: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. Kai Otton (AUS)
Heat 10: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Kieren Perrow (AUS)
Heat 11: Jeremy Flores (FRA) vs. Bede Durbidge (AUS)
Heat 12: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Yadin Nicol (AUS)

Next project

A few days off, jobs done, no surf and no one home means that I can start building my next project. This time I'm building a body board from a shelf inside a wardrobe that I junked when we moved house. I am a little worried that the join isn't that strong but we'll tackle that if it happens.

I've decided on western red cedar to pump out the width and to add ply wood fins. The fins have been templated off the side biters on my SUP.

I've also taken the opportunity to upgrade my latest handplane to take my new waterproof camera. Hopefully this camera will last longer that the last few that have either been stolen or had the backs open in the water. I'm full expecting the mounts to rip off first time I use them so there will be a backup system attaching the camera to me.

Pushing

Plenty of swell pushing in with NE winds. The tide is low so most places are struggling to hold up.

The Groyne seems to have to odd one and it looks like the Juniors rip will reward the hard work needed to stay in the take off zone.

It is not likely that the wind will stay good for much longer so don't wait.

0.7 @ 11+

Surf Movie Sunday

Another crappy Sunday so here's something to do -

Can't go a week without another Taj clip ! This time in France.



A short film (25 minutes) on Greg Long and his approach to big waves from the guys at theIntertia.com. You can download it from their site for a short time.



The first Jaws session of the season.



Part three of Yadin's story.



And that's it for the week.

Portugal

Round one and half of round two of the Rip Curl Pro Portugal were run overnight. Jordy Smith was the only real shock elimination so far. Both Taj and Yadin are through to round three after dropping round one.

The waves were a bit mixed but if you got the right one it was worth a nine plus.

RIP CURL PRO PORTUGAL ROUND 1 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 6.30, Brett Simpson (USA) 5.06, Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 3.67
Heat 2: Alejo Muniz (BRA) 14.33, Taj Burrow (AUS) 11.36, Jadson Andre (BRA) 6.73
Heat 3: John John Florence (HAW) 14.73, Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 7.34, Kai Otton (AUS) 4.13
Heat 4: Mick Fanning (AUS) 9.67, Kieren Perrow (AUS) 9.70, Dusty Payne (HAW) 2.33
Heat 5: Kelly Slater (USA) 13.67, Dillon Perillo (USA) 6.60, Damien Hobgood (USA) 5.90
Heat 6: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 17.17, Kolohe Andino (USA) 15.36, Pierre Valentin Laborde (FRA) 2.96
Heat 7: Owen Wright (AUS) 16.26, Bede Durbidge (AUS) 11.94, Yadin Nicol (AUS) 7.65
Heat 8: Josh Kerr (AUS) 10.70, Taylor Knox (USA) 7.43, Heitor Alves (BRA) 5.53
Heat 9: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 16.50, Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 13.83, Miguel Pupo (BRA) 11.67
Heat 10: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 14.00, Adam Melling (AUS) 11.87, Michel Bourez (PYF) 9.67
Heat 11: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 13.73, Travis Logie (ZAF) 12.83, Jordy Smith (ZAF) 11.03
Heat 12: Julian Wilson (AUS) 15.53, Tiago Pires (PRT) 13.27, Adrian Buchan (AUS) 3.13

RIP CURL PRO PORTUGAL ROUND 2 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Mick Fanning (AUS) 16.17 def. Pierre-Valentin Laborde (FRA) 6.17
Heat 2: Taj Burrow (AUS) 14.33 def. Dillon Perillo (USA) 10.37
Heat 3: Dusty Payne (HAW) 12.80 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 10.77
Heat 4: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 18.50 def. Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 17.73
Heat 5: Michel Bourez (PYF) 15.73 def. Jadson Andre (BRA) 10.93
Heat 6: Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 15.00 def. Miguel Pupo (BRA) 12.93
Heat 7: Yadin Nicol (AUS) 16.10 def. Heitor Alves (BRA) 8.24
Heat 8: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 14.63 def. Taylor Knox (USA) 12.33

RIP CURL PRO PORTUGAL REMAINING ROUND 2 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 9: Brett Simpson (USA) vs. Matt Wilkinson (AUS)
Heat 10: Kai Otton (AUS) vs. Adam Melling (AUS)
Heat 11: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Travis Logie (ZAF)
Heat 12: Kolohe Andino (USA) vs. Tiago Pires (PRT)

Lazy arvo

A few out enjoying the warmth this afternoon. It wasn't good enough to overcome the guilt given by my dogs who had been home alone all day so it was a walk rather than wet.

The wind this morning was really north and the swell has dropped but it glassed off under the cloudy skies this afternoon. It was pretty small but there was a guy out at the rip at Juniors throwing some big moves.

The two older guys at the reef were getting some very shallow lefts and the guy at the groyne the odd short but punchy right.

The forecast is for north east turning north west early tomorrow morning and then two days of rain.

0.46 @ 12

Still swell

Still offshore.

Plenty of long period ground swell pulsing through and the wind is pretty good. Only problem is that nowhere locally can handle the size.

I'm guessing here but Capel Cut would have been good and depending on the tide the Wall might have worked because it was from a pretty favourable direction.

Meant to be offshore again tomorrow so if you're on school holidays or got the day off it will be worth heading south.

0.89 @ 14 and holding pretty steady

Motion

There is a chunky new swell in the water this morning. Lots of water moving around but not very surfable at this stage although there is the odd medium one between close outs.

If you read this early enough it would be worth a quick run south. Coastalwatch is calling 10+ with offshores.

Naturaliste has gone from two metres at lunch time yesterday to almost four at the moment. Its jumped nearly a metre since midnight and looks like it might still be going up. Stormsurf has a big blob of 20' + swell on it model.

The harbour buoy is 0.88 with a long 14 second period.

Surf Movie Sunday

Bit of everything.

Some stand up body boarding !!!

Turbo Stoog Division from Ryan Timperley on Vimeo.

Another Taj video



Another Chopes video



And finally episode two of Vans Get N Classic. If you like it you can download it here.

Bathurst

The one day a year when I'm not a surfer.

Don't know what the beach is like and probably won't get there until late this arvo. My guess is that its the same as it would have been yesterday. Its offshore and there is a little swell. There are a few banks around but they are pretty fat.

This is what Marges looked like yesterday.

0.41 @ 11

Round two finally over

It seems to have been going for ever but the Quikie Pro in France has only just finished round two and then went on a break.

Taylor Knox continues his run beating Adriano De Souza and he'll take on young gun John Florence in the first heat of round three.Yadin Nichol is out as are both Hopgoods and Josh Kerr.


Taj takes on Kolohe Andino, who finally made it into the third round. Slater has Jadson Andre, Joel gets Pat Gudaskas but Mick Fanning has dangerman Dane Reynolds. A loss here would hurt his title run but not be fatal.

With five days left and nothing perfect on the forecast expect the event to be a bit of a luck fest.

Nada

Swell but no waves today. Low tide, straight handers and northerly winds.

According to the Weather Bureau we are in for gale force winds from this afternoon with another front coming through.

Gale Warning
Mandurah to Walpole
Winds increasing to north to northwesterly 20 to 30 knots early Tuesday evening and further to northwesterly 30 to 40 knots during Tuesday evening. Winds shifting to west to southwesterly 25 to 35 knots early Wednesday morning and easing to 20 to 30 knots by sunrise and below 25 knots during Wednesday morning. Seas 3m to 4m. Swell 2 to 3 metres.

Doesn't look like there will be much surfing for the next few days.

0.80 @ 13