Been a while

Moved away from the blog towards the ease and immediacy of twitter and Instagram (@bunburysurf1).

A conversation there made me think about maybe blogging again. I'll think about it and see how much time I can spare. 

Some pics from today's swell.

Dawn

Some swell hanging around on a decent tide and glassy conditions. If you can get out soon you should jag the odd one at Juniors and very rare one off the reef. Barnacles is super sucky on the take off but running through to the beach due to some recent sand movement. All you groms on school holidays should try there.

Magic sunrise this morning with the ocean pink and the other side bright yellow.

0.37 @ 12

Runs

The best run of swell that I can remember in ages. Its dropping now but could still be ok tomorrow. Not only was the swell strong but it was warm and mostly offshore as well. The only problem was the crowds and their lack of understanding of surfing etiquette, especially "one surfer per wave". At 6.30 this morning there was 15 out at BP Reef and at 4.30 this arvo the whole BP carpark was full, with a steady 30 in the water. When one got out another got in. And it has been like that for every daylight minute since Saturday morning.

This has kept me out of the water a bit over the period but I had to get wet this afternoon. Despite sitting deep and dangerous on the reef at Juniors I caught six waves and got drop in on twice. To rub it in both failed to make the drop (they never were going to make it), causing me to straighten out straight at the rocks. And it wasn't a case of us being next to each other, I had been up and riding and about to hit their section when they paddled in. One was actually trying to go left while I was riding at him ???? To rub it in one booger sat inside me and called me out of a wave he was too deep for and then stopped paddling !!!!

The proper take offs for the three breaks are shallow, sucky and very small. You can't straighten out because the reef in front of you is less than fin deep. The drop in kooks are safe on the shoulder. If I didn't care about my boards I would just run them over.

Unlike a couple of older guys at BP Reef who hog every wave despite not being greatly skilled, I only catch a small number of waves. I'm picky on which one I want and like to day generally let the first wave of the set go through. If you've waited your turn regardless of how long since my last wave, the next set is yours (just don't screw it up). The guys dropping in on me today probably got 25 waves each in the time I got 6 but still they wanted the ones I was on. I love surfing but just can't deal with this lack of awareness and manners.

My simple message -

IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE SKILL TO SIT INSIDE, GET OUT OF THE WAY OF THOSE WHO DO

0.49 @ 13 and dropping

Go now !

Lots of waves around. BP Reef and Barnacles are cranking with a solid swell and strong offshore winds. Nice tide but some shallow takes offs. It's too big for Juniors and the beachies are just shore dumpers.

0.67 @ 13

Arvo glass

The swell is picking up and the winds offshore. BP Reef has some nice lefts and Juniors has some now and there.

I won't tell you its classic because its not. Its ok if you have nothing to do or are hanging in out for a wave (like me). If you are a grom, get on it. Theres been groms out all morning and they are loving it.

0.48 @ 12 and rising. ESE winds 13 - 26 kmh

Sea breeze

You know it's summer when you get excited by wind waves ! Just had a handful of fun and surprisingly walling waves at BP Reef. I'd almost forgotten what waves looked like. Possibly a little tweak in the swell tomorrow but no guarantees.

0.23 @ 12 with seas 0.9

Friday's rock

I've said it before - there can't be a bad Friday afternoon surf. Today was no exception.

I deliberately ignored the beach first up this morning because I was pretty sure it would have been ok and I had to start work early. At lunch time I had to drive past and there was swell and offshore-ish winds. I wasn't betting on it still being ok when I finished work as the wind looked like it wanted to swing.

But by five-ish when I took the Kelvinator and the belly board to BP it was still offshore, the water was crystal clear and there was only a SUP and a couple of body boarders out. I started at Juniors but it wasn't really doing it so I paddled across to the reef.

The waves were good if very inconsistent. I caught a few wally lefts and nearly killed myself going for a floater on the end section which was dumping onto nearly bare rocks. Not only did the water disappear but my board turning into a slide, fins up ! Luckily no damage to me or more importantly the board.

After my fill I took my DIY belly board out for a couple of insiders at Juniors and it slid like a champ !

The water was clear, the temperature just right and the sun out. The perfect way to wash away a work week, especially when I have next week off.

Let down

Bit of a let down but there are some waves and plenty of swell. BP reef is the only real shape but its crowded with kooks. RULE NUMBER ONE - DON'T DROP IN.

The kook with the poo stance and the pump as the only move is very lucky that the body boarder sitting really deep and critical didn't punch him in the head for dropping in on every one of his waves. Poor bloke had to straighten out over the shallows and just missed getting speared in the head while this bloke sat in the safety of the shoulder and wouldn't have had a clue this guy was inside him.

The wind is a bit fluky but sort of offshore.

0.65 @ 12

Day Seven 29/12/12

Bump in the swell but the period is huge. There are two guys out at BP reef sharing the single wave sets that are coming in ever 15 to 20 minutes. The waves are small and short but clean.

I chose Barnacles again. It was about the same size as yesterday but you waited for ever for shorter waves.

Day 7 - 30/12/12 (2.00 pm)

Waves : knee height eventually

Wind : E - 11 kph gusting to 17 kph

Swell : 0.40 @ 14

Quality : 3.8 out of 10

Early risers

Two boogers, a mal and me on the handplane first up this morning. Waves are around the one foot mark and the wind strong offshore.

I wouldn't bother with a board as its almost all closeouts but it might be worth keeping a mid-morning eye on it if the conditions back off a bit.

0.49 @ 12

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

Late Report

Too nice a day to spend in front of the computer, even if the onshore came in really early.

Plenty of action at Juniors with a solid crew getting sucky rights and lefts out of the rip. One grom was cleaning up on the inside left handers with the older crew going for the outside rights.

A few people tried the reef without much success. The tide is too low and the reef waiting for fins and rails. I tried the beachies without any success. They looked ok from a distance but were basically closeouts.

There was a very rare sighting - a kneeboarder !!!! Haven't seen one of those for years and this one knew what he was doing.

0.53 @ 12 seconds

Spring

Day 1 of Spring and we have perfect Spring weather - sunny one minute, raining the next. Winter was a complete dud again but we will still probably get some more bad weather in the next few weeks. There were no real banks formed anywhere.

Every year that I have lived here (and that is quite a few) we've had a nice bank at the Clam but there hasn't been a single Clam day so far this year.

The Wall had some nice sand but not enough swell. The Groyne has had a day or two and Fraggles maybe an hour or two. The plus was the rip bank at Juniors but only for a week or so. BP Reef continues to be MIA and if you tell people that it was once the most consistent winter wave and broke off the back bombie they think you are on drugs !

There is no surf today as you would have already guessed. There has been four surfable hours all week and if you were on it quickly enough you could have had some fun. But I'm guessing most people (including me) just wrote the week off.

The seven day forecast has onshores till next Friday.

0.98 @ 13 seconds, seas 1.09.

Handplane goodness !

Took the newest hand plane out for a test bash this afternoon at BP reef. Looks great and still smells of cedar. The finishing oil made it a bit darker but it is pretty.

The waves were ok but the water is freezing. The hand plane is a lot bigger and wider than my previous attempts but held a nice mid-face line. There are a couple of little things that need to be tweaked (mainly the strap) but I think it is a goer.

0.57 @ 14

Arvos

Wind never really picked up and the swell hung around all day. The reef was the only real wave and there was a rotation of surfer all day.

I decided to have a hand plane session at Barnacles because it has been too many days since I last got wet. The waves weren't great and there were plenty of rocks but I braved the cold water to get a couple of little walls. Always brings a smile to your face.

The down side was that I took out my waterproof camera and the back opened. I think it is stuffed but I've got my fingers crossed for when it dries. Looks like the SD card died and some of my photos with it.

As usual I had finally figured how I would mount it on my new hand board. The new board is just about ready to hit the water. I gave it a finishing sand this afternoon and the first coat of oil to finish it. Looks great. Its wider and made from strips of cedar and Tassie oak. Made for some great smells during construction but the different hardness and grains made for some interesting shaping.

I have kept this one very simple with just a slight single concave running through the middle. It's only three slabs wide and there isn't much rocker either. I'm hoping by keeping it flat it will plane better and faster. However with the width it is going to be a bugger to swim with.

Rough Shape

Nearly done

Lefts

Glassy with little wind. The swell has dropped a fair bit and the direction has pushed the waves to BP Reef.

The same people as yesterday out enjoying the odd sucky left. Not very good but ok if you want to get wet (and the crowd stays away).

0.71 @ 13 from the WNW

Disappointing again

Swell is around but there is nothing to form them into waves. The wind is cold and SSE and there is one guy out pin the reef but judging by where he is sitting he doesn't surf there much.

No suggestions as the tide will continue to drop out.

0.48 m @ 12 with a lot of north in it.

Swells up

Light winds but no real shape. Even the reef isn't holding anything worth paddling in to.

The tide is pretty high so it might improve later if the wind doesn't swing.

A bit disappointing.

0.64 at 12 and a bit

Not sure

Some swell and off shores but lots of closeouts. The reef looks ok but only just throwing up enough waves for the three already out there. There is a bit of north in the wind so some ribs in the faces.

Might do my chores and fix the ding in my new board from where it fell down in my shed (and replace the snapped out fin and fix the dings in the other boards as well) and then have another look. Not that I have much time before work at lunchtime.

0.26 at 11

Mornings

Nice waves first thing this morning. Juniors and the reef were clean with the wind light and glassy.

Tomorrow might be similar. The swell seems to be holding around 0.5 and the forecast is pretty solid.

Might be worth a trip down south.