More Iggy

Two new videos from Cyclone Iggy courtesy of elsegoodproductions.com. Jay Davies and Taj get shacked in waves that are only slightly smaller than Bianca but way more gnarly.

iggy storm from Elsegoodproductions.com on Vimeo.

sneaky peaks from Elsegoodproductions.com on Vimeo.

Round three

Round three of the blokes and Mick Fanning is out. So too is John Florence but generally the top seed won each heat. That means TB through but Yadin out.

Round four is non-elimination.

QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 2 RESULTS:
HEAT 1: Owen Wright (AUS) 14.90 def. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 14.50
HEAT 2: Josh Kerr (AUS) 15.50 def. Kieren Perrow (AUS) 14.90
HEAT 3: Adriano De Souza (BRA) 14.07 def. Kolohe Andino (USA) 12.74
HEAT 4: Michel Bourez (PYF) 14.36 def. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 10.83
HEAT 5: Heitor Alves (BRA) 15.07 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 12.84
HEAT 6: Kelly Slater (USA) 16.36 def. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 12.40
HEAT 7: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 13.50 def. Yadin Nicol (AUS) 12.27
HEAT 8: Miguel Pupo (BRA) 12.67 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. 11.17
HEAT 9: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 14.83 def. Raoni Monterio (BRA) 12.20
HEAT 10: Julian Wilson (AUS) 18.57 def. Adam Melling (AUS) 15.63
HEAT 11: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 16.03 def. John John Florence (HAW) 13.60
HEAT 12: Taj Burrow (AUS) 14.20 def. Travis Logie (AUS) 13.16

UPCOMING QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 4 MATCH-UPS:
HEAT 1: Owen Wright (AUS), Josh Kerr (AUS), Adriano De Souza (BRA)
HEAT 2: Michel Bourez (PYF), Heitor Alves (BRA), Kelly Slater (USA)
HEAT 3: Joel Parkinson (AUS), Miguel Pupo (BRA), Jordy Smith (ZAF)
HEAT 4: Julian Wilson (AUS), Adrian Buchan (AUS) Taj Burrow (AUS)

ROXY PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 3 RESULTS:
HEAT 1: Tyler Wright (AUS) 16.20, Sarah Mason (NZL) 12.80, Silvana Lima (BRA) 9.63
HEAT 2: Laura Enever (AUS) 16.83, Paige Hareb (NZL) 14.07, Carissa Moore (HAW) 13.57
HEAT 3: Malia Manuel (HAW) 14.53, Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 12.90, Courtney Conlogue (USA) 10.64

Pre-dawn

Nice morning. Offshore and mid tide but not really enough swell. There is the odd little one if you are really really patient. The swell is meant to be fading.

Surf : 1 foot mac
Wind : SE
Swell : fix the buoy
Quality : 5+
Recommendation : work

Round two

Is done. Nothing really remarkable. No Hopgoods left but that's about it.

Taj takes on Travis Logie, who has been a bit of a nemesis in the past. Yadin has a tough heat against Parko.

QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 2 RESULTS:
HEAT 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 16.36 def. Garrett Parkes (AUS) 6.43
HEAT 2: Taj Burrow (AUS) 18.10 def. Dane Reynolds (USA) 16.06
HEAT 3: Yadin Nicol (AUS) 13.13 def. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 12.53
HEAT 4: Julian Wilson (AUS) 14.06 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 13.73
HEAT 5: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 17.43 def. Taylor Knox (USA) 12.33
HEAT 6: Travis Logie (ZAF) 15.30 def. Alejo Muniz (BRA) 13.03
HEAT 7: Josh Kerr (AUS) 17.60 def. Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 10.53
HEAT 8: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 15.86 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 10.33
HEAT 9: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 13.67 def. Jadson Andre (BRA) 12.07
HEAT 10: Kieren Perrow (AUS) 14.00 def. CJ Hobgood (USA) 13.84
HEAT 11: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 13.53 def. Tiago Pires (PRT) 10.73
HEAT 12: Kolohe Andino (USA) 14.33 def. Brett Simpson (USA) 13.87

UPCOMING QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 3 MATCH-UPS:
HEAT 1: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. Matt Wilkinson (AUS)
HEAT 2: Josh Kerr (AUS) vs. Kieren Perrow (AUS)
HEAT 3: Adriano De Souza (BRA) vs. Kolohe Andino (USA)
HEAT 4: Michel Bourez (PYF) vs. Bede Durbidge (AUS)
HEAT 5: Jeremy Flores (FRA) vs. Heitor Alves (BRA)
HEAT 6: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)
HEAT 7: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Yadin Nicol (AUS)
HEAT 8: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Miguel Pupo (BRA)
HEAT 9: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. Raoni Monterio (BRA)
HEAT 10: Julian Wilson (AUS) vs. Adam Melling (AUS)
HEAT 11: John John Florence (HAW) vs. Adrian Buchan (AUS)
HEAT 12: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Travis Logie (AUS)

Round two

Quikie Pro is running men's round two after finishing the same round in the women. Conditions are ok, a bit onshore but with enough long walls to get some big scores.

Taj and Yadin are both through to round three as is Julian Wilson.

Watch it on FuelTV or the net.

Too late

Onshore has come in and messed it up. Luckily I waited out the most feral of the crowd and got a couple of clean ones on the Kelvinator.

The board is a wave catcher and super fast. Unlike my other boards when you do get one it is short enough to short arc turn.

Glassy

Light offshore and glassy. The swell has dropped since yesterday but the crowd hasn't.

There is the odd wave off the reef and mostly close outs at Juniors. But catching them around the grom frothers will not be easy.

The south wester will be in sometime and stay all day.

Surf : big end of 1 foot
Swell : 3m+ at Naturaliste
Wind : offshore less than 10 kmh
Quality : mostly closeouts
Desperation : crowd control
Recommendation : up to you but don't wait

New season starts

The 2012 season started where it ended last year - with two surfers at opposite ends of their careers and ages smashing everyone in sight.

Both Slater and John Florence scored two nines in their heat wins in round one. Both mixed a deep barrel with a massive hack or figure eight cutback. Slater's first nine was his first wave of the ASP season and shows that 12 in 12 is only going to be stopped by him.

WA's veteran Taj Burrow and rookie Yadin Nichol both came second in their round one heats with respectable scores. The conditions were a bit hit and miss and whoever got the best wave was going to win. Taj will take on Dane "over-it" Reynolds and Yadin has Brazillian Gabe Medina.

The women also ran through round one. No real surprises in any of the heats.

Next call is 5.30 am our time tomorrow. It (like all of this years events) will be live on FuelTV as well as streamed on the net and either the ASP or Quiksilver apps.

QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 1 RESULTS:
HEAT 1: Adriano De Souza (BRA) 13.83, Taylor Knox (USA) 10.66, Kieren Perrow (AUS) 7.70
HEAT 2: Owen Wright (AUS) 12.37, Bede Durbidge (AUS) 12.34, Kai Otton (AUS) 10.37
HEAT 3: Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 11.63, Yadin Nicol (AUS) 10.37, Gabriel Medina (BRA) 9.60
HEAT 4: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 15.43, Taj Burrow (AUS) 11.43, Brett Simpson (USA) 11.27
HEAT 5: Adam Melling (AUS) 15.70, Joel Parkinson (AUS) 15.43, Dane Reynolds (USA) 14.90
HEAT 6: Kelly Slater (USA) 18.80, Garrett Parkes (AUS) 12.73, Kolohe Andino (USA) 10.60
HEAT 7: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 11.83, Julian Wilson (AUS) 11.83, Travis Logie (ZAF) 8.67
HEAT 8: Miguel Pupo (BRA) 12.00, Jordy Smith (ZAF) 11.96, Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 11.60
HEAT 9: Heitor Alves (BRA) 14.36, Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 14.17, Alejo Muniz (BRA) 10.87
HEAT 10: Michel Bourez (PYF) 12.77, Jeremy Flores (FRA) 11.67, Jadson Andre (BRA) 8.00
HEAT 11: Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.26, Josh Kerr (AUS) 13.67, CJ Hobgood (USA) 11.84
HEAT 12: John John Florence (HAW) 19.60, Damien Hobgood (USA) 16.50, Tiago Pires (PRT) 12.50

QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 2 MATCH-UPS:
HEAT 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) VS. Garrett Parkes (AUS)
HEAT 2: Taj Burrow (AUS) VS. Dane Reynolds (USA)
HEAT 3: Gabriel Medina (BRA) VS. Yadin Nicol (AUS)
HEAT 4: Julian Wilson (AUS) VS. Kai Otton (AUS)
HEAT 5: Jordy Smith (ZAF) VS. Taylor Knox (USA)
HEAT 6: Alejo Muniz (BRA) VS. Travis Logie (ZAF)
HEAT 7: Josh Kerr (AUS) VS. Patrick Gudauskas (USA)
HEAT 8: Damien Hobgood (USA) VS. Matt Wilkinson (AUS)
HEAT 9: Jeremy Flores (FRA) VS. Jadson Andre (BRA)
HEAT 10: Kieren Perrow (AUS) VS. CJ Hobgood (USA)
HEAT 11: Bede Durbidge (AUS) VS. Tiago Pires (PRT)
HEAT 12: Brett Simpson (USA) VS. Kolohe Andino (USA)

ROXY PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 1 RESULTS:
HEAT 1: Malia Manuel (HAW) 10.24, Silvana Lima (BRA) 8.73, Courtney Conlogue (USA) 8.10
HEAT 2: Tyler Wright (AUS) 17.70, Lakey Peterson (USA) 12.26, Pauline Ado (FRA) 7.33
HEAT 3: Carissa Moore (HAW) 13.73, Rebecca Woods (AUS) 11.33, Philippa Anderson (AUS) 11.33
HEAT 4: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 14.64, Paige Hareb (NZL) 10.10, Sarah Mason (NZL) 7.94
HEAT 5: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 14.33, Sage Erickson (USA) 13.70, Laura Enever (AUS) 6.40
HEAT 6: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 12.73, Coco Ho (HAW) 12.13, Jacqueline Silva (BRA) 7.54

Crowds

Fair old crowd this morning. There was 15 at seven and there is more than twenty now.

There are two swells in the water, a short period wind swell and longer period ground swell. This means there are lots of waves coming in as twos.

The reef was good earlier and two goofies were ripping it up. Juniors has now taken the bulk of the crowd as the onshore starts to pick up.

It's pretty messy, very crowded and not that great. I didn't enjoy it but you might. Don't wait to long.

Kick

The swell has kicked up to over four metres on the Naturaliste buoy but the onshore has wrecked it all day.

The weather forecast for tomorrow isn't much better and Sunday is mostly iffy. Maybe Monday early if the swell hangs around.

Morning

A bit of fast moving but messy swell in the water this morning. Juniors is the "pick" at about 2 foot. The wind is from the south and strong enough to be messing things up. There are white caps on the horizon so it is here to stay.

If you want to get wet and are prepared paddle for lots but get few you will probably get a face or two. It's not good enough to waste a sickie on though.

Size : 1 - 2
Wind : southerly
Swell : who knows - the buoy is offline again
Quality : 6 out of 10 - sloppy
Desperation level : bored
Recommendation : don't give up something for this

Virgin

Finally got the Yahoo Kelvinator wet but only just.

There is a building swell showing this afternoon but the combination of the onshore winds and the sand from no waves for a few weeks made it unsurfable.

I tried in vain to find a corner but it was basically shore dumpers. I did get to my feet for nano seconds on three waves but that was it.

The forecast is for a swell building to three metres by strongish onshores as well. Naturaliste is already up to 2.5 and climbing. I can hear the wind and waves through my window but it's not sounding good.

Glimmer of hope for a Sunday LAGO.

Draining

The flat spell continues. No swell and no breeze to either make some or give some wind wave release. The swell buoy has been out of action for a few days but would be pretty straight lined.

There is a glimmer with the passing of a weak front tomorrow. The swell is meant to rise to 2.5 metres but the winds will be onshore. We'll just need to hold our breath and wait.

Some days

You just aren't destined to get wet.

There was new board surfable wind wave at Juniors and plenty of kiters. That's the positive before the conspiracy began.

First I get stuck a work when I should have been home. My wife is crook so I had to get some shopping, walk the dogs and cook tea. Tea could wait till after waves but the others needed to be done first.

Straight to the shops, grab the groceries and use the self service checkout. The most important thing when shopping is to have cash or a transaction card or a credit card. I opened my wallet to find none of these and remembered them on my bedside table.

Back home. Take the dogs to run amuck. My plan is to let them run themselves around till they are puffed, which shouldn't be long.

Instead they pissed off up the beach and wouldn't come back. When they did they disappeared up the other way. By the time I could grab them it was too late to go out.

So the Kelvinator remains unridden.

0.17 at 20 seconds, seas 0.76

Woof

Just back from taking my dogs for their morning walk and poop.

It's still flat. No swell at all.

The forecast is for a sea breeze but it doesn't look that good even for a wind wave. The next few days don't look much better.

Surf : flat
Wind : light
Swell : 0.28 @ 14
Desperation level : impossible to be this desperate
Recommendation : work or school

Waiting

Onshore dribble for the second day in a row. To make it worse I have a new board sitting in the garage waiting for its maiden voyage.

The Yahoo Kelvinator is a 6'4" x 23" x 3" quad. It has more foam and volume than my mini-mal and should be Taylor made for Bunbury.

This is my 10th Mark Ogram board and I have never been disappointed with either the way they ride or the quality. Yahoo surfboards are in Clarke Steet Dunsborough or check them on the net. Best boards in WA.

Slow Mo

Some new footage from some hi-tech slow mo cameras. The definition has you ignoring the surfing and watching individual drops of water.

DAY DREAMING from Rick Rifici on Vimeo.

More Surfing Videos

Sundays

Low tide and a small southerly swell in the water. No real waves but two groms out at Juniors anyway.

The forecast is for 3.5 metres but the direction is a little wrong. Currently its dipping to 0.35 at 15 seconds at buoy 10.

Gone

Now that I have a break to go surfing the swell had disappeared. It was there at 8.30 with the crowd and there at 11.00 with the two SUPs but it ain't there now.

The wind is strengthening from the south.

I'm a bit annoyed.

Winter

Cold and damp.

The swell has dropped but there are still a few waves around. There is a fair sized crowd for the consistency and most are sitting on the reef.

The wind is quite strong and with a lot of south in it. It's making the waves wobbly and the tide is a bit high.

If you didn't get any yesterday it's worth a paddle provided you can accept only getting one or two.

Size : 2' with the very odd bigger one
Wind : SSE
Swell : 0.49 @ 12
Quality : wobbly
Desperation level : can you handle a crowd of kooks ?
Recommendation : worth a paddle if you have nothing to do

Footage

A few pics from this afternoon. The swell has stuck around but the crowd really built up. I'm glad that I got it first thing to myself. The waves were about the same and the lulls as long but I only had to battle myself for the sets. There was plenty of drop in and the frustration level was high. The warm weather seemed to bring out a few kooks who didn't know the rules.

0.71 at 12 seconds

Still

Plenty of waves. The mysto BP right is firing as is Juniors and the reef.

Bit of a crowd though.

0.69 at 11

Cyclone swell ?

Glassy, light ESE winds and a decent north swell. What are you waiting for ?

I have just had the best Juniors of the summer so far with no one out. The swell is clean and wally. The only problem is the long, long wait between sets. At the top of the range the waves are chest height and driving across the reef to dump you on the southern rocks.

Size : up to 3 foot
Wind : ESE
Swell : 0.56 at 13 seconds
Desperation level : low - get out there
Recommendation : hit it

Rain

Quick bit of rain and a strong gust of wind about 9.00 pm. The harbour buoy is rising quickly and is over 0.4,although Naturaliste isn't going up that sharply. It looks like there is a fair whack of north in it so we might be getting it first. Some of the cloud is from Cyclone Iggy, which is heading down past Carnarvon, so maybe we'll get some swell on the weekend from it. The forecast is for showers, offshores and up to three metres of swell for tomorrow. I'm always disappointed when I hype myself up for waves but my blistered feet might keep me out of the water and guarantee waves for everyone else. Plus school is back - no groms.