Thursday, December 31, 2009

Day 6 - New Years Eve

Morning

A little bit of swell has hung around but the full moon tide is pretty low. There is one bank at BP offering some shorebreak runners but it is really inconsistent. There are long waits and then six waves at once. But it is a perfect morning with clear water, blue sky and light offshores.

Juniors is looking ok but not really linking. There is the odd one that is offering a run off the reef and onto the sand but they are few and far between.



Morning (8.30)
Waves            : 1 - 2"
Wind              : SE
Quality           : 3.5 out of 5
Crowd           : up to 4
Wave count   : 20 +
Board            : 9'4" log and a few on 9'0" mal

Early Afternoon

Sea breeze is in and strengthening. There are a few wind waves starting to form but quality isn't great. Might be ok if you want one last wave for the year and missed out yesterday or this morning.



Arvo (3.00)
Waves        : 1'+
Wind          : strengthening SW
Quality       : 2 out of 5
Crowd       : 0


Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Day Five - 30/12/09

Early Morning

A little bit of a blow came in overnight and was still going this morning. The waves looked like early winter, mushy and dirty. Even the air smelt of salt and the ocean. The swell was really south and you could see it moving past BP. Somewhere it was pumping.



Morning (7.45)
Waves          : 2'+
Wind            : strong SSW
Quality         : 1.5 out of 5
Crowd         : 2 body board groms

Late Arvo

Wind gradually backed off and turned more southerly. The tide filled in and later it was quite good. The waves were a reasonable size but very hard to catch. The were holding up close to shore and one extra wiggle got you dumped in dry sand. There was a little crowd but only a couple were able to make the most of those that ran down the bank. One guy at Juniors (pictured) which had short choppy rides. He mixed little cover ups with cutbacks and tail slides. Although within spitting distance of each other the waves at Juniors and BP were very different.



Arvo (5.30)
Waves          : 2+ breaking close to shore
Wind            : South-ish, not totally sideshore but not onshore either
Quality         : 2.7 out of 5
Crowd         : Up to 20
Board          : 6'9" dhu-fish
Wave Count : 15

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Day Four -29th December 2009

Early Morning

Perfect conditions, light offshore, low-mid tide, glassy conditions but NO SWELL !!!!!!!!!!




Morning (7.50)
Waves           : 0"
Wind             : SE
Quality          : 0 out of 5

Afternoon

Grey and overcast with light onshore winds. It looks like there is some motion in the ocean but the swell is from the wrong direction and not hitting anything. The tide is pretty high.



Arvo (4.50)
Waves        : 3"
Wind          : light SSW
Quality       : 0.1 out of 10

Monday, December 28, 2009

Day Three - 28th December 2009

Early Morning


Dismal. Flat.


Morning (7.50)
Waves      : Flat
Wind        : SSE with onshore wonky-ness
Quality     : 0 out of 5
Crowd     : 0

Afternoon


Just as dismal but onshore. Nothing even remotely surfable.



Arvo (4.30)

Waves      : Dribble
Wind        : WSW
Quality      : 0 out of 5
Crowd      : 0

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Day 2 - 27th December 2009

Morning

This morning was flat. The wind started to turn onshore early but first up it was just a bit of cross shore drift. BP had no waves but there was one grom-ette at Juniors learning her craft.



Morning (8.30)
Waves             : Flat
Wind               : SSE but turning
Quality            : 0.5 out of 5
Crowd            : 1 at Juniors, 2 at BP

Afternoon

The wind came onshore but didn't really strengthen to anything significant. Most of the time it sat around 20 knots from the WSW. There were just a few foam balls drifting off Juniors to tempt me into the water. It was small and not linking off the reef. There were one or two runners off the shallower parts of the reef and a bigger set came through giving false hope for later. Pretty average surf but a nice way to wash off a day's DIY grime.



Arvo (4.00)
Waves            : 6"
Wind              : WSW
Quality            : 2 out of 5
Wave Count    : 12
Board             : 7'6" mini mal
Crowd            : 2 learners on soft boards and a body boarder

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Day One - Boxing Day

This morning was flat and onshore. The WSW wind was blowing from mid-morning but stayed at about 20 kph most of the day.


Late this arvo there was a very small wind swell with the winds more southerly. The swell buoy hit 0.18 metres but it is a little sheltered from this swell direction. The waves at BP were just breaking and were full shore-breakers. One guy went out so I followed.




It was one of those surfs where it didn't look good but you couldn't tell unless you went out. It wasn't very good but nice way to end the day anyway.

Morning  (9.00) 
Flat and onshore
Arvo (5.45)
Waves              : 6" to 1', southerly side/onshore
Quality              : 2 out of 5
Wave count      : 8
Board               : 7'6" mini-mal
Crowd              : 1

Seven waves in seven days 2009

On an ASL cover DVD they filmed the same break at the same time every day for a month. Last year I did the same thing except with less commitment. Instead of a month it was the seven days between Christmas day and New Years Eve and at a range of times.  The video was uploaded to YouTube and has had 190+ views.




This year this blog will record (hopefully) six of these days in words, pics and some video. I've already missed Christmas Day (which was flat) and with less days off than last year the results will be interesting.

Merry Christmas

A day late but I sat out in the water for 3 hours waiting for the Christmas swell !!!!!!!!!!


Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Some "waves" this arvo

Southerly all day but later this afternoon there were a few small, full waves at BP. With the wind basically blowing side-shore it was a wind swell rather than wind waves. For periods the wind dropped and it was pretty glassy.

But for all that it was barely hip height and most lacked any power. If you were lucky there was a couple of wiggles in them. On the other hand they were the best waves in Bunbury for a few weeks.

Maybe there will be a swell in Father Christmas' sack this year !!!!!!!

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Flys

Whats worse than going to the beach to find it completely flat ? Having 10 millions flys land on you as soon as you get out of the car.

Today was so bad that every time I clapped my hands in front of my face I killed a fly. Target rich environment. When you mainly breath through your mouth and you have your hands full it is not an nice experience at the moment.

I'm over the heat and the lack of waves. Its December not February so we should at least have a ripple somewhere.

The water was perfectly clear today, tide was nice and the wind a bit southerly but nothing to drastic. Inly thing missing was some kind of wave. The harbour bouy is reading less than 20 centimetres of swell and thats the weekend peak !

I'll even take a dribble wind wave at the moment. One forecast site has a little jump on Tuesday but I won't hold my breath.

Friday, December 18, 2009

ASP is over for 2009

With the end of the 2009 WCT the seeded surfers for next year have been released. Lots of the bottom rung of WCT surfers have disappeared after failing to back up on the 'QS and there are some exciting rippers taking up rookie spots next year. Owen Wright made the WCT and Andy Irons was given the ASP wildcard he was promised before taking a break in 2009.

Taj finished fifth ater his win at Pipe and a reasonable year. Four of the top five were Australian but the rest of the top ten were Yanks and Adriano DeSouza.

On the womens side Steph Gilmore ended up winning easy. WA's Clare Bevilacqa made it back to the 'CT with a strong WQS season. Jessie Miley-Dyer back up on the QS to keep her spot and will be joined by super-grom Carissa Moore and Tom's little girl, Lee-Ann Curren. Unfortunately Alana Blanchard is out.

Next year both a new seeding system and the number of surfers in each event will change after Tahiti. Eventually there will be a single rating system but that will be fully implemented in 2011. After Chopes the number of surfers will drop from 45 on the 'CT to 32 plus wildcards. Anyone on the WCT in that bottom 13 will be back on the WQS. From then on the events will have 36 surfers (top 32, 2 ASP wildcards and 2 event wildcards) basically cutting a day off the running time.

Mundaka has been cut with the licence moving from Billabong to Rip Curl but remaining in Europe.

The Mens and Womens WCT surfers are -

ASP Top 27 (ASP World Tour)
Mick Fanning (AUS)
Joel Parkinson (AUS)
Bede Durbidge (AUS)
Taj Burrow (AUS)
Adriano de Souza (BRA)
Kelly Slater (USA)
C.J. Hobgood (USA)
Bobby Martinez (USA)
Damien Hobgood (USA)
Dane Reynolds (USA)
Jordy Smith (ZAF)
Taylor Knox (USA)
Tom Whitaker (AUS)
Kieren Perrow (AUS)
Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)
Dean Morrison (AUS)
Kai Otton (AUS)
Kekoa Bacalso (HAW)
Mick Campbell (AUS)
Chris Davidson (AUS)
Michel Bourez (PYF)
Ben Dunn (AUS)
Adrian Buchan (AUS)
Tiago Pires (PRT)
Jeremy Flores (FRA)
Roy Powers (HAW)
Drew Courtney (AUS)

Top 15 (ASP WQS)
Dan Ross (AUS)
Patrick Gudauskas (USA)
Jadson Andre (BRA)
Adam Melling (AUS)
Owen Wright (AUS)
Luke Munro (AUS)
Jay Thompson (AUS)
Nathan Yeomans (USA)
Dusty Payne (HAW)
Brett Simpson (USA)
Matt Wilkinson (AUS)
Tanner Gudauskas (USA)
Travis Logie (ZAF)
Marco Polo (BRA)
Blake Thornton (AUS)

ASP Wildcards:
Andy Irons (HAW)
Luke Stedman (AUS)
Neco Padaratz (BRA)

The national breakdown for the 2010 ASP World Tour is:

Australian: 46.7%
American: 22.2%
Hawaiian: 11.1%
Brazilian: 8.9%
South African: 4.4%
French: 2.2%
Tahitian: 2.2%
Portuguese: 2.2%

Top 10 (ASP Women’s World Tour)
Stephanie Gilmore (AUS)
Silvana Lima (BRA)
Sofia Mulanovich (PER)
Coco Ho (HAW)
Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS)
Melanie Bartels (HAW)
Chelsea Hedges (AUS)
Paige Hareb (NZL)
Rebecca Woods (AUS)
Rosanne Hodge (ZAF)

Top 6 (ASP WQS)
Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS)
Carissa Moore (HAW)
Claire Bevilacqua (AUS)
Lee Ann Curren (FRA)
Bruna Schmitz (BRA)
Nikita Robb (ZAF)

ASP Wildcard
Amee Donohoe (AUS)

The national breakdown for the 2010 ASP Women’s World Tour is:

Australian: 41.2%
Hawaiian: 17.7%
Brazilian: 11.8%
South African: 11.8%
Peruvian: 5.9%
New Zealand: 5.9%
French: 5.9%

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Some XXL nominations from this month

Flat again


There is a few waves down south but with a little bit of southerly on them. The tide is super low. There was a dog running around on the reef at Marges where it would normally be waist deep !


Not looking good for a while unless we get some cyclone swell !

Monday, December 14, 2009

Summer is here

Hot and totally flat over the weekend.

Flat this morning with a desperation dribble wind wave late this arvo.

Expect this pattern for a while.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Mick Fanning is world champ

Parko has just been eliminated in round three making Mick Fanning the new World Champ.


Round four is on in decent waves. Fuel TV is showing it live

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Have I mentioned this before ???

Hot and flat.

Tomorrow - hot and flat.

Summer is here and its no fun !!!!!!!

Round two is over

The Pipe Masters run the rest of round two last night and hopefully tonight the higher seeds, especially Parko and Mick, will surf for the first time in round three. Both are up against Hawaiian wildcards. Mick will surf against Torey Meister who only made the contest when Sunny Garcia turned up late for his round one heat. If Torey wins this heat he will challenge for the Triple Crown, which Parko has a grip on. Parko takes on Gavin Gillette in the second last heat. Gillette flogged Mick Campbell in round two.

Taj has a horror draw coming up against Bruce Irons. Bruce pulled into one of the biggest and deepest Backdoor pits on day one. His brother Andy was all over Backdoor today, riding deeper and longer than anyone else and having a round two score of 18.40 out of 20. One wave where he stalled through a long barrel and then came out for a power figure 8 cutback re-entry was topped off with a little 360 in the foam. Worth watching on the heat on demand.

Fuel TV are showing the contest live for those with Foxel and it is webcast. With the dual heat format and hopefully good waves, it will be good viewing

BILLABONG PIPE MASTERS ROUND 3 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Dean Morrison (AUS)
Heat 2: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Torrey Meister (HAW)
Heat 3: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Andy Irons (HAW)
Heat 4: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. John John Florence (HAW)
Heat 5: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Flynn Novak (HAW)
Heat 6: Tom Whitaker (AUS) vs. Michael Picon (FRA)
Heat 7: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) vs. Chris Ward (USA)
Heat 8: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Hank Gaskell (HAW)
Heat 9: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Liam McNamara (HAW)
Heat 10: Kieren Perrow (AUS) vs. Roy Powers (HAW)
Heat 11: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Bruce Irons (HAW)
Heat 12: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. Dayyan Neve (AUS)
Heat 13: Taylor Knox (USA) vs. Phillip MacDonald (AUS)
Heat 14: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Shane Dorian (HAW)
Heat 15: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Gavin Gillette (HAW)
Heat 16: Dane Reynolds (USA) vs. Kekoa Bacalso (HAW)

Friday, December 11, 2009

Pipeline Masters has started

The Billabong Pipeline Masters has started in some great looking waves. Pipeline is breaking both ways at 6 - 8 foot and offshore. Its sunny and blue and looks like classic Hawaii.

They are running the dual heat, basically two seperate two man heat running at the same time, which means there are plenty of waves being ridden. Scores are consistently in the high sevens and early eights and the high seeds don't surf till round three.

The webcast is top quality as you expect from a WCT event and worth watching.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Greg Long wins the Eddie

Well known big wave charger Greg Long has won the Eddie is some nice big waves at Waimea Bay. The last few Eddie's have been held on brown stormy days but today's conditions were nearly perfect and for a change the water was blue and so was the sky

What was interesting this year is how 25 + feet doesn't seem big or dangerous any more. Many of the surfers seemed to be playing with the conditions like it was a 2 foot beachie, being goaded by the crowd into trying to link up to the inside and pull into a dry suck death pit in the shorebreak. Having said that there was something extra to this event compared top watching endless tow ins.

Check out the heats on demand at the Eddie website.




RESULTS: Listed in order of 1st through 28th
Greg Long (California)
Kelly Slater (Florida)
Sunny Garcia (Hawaii)
Bruce Irons (Hawaii)
Ramon Navarro (Chile) * Monster Drop Award
Ross Clarke-Jones (Australia)
Jamie O'Brien (Hawaii)
Mark Healey (Hawaii)
Garret McNamara (Hawaii)
Noah Johnson (Hawaii)
Shane Dorian (Hawaii)
Makuakai Rothman (Hawaii)
Reef McIntosh (Hawaii)
Andy Irons (Hawaii)
Grant Baker (Hawaii)
Carlos Burle (Brazil)
Kohl Chrtistensen (Hawaii)
Kala Alexander (Hawaii)
Peter Mel (USA)
Takayuki Wakita (Japan)
Ibon Amatriain (Spain)
Clyde Aikau (Hawaii)
Keone Downing (Hawaii)
Mike Ho (Hawaii)
Darryl 'Flea' Virostko (USA)
Brian Keaulana (Hawaii)
Rusty Keaulana (Hawaii)
Pancho Sullivan (Hawaii)

Eddie is go

As predicted a big swell has hit Waimea and the Eddie is on. Slater is currently leading from Andy Irons and Ross Clarke Jones.

The waves are big and clean, the weather is fine and the surfing unbelievable. These guys are surfing like it is 3 foot mush burgers. Andy, Kelly and Jamie O'Brien have all linked to the shore break and tried to get tubed on the massive dumpers.

Its live on the net with a couple more heats left here.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

WQS ends

With the O'Neill World Cup over the fat lady has sung on the men's WQS. The top 15 will now be on the WCT next year, at least for the first few events before the new ratings system kicks in.

The final 15 ASP WQS qualifiers are:
Ross, Daniel AUS
Gudauskas, Patrick USA
Andre, Jadson BRA
Melling, Adam AUS
Wright, Owen AUS
Munro, Luke AUS
Thompson, Jay AUS
Yeomans, Nathan USA
Payne, Dusty HAW
Simpson, Brett USA
Wilkinson, Matt AUS
Gudauskas, Tanner USA
Logie, Travis ZAF
Polo, Marco BRA
Thornton, Blake AUS

Jay Thompson may re-qualify with a good result at Pipe and then no. 16 will take his place. There are a couple of gumbies there who seem to do the tour yo-yo each year, being just good enough to re-qualify via the 'QS but struggling to make it out of a 'CT round one.

Interestingly the current bottom 15 of the WCT haven't bothered to cross qualify and will drop out after the last event.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Parko wins at Sunset

After a layday where it was too big for Sunset but too small for the Eddie, Parko has won the WQS O'Neill World Cup on the last day of the waiting period.

He beat world title nemesis Mick Fanning, old hand Sunny Garcia and Hawaiian Dusty Payne. With his good result in the first event a finals berth at Pipe could give him both his second Triple Crown and his first world title. The last news was that Pipe was full of sand and just a close out so it will be interesting to see if the recent swell has moved stuff around. The waiting period starts tomorrow night our time.

The waves were big and pretty clean at Sunset, with tubes and huge hacks off the top scoring well. The sort of day you think you could almost handle it ..... until a clean up set comes through !!!
Rumour is that a massive swell will hit tomorrow and the Eddie might go !!!!

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Summer's here

Another hot and flat day.

The wind is quite strong from a south-ish direction. It might be worth checking later for something in the onshore or maybe a glass off but I wouldn't be putting money on it.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Swell up, tide down

Swell has picked up a little but the full moon has left a really low tide. Its probably the lowest of the last few weeks, which means very, very low.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Steph is champ

Steph Gilmore is the 2009 ASP Womens World Champ for the third year in a row.

She now has to paddle out for the final against Sally Fitzgibbons, youngster Carissa Moore and Alana Balchard.

Gidget Pro will finsh soon

The Womens WCT Gidget Pro at Sunset Beach will finish in a heat and a half. The waves are ok but a little inconsistent.

Aussie Sally Fitzgibbons is ripping hard and just scored the first 10 for a series big turns. She has been on fire in all her heats today. Alana Blanchard is backing up her win in the first of the Triple Crown events with some strong surfing.

Steph Gilmore could be less than six minutes from being World Champ. If Coco Ho, who needs a combo 12+, doesn't progress out of the current semi Steph wins with one event left.

Wobbly

Weird, wobbly swell today but really small. There is a handful of micro-groms out at BP but thats about it.

Wind is trying to swing onshore but might glass off later.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Down south

Stuck in Dunsborough since Monday arvo. Usually that would be a good thing but its Leavers week !

Tides still remain really low and there are some strange banks here and there. The wind has been howlling from the south/south west for the last two days and its a bit cold.

Inji has some small waves today, nothing that you would rave about but surfable. Smiths was less effected by the wind than other places and there was the odd wave here and there but it was crowded.

Looks like the weekend might warm up some maybe there will be something worth getting wet for back in Bunbury.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Still small but clean

The bank at BP is still throwing up some small little runners that are best for longboards. The swell was up a whisker but not much.

The wind was offshore this morning and has swung a little but is still light.

My surf was curtailed a little by a bus load of Grammar kids arriving at the same time as me. Luckily the teachers surf and herded the pack inside so that we could enjoy the bigger, wider ones.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Swell building ????



The swell is meant to be coming up but it is still pretty small. And the onshore has just come in.

This morning was nice, light winds and crystal clear water. BP still had a couple of little peelers over a shallow bank. The tide is too low for Juniors, despite there being some nice looking waves.

It is still possible that the swell is building, it did seem to be getting a little bigger this morning, so tomorrow could be ok if the tide is right.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

No swell and sideshore

Clean but light side shore first thing this morning with a low tide.

There were some really little waves at BP and the Bay and a few groms and a longboarder (me) got a couple of dribblers.

The forecasts are showing the swell coming up a little tomorrow with offshores first up.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Alana Blanchard wins first event


Unlike sports cover girl Anna Kornakova, surfing pin up Hawaiian Alana Blanchard can win ! The Womens Van Pro was done and dusted in a single day thanks to the four and five surfer heat format.

Blanchard just beat Steph Gilmore, with 1.12 points between then. The waves were similar to yesterday and the girls surfed fast and hard with a bit of power behind them.

FINAL: Alana Blanchard (HAW), Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), Sofia Mulanovich (PER), Rebecca Woods (AUS)

SF1: Rebecca Woods (AUS), Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), Chelsea Hedges (AUS), Lee Ann Curren (FRA)
SF2: Sofia Mulanovich (PER), Alana Blanchard (HAW), Coco Ho (HAW), Carissa Moore (HAW)

QF1: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), Chelsea Hedges (AUS), Malia Manuel (HAW), Rosanne Hodge (ZAF)
QF2: Rebecca Woods (AUS), Lee Ann Curren (FRA), Bruna Schmitz (BRA), Melanie Bartels (HAW)
QF3: Carissa Moore (HAW), Alana Blanchard (HAW), Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), Nicola Atherton (AUS)
QF4: Coco Ho (HAW), Sofia Mulanovich (PER), Jacqueline Silva (BRA), Megan Abubo (HAW)

Round 1:
H1: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), Rebecca Woods (AUS), Rosanne Hodge (ZAF), Lee Ann Curren (FRA), Bethany Hamilton (HAW)
H2: Melanie Bartels (HAW), Malia Manuel (HAW), Bruna Schimtz (BRA), Chelsea Hedges (AUS), Gabi Cope (HAW)
H3: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), Coco Ho (HAW), Alana Blanchard (HAW), Megan Abubo (HAW), Leila Hurst (HAW)
H4: Sofia Mulanovich (PER), Carissa Moore (HAW), Jacqueline Silva (BRA), Nicola Atherton (AUS), Paige Hareb (NZ)

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Hawaiian contest finally back on

AThe first contest of the Triple Crown has finally re-started after a three lay days for no swell. Today was in the couple of feet range and with a strong sideshore wind. The brown water made it look a bit like winter in Bunbury, just with some walls and power.

The event is still in the round of 96, with the WCT surfers coming in during the next round. Parko is entered to try and defend his Triple Crown title from last year. He has a difficult heat up against Pancho Sullivan and Tanner Gudaskis, who needs a good result to make next years WCT. Mick Fanning has pulled out to concentrate on Pipe.

The Irons brothers are through as is Sunny Garcia who won his heat with the highest combined total of the round.

Everyone will be hoping for some swell, especially the women whose WCT event is on hold pending good surf.

News, heats on demand and the webcast can be accessed from the Triple Crown website.

Should have voted for daylight saving

Today has been yet another day of crap surf. Strong onshores have persisted with a bit of rain here and there. However just as the last bit of light was disappearing tonight the wind has swung to a sideshore southerly and there were some ok looking waves, if it was bright enough to surf.

The weather forecast shows ESE winds first up tomorrow so there may just be the chance of a wobbly one early. The rest of the day is southerly so depending on how it hits there may be waves later as well.

The weekend looks promising with some offshores in the morning and onshore arvos. That's provided some of the swell hangs around.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Down south the go today



Nothing local today.

However there were waves on the western side of the Cape today. Boneyards had a few out. Rocky Point was the pick with almost no crowd and sets up overhead in the morning. Little Rockies was clean and had a crowd of two.

The tide was to full and the swell to small for PK to be much good bu
t a SUP or two and a goat boater were able to enjoy the clean water and offshore lines.

Tomorrow looks similar weather-wise but no guarantee the waves will hang around.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

How would you react ?

Imagine your surfing crap onshore waves in the late arvo with only your brother and a couple of friends. You didn't really want to go out but they shamed you into it so your not really happy anyway. Suddenly a Great White Shark comes up from below you, hits you board, tosses you in the air and breaks your board in half ! Not sure how you would react ? Well watch as WQS sufer Eric Gieselman has that happen to him.



Eric Geiselman's Shark Encounter from Cavin Brothers on Vimeo.

Hawaiian contest season has started

The first event of the Triple Crown had its first lay day due to small surf. Day one was in waist height dribble, not very Hawaiian but very WQS.


Onshore but some swell

Been another blah Bunbury week for surf.

Currently there is a strong north wester blowing in and a bit of swell. If your desperate you could find some rides between the mush. Might just be that I'm hanging for a wave but there was the odd one off BP Groyne.

There is a bunch of body boarders out at the Wall. The waves are small and only just breaking but their enjoying themselves ! Maybe if the swell keeps rising the conditions might improve.

Tomorrow may be ok early. The wind is meant to be offshore but the swell is waning quickly.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Sofia wins home event

Sofia Mulanovich has won the Womens WCT event in Peru beating Stephanie Gilmore. The waves were ok, longish racy lefts.

Sofia moves to third on the ratings and Steph puts a few more points between her and Silvana Lima, who was beaten in the Quarters.

The next event is at Sunset Beach starting on 24th.

MOVISTAR PERU CLASSIC FINAL RESULTS:
1 – Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 15.00
2 – Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 14.74

MOVISTAR PERU CLASSIC SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 15.60 def. Coco Ho (HAW) 15.17
SF 2: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 16.27 def. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 16.20

MOVISTAR PERU CLASSIC QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
QF 1: Coco Ho (HAW) 14.74 def. Rosanne Hodge (ZAF) 10.16
QF 2: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 9.27 def. Paige Hareb (NZL) 6.60
QF 3: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 16.16 def. Silvana Lima (BRA) 6.83
QF 4: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 10.67 def. Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 10.17

ASP WOMEN’S WORLD TOUR TOP 5 (After Movistar Peru Classic):
1 – Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 4765 pts
2 – Silvana Lima (BRA) 4188 pts
3 – Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 3891 pts
4 – Coco Ho (HAW) 3679 pts
5 – Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 3043 pts

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Thank God this week is over

What a terrible week for surf. When knee height onshore BP shore break closeouts are tempting because they are the best waves you've seen all week its been a sad week !!

The two BPA swell buoys are showing 27 and 5 centimetres of swell. Crack out the rhino chasers.

Swell is meant to start to pick up over the next couple of days. Fingers crossed.

Slater and Quiksilver Crew Hit Mexico

Surfline has a great feature on its site showing a promotional trip by Kelly, Dane, Julian Wilson and Jeremy Flores. It is a mix of great photos, audio from Aaron Chang, the main photographer, video and a super slow mo section which is great to watch. You can see all the little things that great surfers do that others can't.

Click here to access the feature.

Women in Peru

The womens WCT is in Peru and after a few on and off days they have made it through to the quarters. Both title contenders are through, as is last contest winner Coco Ho. Home town hero Sofia Mulanovich is up against another former world champ Chelsea Hedges.

The waves look fun, nothing to testing but contestable at about three feet.

MOVISTAR PERU CLASSIC ROUND 3 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Coco Ho (HAW) 14.50 def. Alana Blanchard (HAW) 10.50
Heat 2: Rosanne Hodge (ZAF) 11.25 def. Melanie Bartels (HAW) 6.25
Heat 3: Paige Hareb (NZL) 11.60 def. Rebecca Woods (AUS) 9.40
Heat 4: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 15.00 def. Anali Gomez (PER) 8.75
Heat 5: Silvana Lima (BRA) 12.35 def. Megan Abubo (HAW) 12.35
Heat 6: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 17.85 def. Jacqueline Silva (BRA) 9.75
Heat 7: Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 11.65 def. Samantha Cornish (AUS) 7.00
Heat 8: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 13.50 def. Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) 8.50

MOVISTAR PERU CLASSIC QUARTERFINAL MATCH-UPS:
QF 1: Coco Ho (HAW) vs. Rosanne Hodge (ZAF)
QF 2: Paige Hareb (NZL) vs. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS)
QF 3: Silvana Lima (BRA) vs. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS)
QF 4: Chelsea Hedges (AUS) vs. Sofia Mulanovich (PER)

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Still Flat

Nothing to blog about this week because it is flat.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Nice day

but no surf. The wind is offshore but the swell has all but disappeared.

There is a cruise ship in port. Good day to come, most things will be closed or full for the Melbourne Cup !

Monday, November 2, 2009

Best wave ever

Small and offshore this afternoon. The nice day tempted a few to go out at BP and paddle around a bit. The waves were barely hip height and mainly closeouts but for one grom on a soft board he got a left that was the wave of his life. He told his older friend all about it and claimed he would be telling the story for years.

The enthusiasm of the newbie is a great re-charge for a grizzly old timer and makes a session where there were no waves almost as good as one where there is.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Arvo report


Still windy. The swell has come up a little with the tide. BP, Juniors and the Bay seem the only chance for waves with quite a few paddling out.

Windy and crowded

There are a few desperate surfers out there. The early showed a few very small and very short waves at BP and Juniors. But there were seven guys out already and not enough waves to go around.

The offshore is howling and is due to get stronger. Tomorrow is meant to be 50 kmh. Stay home.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Backwash fun

Everyone likes watching people get smashed at Backwash. This short video is from a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately I missed the wave where one guy decided to catch one in and ended up on the rocks before getting washed back out. All his mate thought it was hilarious, except the one that owned the board !!!!

Coco Ho wins the Search


A few days ago Coco Ho beat former World Champ Chelsea Hedges to win the Search. The waves were small but very contestable. In fact they were probably better than anything the blokes got.

The two women currently fighting out the World Title race Steph Gilmore and Silvana Lima finished 9th and 3rd respectively. Steph just holds the top spot with three events (Peru and two in Hawaii) to go.

You've probably missed it

Not great but there are a few little corners here and there for the desperate. However if you haven't already been out you probably won't get wet today. The wind is from the south and has started to crank up already. The clouds are moving in quick and there has already been a drop or two of rain.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Almost summer afternoon

The sea breeze came up and there were a few people here and there trying to catch the odd wind wave.

Nothing decent but those out seemed to be enjoying themselves.

More contest news

The Womens Search is on at one of the backup venues. The waves look really nice - clean, offshore and around chest height. They are in to round three with Steph Gilmore through. Her current competition for the world title, Silvana Lima just beating Aussie Jessie Miley-Dyer by less than 0.3 with a wave in the final minute.

Over in the Maldives Harley Ingelby has scored his first World Championship in the WLT with a second. Hawaiian Kai Sallas won.

Who will be World Champ ?


According to Mick Fanning's blog this is how the World Title race can unfold at Pipe.

Fanning finishes 33rd through a 9th at Pipeline, Parkinson needs a 3rd or better to overtake.
Fanning finishes 5th at Pipeline, Parkinson needs a 2nd or better to overtake.
Fanning finishes 3rd at Pipeline, Parkinson needs win the event to overtake.
If Fanning finishes 2nd or better at Pipeline, he will clinch the 2009 ASP World Title.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Onshore arvos

Strong onshores produced some decent sized wind waves along the Back Beach. Two body boarders were having a go but it was hardly classic surf.

Fanning wins Search


Mick Fanning has beaten Bede Durbridge in the final of the Search in Portugal. Fanning only had to surf once after Owen Wright pulled out of the semi due to a burst ear drum sustained the day before.

Durbridge took out Parko in the other semi. Parko was not happy after his loss however on adjusted points Mick will still need finish higher at Pipe to win the World Title. Bede's loss means that he is out of the running leaving on the two Coolie Kids.

The WLT is into round 2 at the Maldives. The webcast is on and the waves look fun. Last years world champ Bonga Perkins is out but current tour leader Harley Ingelby is easily through to the next round.

Onshore

with a little swell but not worth a sickie.

Search reaches semis


The Search ran through round three and the quarters.

Taj was knocked out in round three in the last two minutes. Fanning smashed Freddie P in the same round and Tim Reyes in the quarters. Two quarter finals were close with Bede Durbridge beating Jordy Smith by less than half a point and wildcard Owen Wright beating Damo Hopgood by 0.33.

Both semis should be great if the waves cooperate.

Fuel TV will be showing the rest of the contest live and it will be streaming on the net.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Swell jump

The swell has jumped a little this afternoon and the wind was still light and onshore. Still no real decent waves and it doesn't look good for tomorrow either with a weak front coming in.

Still need that artificial reef. Don't forget to vote in the poll.

Supertubos is on

The Search has finally ended up at the primary venue and the waves are big. Six to eight foot sets are smashing through the beachie and a few some barrels but plenty of smashing closeouts. Wave selection is the key.

Local knowledge is that the waves will get better when the swell and tide starts to drop. Contest director Dooma Hardman is hoping to run at least all of round three and possibly the quarters today and finish tomorrow.

Fuel TV is showing the contest live in Australia and streaming it in HD from their US site. The tv is the same as the webcast so lack some of the refinement of some other sports but it is live and from the beach somewhere. I'm just happy I get to watch on a proper sized screen.

Taj is in the next heat and this will remind him of Rabbit Hill. Parko just won his heat with a tube and an air. Owen Wright continues his good run in 'CT events by just beating Dane Reynolds with a killer backhand tube late in his heat.

Meanwhile in the Maldives it was a lay day for the WLT Oxbow Pro.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Is the Search jinxed ?

After the primary location was smashed and flooded by a storm the Search is now on hold due to thick fog.

Apparently the waves are really good but the judges can't see them.

In other contest news the second and final leg of the WLT is being held at Pasta Point in the Maldives. Round 1 is done with 2008 champ Bonga Perkins, current ratings leader Harley Ingelby and former no 1 Josh Constable all through. With only two events for the whole tour it is still any ones world title.

Flat and onshore

Go to work

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Round 2 is done but that's it

The waves hung around long enough for round two to be completed and for Fuel TV to change its electronic program guide before it was called off.

The expression session was held after a delay but the waves weren't frequent enough to keep going. Owen Wright and Dane Reynolds will be a good heat to watch. Winners are easy to predict as you can make a case for everyone. Now they just need decent waves.

RIP CURL PRO SEARCH ROUND 3 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Jordy Smith (ZAF)
Heat 2: Tom Whitaker (AUS) vs. Bede Durbidge (AUS)
Heat 3: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. Drew Courtney (AUS)
Heat 4: Kai Otton (AUS) vs. Joel Parkinson (AUS)
Heat 5: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. Dane Reynolds (USA)
Heat 6: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Damien Hobgood (USA)
Heat 7: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)
Heat 8: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Tim Reyes (USA)

Round Two Nearly Finished

Round two of the Search was held in decent waves. There are still a three heats to go.

The only upset was Slater being beaten by wildcard Owen Wright. Wright, who has qualified for next years WCT, beat Slater by just over 0.4. Both pulled into some clean little tubes and knocked down a few hacks. This has knocked Slater out of the world title race, not that he had much chance anyway.


Taj got through easily and threw a huge air on his way to the highest score of the round and contest so far.

Fuel TV will broadcast live from round three, which could be tonight. However the womens waiting period kicks in today so they might jump in ahead of the guys.

Almost Summer

The signs of summer, boardies, bikinis and buoys are starting to appear. The beach is nice but windy and a few are trying to ignore the fact the water is still cold.

The surf club have dropped out their swimming buoys for the season and patrols have started.

So has the strong offshores and no swell. The swell predictions are for 3 metres but it must be going out rather than coming in. There is a fair bit if north in the wind and rain forecast for the next few days but not much.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Round Two is go

Round two has started in decent waves. Unlike round one only one lower ranked surfer has been successful in a heat and that was one of those where both were pretty evenly matched.

Parko is in the water and leading his heat. If he wins then the title race goes to Pipe regardless. The next heat could be a killer with Aussie wildcard Owen Wright up against Kelly Slater. Dane Reynolds is in the heat after and Taj following that.

The conditions first up were clean, glassy and offshore with clean barrels on the lefts. The wind has swung a little and the tide is starting to affect it. Every other day has been split halfway through but this is another beach, so who knows what they will do ?

Friday, October 23, 2009

Low Tide in Portugal

The on and off first round is on for the second time today. This time it is at another of the back up venues.

After running a couple of heats earlier they have started again after the tide bottomed out. The waves look ok and offshore but a bit slow. At least today's heats were won with scores around 14.

The webcast is on but the stats tab shows you what happened at Bells !!!!!!!!

No swell

The tide has finally started to turn a little but the swell has disappeared. It basically flat along the Bunbury coast.

Its cloudy and the offshore has been strong since about 10 pm last night. If you've got the time, a run down south will get you waves. Its one of those days where the less popular spots will be firing.

Portugal Sucks

The first 8 heats of round one of the Search are done with the wildcards doing well in poor surf. It was pretty much the most boring surfing of the European leg, which is saying something as there hadn't been much to write home about.

Three of the heats were won with two waves totals under 10 and 15 was the best. Generally anything under 12 means your been given a whipping.

With the bottom half of the 'CT trying to re-qualify but only getting one chance there are a couple of guys who may be wishing they backed up on the WQS. Nathaniel Curran and Portuguese German Marlon Lipke both finally won heats but need huge results here and at Pipe if they are to avoid heading back to the "grind".

Parko must be worried. His mentor Luke Egan finally admitted that the ankle injury he sustained in Bali was still troubling him and that he re-injured it on his first wave at Munduka. The junky small waves just seem to make it an issues whereas if it was bigger and he could set a line rather than wiggle he might have been able to compensate. He would have been hoping for some size at Supertubos but may be forced into a mush fight.

Fanning can win the title here if Parko goes out early and a few other things happen. If things fall his way he doesn't even need to win. Hopefully he won't and it will go down to a duel at Pipe. CJ Hopgood can't be counted out and has yet to get lower than ninth. Technically everyone in the top ten can still win it all but in reality it is probably only the top three with Artiz the outsider.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Search Starts

The Rip Curl Search has just started. After the storm that destroyed the event infrastructure yesterday was the third lay day. The surf was huge but not contestable.

Today the swell has dropped off and the wind is bad for the primary site, Supertubos. Instead round 1 has started at the back up beachie. The forecast obviously isn't looking that great because they have moved to the elimination first round.

The waves don't look great and the tide kills it. The last heat was won with a highest score of a four and a combine total of 8 and a bit.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

BP Lookout Finished




The lookout at BP has been finished as has the footpath out to The Bay. Thanks must go to the City of Bunbury and Councillor Noel Whittle for the building of the lookout, which will become a very popular venue for those wedding photos !!!




The path is just a yellow line and some cones along one side of the road but at least you're slightly seperated from the trucks.





Low Tide


Nice weather but the tide is too low for surfing. Even the Bay is to shallow, making any swell into super fast zippers.

One guy out at BP Reef but he isn't that good. He is getting short rock hoppers but enjoying the conditions.

The onshore will probably meet the rising tide this afternoon.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Lay Day in Portugal

The Rip Curl Search WCT event has landed in Portugal this year. Apparently the wave is Europe's version of Pipeline. This year's event includes both men and women.

Yesterday was flat and a huge storm has hit today. Apparently there is a 6 metre plus swell on the way and they have had to reinforce the beach.

As usual there is a webcast and being a Rip Curl event it should be good.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

First Hot Day

We'll probably second hot day of Spring and the beach is packed. Good luck getting a parking spot at back beach.

Its one of those days that clubbies hate. First time most people have been in the water since last summer, the water is colder than people expect, Winter's rocks and sandbanks are still around and there is a decent size swell dumping onto the shallow bank and ripping back to sea. Plus they are only two weeks into their patrol season. If you decide to go for a swim be careful.

Although there is swell the lack of any banks continues to make it nothing better than close outs. Leave your board at home.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Differently the Same

A month ago I was complaining that it was hard to write because each day was another of rain, decent size swells, onshores and closeouts.

Now it is just as hard to write because it is days of sun, small but ok sized swells, strong offshores and closeouts.

Nothing surfable on the Bunbury coast. The Bay has a few body boarders in the corner who are catching some small wedges in between avoiding the set on the head.

If only we had an artificial reef. Don't forget to vote in our artificial reef poll.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

DeSouza wins in Spain

The Billabong Pro in Spain has been won by Brazillian Andriano DeSouza beating Aussie Chris Davidson. This is DeSouza's first WCT win and moves him into third on the ratings with two second placings.

Slater and CJ finished third and Taj was taken out by Slater in the Quarters.

Mick has move above Parko in the unadjusted ratings. Slater is now 6th and Taj 7th. Both have a mathematical chance of winning it all but basically would rely on the top five to lose in the first round of the next two events and they win both.

If you adjust the ratings now Parko is 186 points in front of Fanning with DeSouza just over 300 points behind. CJ, the only surfer in the top five without a 17th, is less than 1000 behind first.

The next event is the Rip Curl Search in Portugal next week.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Billabong Pro On

After one heat at Munduka its back to the beachie. The waves are better, light winds and some clean face on the lefts.

Mick Fanning has failed to capitalize on Parko's loss, losing in round three. Bobbie Martinez wouldn't be impressed with the move from Mundaka losing the second heat at the beachie. He was probably the best surfer yesterday finding long lefts and flying.

Slater is in the water right now and the waves have gone fat on the high tide.

Contest Director Mike Parsons has just indicated that they probably won't get back to Munduka in the rest of the waiting period and they may try to crown a winner today.

With both Mick and Fanning out the title race can close up if Slater, Taj and one of the Hopgoods can get through a few more heats.

Round 2 Over

And Parko is out again. With his round 2 win Mick Fanning has taken over the lead in the World Title race.

Even though it was a bit wonky and badly onshore the waves at Mundaka were very contestable and the early heats were an air-fest. It was a bit condusing to watch as they were running overlapping heats but at least there was lots of action.

Slater got through despite not surfing since France and having a dodgy knee (from golf at St Andrews). Taj snuck through by 0.3 much to the disgust of Artiz Aranburu who thought he had done enough.

Who knows what they will do today. The have at least one full day left in the contest. The wave is so tide affected that the window is pretty small but at least the days are long.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Spain on in the rain

But not at Munduka but some grovelly onshore beach break. Its got a bit of size but you wouldn't normally surf it. And its raining.

The latest call is that it will move to Mundaka this afternoon with over lapping heats. Not much help to those in the first round who will get eliminated in the crap surf.

There may be a break in the webcast as they dismantle the truck and head back for heat 1 of round 2. But the missed heats aren't much chop anyway.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Another Lay Day

Spent the last few hours checking in for each call for the Billabong Pro. Contest Director Mike Parsons must be getting a bit concerned as they packed up the infrastructure and moved to the back up beach break.

Only problem is that there isn't even a ripple there (despite the web-site claiming two feet). Bunbury was about three times the size today than Spain.

They will have to run soon otherwise they will run out of days.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Nothing Much to Say

Proper Spring day today. Sunny, shorts weather in the morning, grey and wet at lunchtime, bit cold in the afternoon but dry.

Surfwise the swell is small and the tide was very low this morning. Winds have been onshore all day and there was nothing worth surfing.

Some forecasts are showing a jump in swell size with a similar day to today.

My suggestion is to stay home and watch Bathurst !

Don't forget to vote in the artifical reef poll.

Mundaka is flat again

Yet another lay day at the Billabong Pro Munduka. Looking at the webcam it will take more than a change in tide to get the event going as it is even flater than yesterday when it stuggled to be a foot.

Munduka was in danger of being dropped after last year. Apparently some dredging had wrecked the bank but the main problem is that there isn't a decent back up wave if the rivermouth isn't firing. This year the bank is great but there just isn't any swell.

There a still a few days left in the waiting period and by using the elimination round one format they bought themselves another day. They keep posting the rumour of a decent swell to come soon. Lets hope it is true.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Ripping the Pit Video

Bunbury is a haven for body boarders and with school holidays winding down it is a great time to watch a clasic surfing video.

Enjoy Ripping the Pit and remember to "look out the back" !!!!!!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Mundaka Sneaks Up

The Billabong Pro in Mundaka has started a couple of days ago with about 8 heats in the elimination round one run during the low tide window.

Apparently the bank is all time (Luke Egan claims it as the best in 20 years) but the swell isn't helping. The last two days have been flat and it is likely that today will be the same. Contest Director, Mike Parsons, thinks there will be a decent swell late in the contest waiting period.

Mundaka has been a bit of a bust in the last few years with only three or four heats of last year actually run there. The back up beach is crappy but apparently has a bank if they are forced there.

Webcasts from Billabong are always good and you can expect Luke Egan and Occy to commentate sometime. The video highlights and heats on demand are always top class.


Building Swell

The swell is coming up but the weather is going down.

The Bay was the only place that was really surfable this morning. Not great for stand ups but the little band of body boarders were getting some nice wedges in the southern corner. Few little tubes and some close out bashes.

Monday, October 5, 2009

What do we need ?

Consider the last few day. Good winds, even tides and a nice clean swell. But was there any surf ? Sure there were waves, close outs, dumpers and fat dribblers in to a rip but no real, consistent surf.

Imagine if Bunbury had an artificial surfing reef (or better still three or four). Anyone who has surfed here for a while has watched swells roll in and smash pointlessly on the shore and dreamed of a decent reef.

There are a huge range of options. BP reef used to produce long lefts and with a bit of work may be able to again, with a right as well. Watch Hungry Hollow from the side on even a small day and you'll see what looks like an Indo dream. Or stand near where Fawlty Towers used to be on an offshore day and watch straight swell lines as far as the horizon, peaking way out but never breaking. There is plenty of beach south of Hungry Hollow with potential for a surfing reef.

Surfing reefs aren't just for surfers. With changes in sea level predicted, artificial reefs could have the benefit of preserving and stabilising beaches or protecting infrastructure, like Ocean Drive.

Bunbury is trying to attract tourists. If people are honest there isn't much here to keep visitors interested but it could be sold as a pivot point to the south west, with people heading off for day trips but returning here. A surfing reef would attract the older, richer surfer who wants the restaurants and nice hotels, without the costs of Margaret River. Head down south for the early and some lunch, back to Bunno for a nanna nap and the LAGO at the artificial reef. Next day, breakie at Cafe 140, day trip to Pemberton and the back for another wave with the friendly locals.

Want more reasons ? What about better fishing or shore based scuba diving. Perhaps marine studies for High School or improved beach safety for swimmers (no dumpers).

This isn't the first time artificial reefs have been floated in Bunbury. The Bunbury Surf Sports website has details of some of the early attempts. Perhaps it is time for us to start asking the question to council and government again !! Keep watching the blog for more information.

In the mean time there is a poll on the Blog site to gauge what type of wave we should be asking for. If your reading this in an RSS feed click on the title or here to get to the poll.

Nice Spring Day

Fine and offshore all day. There was even a little swell but suitable banks are few and far between.

Still the weather made it OK for a paddle if that was your desire.

Meant to be a kick in the swell late Wednesday but the rain is meant to be back as well.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Lima Wins

So we can expect a tattoo of her trophy on her other side !

Gilmore still has the number 1 spot with a first and two seconds but Lima has narrowed the points gap to just over 300. Sophia Millanovic has also stayed in the race with her third taking her over 2000 points.

Next WWCT event is the Search later this month.

Nice Conditions


Its ok around Bunbury but the lack of a decent bank is still hindering surfing.

The wind is light and offshore and the sea is glassy. It should basically stay similar most of the say but expect an onshore later.

A couple of newbies were getting a few small lefts off BP reef, there is finally a winter rip bank at Juniors with a couple of lefts and the Bay looks packed judging by the number of cars.

Some nice days forecast for the last half of the school hols so all day sessions are the go if your a grom.

Gilmore v Lima

In a repeat of Bells, Steph Gilmore will take on Silva Lima in the next few minutes in the final of the Beachley Classic. Lima has just left the water and only wants a 10 minute break.

Waves are still pretty poor but they need to finish it off today.

Hopefully Lima won't win and force the world to endure another terrible tattoo like she got to commemorate her Bells win !

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Beachley Classic On

Layne is out, getting beaten in round 3.

The waves are pretty big and onshore. Its the type of you generally wouldn't bother but every now and then a bit of face comes through.

The webcast is pretty poor, especially as some bloke keeps standing up in front of the camera. The commentators are trying but it is very hard to talk up such poor conditions.

The celebrity challenge is on later.

Light onshore

Light onshore winds at the moment and a smallish swell. The banks out from the surf club are still holding a little crumby shape.

A couple out and if your keen you'll probably get a wiggle or two. The wind could stay light for most of the day but they are already above what was predicted.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Want a Free Surf Movie ??????

Rip Curl is providing a free download of Rubber Soul II. The movie stars the best of the Rip Curl riders like Mick Fanning and Steph Gilmore.

You can watch it in parts on-line or download all 186 megs in MP4 format. MP4 works on Ipodsand Iphones but also on your computer if you have Itunes or one of the million different media players. (I suggest VLC player as it is free and plays just about every format you will find)

Very Small Window

There was a small window of surf first thing this morning. Quite a few were trying a little bank out the front of the Surfclub that was throwing up some nice little rights.

Unfortunately the wind had a heap of north in it and was picking up from sunrise. By 9.30 ish it was still a surfable but not for long.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Women FInally Back Surfing

The women's WCT has finally started again with the Beachley Classic. The last event was Bells way back in April.

The web-cast wasn't working properly this morning but the waves at Dee Why looked pretty crappy.

Layne came last in the first heat but it was non elimination. She is now into the first of two three surfer round two heats.

Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic Round 1 Results:
Heat 1: Rebecca Woods (AUS) 10.45, Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 9.15, Layne Beachley (AUS) 8.25
Heat 2: Melanie Bartels (HAW) 15.25, Rosanne Hodge (ZAF) 11.05, Amee Donohoe (AUS) 10.85
Heat 3: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 14.00, Tyler Wright (AUS) 12.40, Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 12.05
Heat 4: Silvana Lima (BRA) 8.60, Jacqueline Silva (BRA) 8.60, Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) 4.70
Heat 5: Coco Ho (HAW) 10.65, Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 10.35, Alana Blanchard (HAW) 10.25
Heat 6: Samantha Cornish (AUS) 9.55, Paige Hareb (NZL) 7.85, Bruna Schmitz (BRA) 6.40

Upcoming Commonwealth Bank Beachley Classic Round 2 Heats:
Heat 1: Amee Donohoe (AUS), Layne Beachley (AUS), Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS)
Heat 2: Chelsea Hedges (AUS), Bruna Schmitz (BRA), Alana Blanchard (HAW)

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Mick Wins Again

Fanning has made it two in a row beating Bede Durbrige in the final.

He had two good waves in his first three putting Bede in combo-land for most of the heat. Bede used up his full 15 waves but couldn't get more than a six.

Fanning has moved within a couple of hundred points of Parko. Parko will need to find some form to keep his lead as every result (other than a 33rd) will be a keeper while Mick is currently holding a 17th and 9th as his two lowest results.

With a few days left in the waiting period for this comp and the next in Spain not until the 5th October, Fanning be able to rest up his injured ankle.

Taj and Slater should move up but will need things to fall their way to win it all with three events left (all in left handers).

Quarters On

They are running all the way to the end in France.

Bede Durbige is ahead of Ben Dunn in quarter one. Wildcard Patrick Bevan continues to ride the local support and despite knocking out a fin when he hit a floating piece of wood beat Dean Morrison in his round 4 heat. He is up against Bobby Martinez in a few minutes.

Slater takes on Tiago Pires and then in a blockbuster Taj take on Mick Fanning.

Round 4 on

Round four has started with Dane Reynolds losing in the first heat and CJ Hopgood joining his brother on the side lines.

The Hopgoods have lost their chance to gain on Parko but Taj and Mick Fanning are still in it. Fanning knocked out Queensland grom Julian Wilson and will come up against Jordy Smith in a killer heat. Taj has Kieren Perrow and should have the advantage in the small waves. However the waves are only waist height again and currently clean. Wave selection will be the key as will a bit of luck.

There is some talk that they will try to finish the contest today, which means that the forecast is dismal.

QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE ROUND 4 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Dane Reynolds (USA)
Heat 2: Ben Dunn (AUS) vs. C.J. Hobgood (USA)
Heat 3: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. Taylor Knox (USA)
Heat 4: Dean Morrison (AUS) vs. Patrick Beven (FRA)
Heat 5: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Michel Bourez (PYF)
Heat 6: Tiago Pires (PRT) vs. Tim Boal (FRA)
Heat 7: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Jordy Smith (ZAF)
Heat 8: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Kieren Perrow (AUS)

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Parko out early again

Another upset for Parko going down to the French wildcard with the very un-French name of Patrick Bevan.

Slater is in the water against another Frenchman. Both have cranked airs on the their first waves. Slater got underscored at a 7.83 for a couple of big backhand snaps, a couple of floaters and a big air in the shorie. Joan Duru was overscored, with a great fins out reo and the speed drive for a big grab rail air reverse earning a 9.1.

The crowd is going mental.

France is like BP

France looks like Bp on a good day but the contest is on anyway.

Round three has hit the water after some heats of a grom contest first thing. The waves are maybe two feet (waist height) and nothing special. Apparently the forecast isn't good and they are going to get through at least round 3 and leave them with only a day's worth of surfing to finish.

However all the heats so far have had a score over 14 for the win with Dane Reynolds scoring 18.27 and Bobby Martinez having a 9 and 7 in his heat. Dane was riding some wide thing with big side fins and a little centre trailer. The commentator didn't want to call Bobby's board a fish but still think it is.

Round three looks like this -
Heat 1: Bede Durbidge (AUS) def. Nic Muscroft (AUS)
Heat 2: Dane Reynolds (USA) def. Roy Powers (HAW)
Heat 3: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) lost to Ben Dunn (AUS)
Heat 4: C.J. Hobgood (USA) def. Phillip MacDonald (AUS)
Heat 5: Bobby Martinez (USA) comboed Greg Emslie (ZAF)
Heat 6: Taylor Knox (USA) vs. Dustin Barca (HAW)
Heat 7: Mick Campbell (AUS) vs. Michel Bourez (PYF)
Heat 8: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Patrick Beven (FRA)
Heat 9: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Joan Duru (FRA)
Heat 10: Kai Otton (AUS) vs. Michel Bourez (PYF)
Heat 11: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Tiago Pires (PRT)
Heat 12: Tom Whitaker (AUS) vs. Tim Boal (FRA)
Heat 13: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Julian Wilson (AUS)
Heat 14: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. Heitor Alves (BRA)
Heat 15: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Aritz Aranburu (EUK)
Heat 16: Kieren Perrow (AUS) vs. Chris Davidson (AUS)

Possibilities

Wind is offshore but with a lot of north making it a bit bumpy. The banks haven't miraculously changed overnight and the only waves holding up a little are out of the rips and into fat channels.

The Bay has some waves in between closeouts and killer wedges. Three body boarders are battling a rip way up the northern end but getting a few nice waves.

Its hard to tell what the rest of the day will be like. It is possible that is the tide and wind change a bit there might be some better waves. It one of those days where you need to burn a tank load of fuel and keep checking and hoping.

Friday, September 25, 2009

More Progress at BP

The concrete pad is down for the lookout at BP. Bit of a miracle when you consider the weather.

Work has started on a footpath from the park to basically join up with the path to the Bay and Wall. The entry walls have been removed as well. Rumour has it that the path will just be an extension of the road but some Councilors have pressed the BPA to put in a proper concrete path. We'll have to see what happens.

Only One Thing Could Ruin Today

Offshore winds - all day
Swell - solid
Surface - glassy
Weed - gone
Sun - present
Banks - straight

Bunbury was basically a single close out from Mindalong to the Bay. However that hasn't stopped a pile of people going out. The dumpers were better suited to body boarders than stand ups and one guy at the Bay was getting nicely barreled this afternoon.

One surfer tried his hand at Fraggles and every now and then got a freak wave. There were even waves right of the end of the Wall. Ok not surfable waves but waves.

Didn't check but I'm sure that Capel Cut and Binningup had waves.

My spies from down south tell me that everywhere had swell but some wonky sand build ups and the swell direction made some places less than "all time". Apparently North Point was the spot or so the 40 who paddled out thought. About 6 foot plus with two massive tubes on each wave.

South Point was less crowded but good. A tow crew was out on Cow Bombie. Yallingup was big but Yallingup. The whitewater up the coast seemed to indicate that Bears would have been pumping. Even the Farm had surfable waves.

Tomorrow looks offshore but the wind could swing by Sunday and it is forecast to rain for most of next week. Great start for those groms on school holidays.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Short Day in France

Just a few heats of round two run today before it was called off. No great surprises so far.

The judging has been a bit strange at times with lots of waves seeming to be under scored. It looks like big floaters are being preferred to big, fins out, vertical snaps. Jake Patterson called one wave the "best wave of the day" but the score was so low it didn't make it into the surfers final two.

Check out the heats on demand

Don't Get Your Hopes Up !!!!

But an offshore is forecast for tomorrow and at least part of the weekend.

The swell is up but is has been onshore all day. Nothing locally and it is hard to see if there are any banks.

Checked out the Capel Cut, which was breaking way out and like a big close out.

Fingers crossed.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Round 1 On

Round one has started in the Quiksilver Pro, France.

Waves are ok, a little onshore and a little close out-ish. Some great floaters going down but only one real section for a lip smack.

Taj has won as has Mick, Parko and Slater. Slater chose the inside reforms and pulled into a great backhand barrel. As usual he was above everyone else.

Dane Reynolds has just beaten Nathaniel Curran in the final minute with a high eight. Have to feel sorry for Curran who held the lead easily for the rest of the heat and would have won most others.

The webcast is good is a little choppy at times but worth watching.

Will it ever end ?

More poor weather and this time very little swell.

Swell picking up over the next few days and the weekend is meant to be fine.

Still be brown.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Taj Down, Slater Up

There has been a bit of a shakeup in the top 10 after the Hurley Pro.

Taj has dropped to 8th after collecting a "dirty turd" (33rd)and he will have to carry at least one 17th into his final total. Slater has bounced back to jump to 6th. He to will have to carry a 17th but with a first, 9th and 3rd in his last three events and a good record in both France and Mundaca he may still be in with a chance.

Mick Fanning has jumped into 2nd and leads the prize money total this year thanks to the $US 105 000 from Hurley. This pushed him over the million in career earnings, one of only four (Slater with nearly 2 mill, Taj and Parko) currently on tour.

Brazil's De Souza is having his best year ever and is third. Drop his worst two scores at the moment and he has nothing less than a 5th. The Hopgoood twins round out the top five.

The next event is in France, starting Wednesday. Personally I hate this leg. The waves are usually massive close outs and stop working when the tide changes. Winning often comes down to luck rather than skill. Being a Quiksilver event expect another good webcast and if you get bored watch it in French !!!!! At least it will be on at a decent hour.


CURRENT ASP WORLD TOUR TOP 10 RATINGS:
1 – Joel Parkinson (AUS) 5486 points
2 – Mick Fanning (AUS) 4550 points
3 – Adriano de Souza (BRA) 4348 points
4 – C.J. Hobgood (USA) 4272 points
5 – Damien Hobgood (USA) 3974 points
6 – Kelly Slater (USA) 3906 points
7 – Bede Durbidge (AUS) 3760 points
8 – Taj Burrow (AUS) 3685 points
9 – Taylor Knox (USA) 3616 points
10 – Bobby Martinez (USA) 3582 points

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Mick Wins Trestles

Mick Fanning has just won the Hurley Pro at Trestles, beating Dane Reynolds by a combo score.

Mick was on fire starting with a 6+ before dropping in two 8s when the waves returned late in the heat. Dane went big on every wave but just couldn't stick enough to win.

It was a big day with the contest running from Round 4 all the way to the final. The waves were pretty good but a bit inconsistent. Some heat suffered from long lulls with others full of waves.

Mick should head up the ratings with most of those around him falling early. Brazilian Adriano De'Souza has pushed into second and continues his stellar year. Slater made the semis so should move well into the top 10.