Ouch !!!!!!!

Went to Dunsborough to look at a new board today. Mark "Hillzy" Hills at Yahoo Surfboards lent me a 6'4" Kelvinator to try out.

There is hardly any swell but I decided to try it out at very small Shallows. Normally I wouldn't have bothered but it was clear, offshore and empty and I wanted to try the board anyway.

It wasn't that hot but to my dismay the path down was firey black sand. I haven't lived further than a k from a beach for 30 years, must have gone to the beach thousands of time and been down that path 50. Until today I had never burnt my feet. The soles of my feet and most of my toes are covered in blisters. It's a bit off putting when you stand up and can feel the blistered skin squishing around in your wax.

Regardless the board went really well, especially as it was so tiny. The board is a thick slab and I'm planning to replace my 7'6" mini mal with it. It needs to be able to surf crappy Juniors and if it can catch waves today, it can catch them anywhere.

Needless to say I put in my order and hopefully it will be ready soon.

Locally it is flat, proper flat. The harbour buoy is at 0.17 and the wind is blowing any chances of swell towards South Africa. The forecast isn't looking great but the cyclone could change it. Don't expect a Bianca swell though.

No surf

There is still a little swell but no waves.

There might be a wind wave later.

Ok

A few little one move waves at Juniors. It is really nice in the water so if you've got nothing to do and just want to get wet then get out there.

Size : 1 foot
Wind : NE
Swell : 0.5 at 14
Quality : fun but short
Desperation level : cool off
Recommendation : go south but if you can't have a grom bash

Don't come down

I'm going to test the remaining swell in choppy sideshore, low tide conditions.

Stay home because there isn't many to go around !!!!!

Arvo

Still plenty of swell but massive lulls. When a set does come at least two of the three waves is a close out. BP Reef does have a few rideable ones.

A spy tells me that Yallingup was pretty huge. The Naturaliste buoy is showing 2.3 after maxing at three last night.

Size : big 2 foot
Wind : NNE
Swell : 0.58 at 14 - dropping from a mid day peak of 0.7
Quality : ok if you get the rare one with a wall
Desperation level : about 10 degrees cooler than it is
Recommendation : wag work and go south for an early

Windy

The wind and the swell are up but the quality is down. There are plenty of lines but with a lower tide and the strong offshore there isn't much in the rideable range. To top it off the sets are a long way apart.

Size : up to the top end of 2
Wind : strong SSE
Swell : 0.53 at 14 seconds
Quality : long waits and close outs
Desperation level : can't get down south
Recommendation : keep watching

Fooling

Don't be fooled by the crowd there aren't any waves. It is still hot and there is a little swell but it is too inconsistent to ride.

I settled for a hand plane session at Barnacles to cool down.

Size : coming every now and then
Quality : nice if they were consistent
Wind : SSE
Swell : 0.42 at 13 seconds
Desperation level : 34 degrees
Recommendation : swim or air con

Littl

There is a smidge of swell and nice conditions. I took the mal out to escape the heat and got about half a dozen inside runners. Nothing great but fun anyway.

The swell feels like it wants to come up but the wind is starting to swing.

Tried a couple on the handboard later and broke it ! The old glue and wrong clamps finally gave way. I have a new piece of wood, rescued from a wardrobe, waiting for version four.

Size : 1 foot set
Wind : SE
Swell : 0.37
Quality : ok
Desperation level : fun way to stay cool if your board is long
Recommendation : lunch time clean

Late blogging

Bit late but I have been busy.

There were a few wind waves this afternoon up to about chest height on the odd bigger one at Juniors. Some faces as it was a little full.

The kite boarders and windsurfers were out in force. Some of the kiters were getting some nice waves but the guy with the red kite needs to give the surfers more room. There was plenty of space to share but this guy kept coming within a couple of metres of surfers. He probably thought he wouldn't hit anybody but there was no room for error.

The forecast is for the swell to hit four metres tomorrow afternoon. It's going to be stinking hot as well.

Dark water

Grey and with the odd flash of lightning to the north. The wind is onshore and the swell non-existent.

Size : flat
Wind : side/onshore
Quality : zip
Harbour buoy : 0.21
Desperation level : building
Recommendation : stay away from tall metal things !

Its back

Finally the harbour buoy is back in service, even if it only showing 20 centimetres of swell.

Click here or on the link down the right side or on the weather/swell page.

Needless to say it was flat today, with the swell kick not really showing and some very high tides.

Sorry

Sorry if you went down the beach to check things out this morning. It was flat.

This afternoon wasn't any good either.

More dribble

But cleaner. Onshore mush-burgers again this afternoon and about the same size as yesterday. The wind was more westerly so the wave faces were a little cleaner.

Not great but I had some company for a change.

Size : knee to hip
Wind : SW
Quality : mush
Desperation level : up there
Recommendation : mini-mals

Dribble

The wind didn't pick up much and it had heaps of south in it. There was the smallest wind wave for the surf starved with big boards (me).

The forecast tomorrow is for a strong SW blow and a rise in swell to 2.5 metres.

Size : knee height
Wind : SSW
Desperation level : equal with mine
Recommendation : got wet but you didn't miss anything

Bumps

Light onshore and just a couple of really small bumps. I went for a swim at Juniors and two desperation dribbles came through in thirty odd minutes.

The forecast is for a SW change so there could be enough to break the absolute flat spell. Won't be good p, just better than nothing.

Swell : 1 footer every fifteen minutes
Wind : N
Desperation level : two week flat spell
Recommendation : watch and hope

Promises

I know I promised more surf reports but it has been flat and is getting flatter. There isn't any positive news on the horizon either.

Dolphins

Watching a pod of dolphins doing their best shark impressions at Barnacles.

Surf wise it is frustratingly small. The wind is light SSE but the waves are only thigh height. The lulls are huge and the ones that might be mal surfable are weird and crossed up.

Add to the low tide and I should have stayed in bed !

Size : 7"
Wind : light SSE
Quality : looks nice
Desperation level : fun day for learner when it warms up
Recommendation : bring the kids

Mushier

The wind has been in all day and there size is now big enough to surf. There is a lot of weed around.

It is really fluky and you could end up paddling a lot more than surfing.

Size : 2'
Wind : SW
Quality : onshore mush but rideable
Desperation level : bored
Recommendation : only if you don't have something better to do

Mushy

Small and mushy this morning. The wind is SSW and moderate with the swell only about a foot.

If you're really desperate you might get a wiggle but it is probably better to wait and see if it improves.

Size : 1 foot
Wind : SSW
Desperation level : high
Recommendation : watching brief

Moving

Currently moving house closer to the beach. I'm planning to increase the number of "surf reports" because BP is so close.

Today it is onshore mush. The cloud is starting to burn off but the wind is SSE and looks like it has settled in. If it warms up I suspect that some boogers on holidays will have a bash but it's got to get a lot better before grown ups hit it.

Recommendation : work

2012

On the eight day there were waves. Had a surf at Juniors this afternoon around three. It was a very small window between tides and winds but short fun rides anyway.

I surfed my mal and was able to grab a few. But I blew the best one by nose diving on takeoff. It was really inconsistent with long lulls but there is the start of a link between the reef and the beach.

It was grey and overcast and I was alone so the shark vibe was turned up a little. Funny how after this many sightings every bit of chop is shaped liked a dorsal fin !!!