Good news, bad news sort of day

Headed off to Safety Bay to see my parents today and did my usual check at a couple of old Mandurah haunts on the way. This resulted in some good news and some bad news.

The good new - one of my favourite waves 4th Groyne was pumping. It has been a long time since I have seen it this good. Sets were around shoulder height and blasting through. The wind was offshore.

Bad news - the crowd. The take off spot is pretty small with two distinct zones. Way inside on the wrong side of the groyne for the body boarders and in front of it for the surfers. What this means is that a couple of greedy people ruin any session and unless you can hassle you don't get much.

Good news - there were a few smaller ones rolling under the pack and breaking inside and there were a few more from blown take offs or where the haven't been able to link around the little fill up section into the racetrack. If I sat there I could get a few fun ones.

Bad news - a really bad summer, five weeks in Europe, cold water, steamer and a really stiff and sore back meant that I surfed about as bad as I ever have. I could catch waves but not get to my feet. I even tried changing from my dhufish to my mini mal but that made no difference. I left the water embarrassed and pissed with myself.

Good news - I had hand plane 2.0 in the car.. Not having to stand up was a big positive and I got a couple of really nice left handers. This improved my mood dramatically.

The other good news - my new Xcel wetsuit was nice and warm and really flexible. And with no back zip I might avoid breaking more zips.

Skunked

Was doing the visit the parents thing today so stopped in at one of my all haunts and a favourite, 4th Groyne in Mandurah. The wind was stronger than Bunno and with a lot of north in it and the swell was too small to really make it work.

As I was hanging and there was only two body board groms and their Mum out I decided to get wet and see if I could fluke one of the little sets that were coming through occasionally. What I didn't see was the two wave hogs suiting up in the other carpark. 4th Groyne has been taken over by body boarders in the last few years and as anyone who has had to deal with them knows they don't know the rules about sharing, waiting your turn and snaking. The take off for body boarders can be way inside and in front of the groyne as they don't have to deal with the taking off in the super sucky part or ripping the fins off on the exposed rocks. This left me battling the rip and the current to try to get a position where I could jag one.

However one guy decided to sit way, way deep and take all the sets (and go straight), the other sat outside me until it looked like a wave was coming then he paddled around and inside. I put up with it for a while and decided that I was dropping in if I could get into position, which was super difficult with the wash off the groyne. When the Mandurah Catholic College came out for the PE lesson and basically formed a fence on the inside I gave it up as a bad joke. Cold, wet, pissed and without even one wave to my name.

Get home about 3 and check BP Groyne. The swell has dropped and the wind is light and swinging more offshore every minute. The rip looks kind of strong but there is an odd wave. However by the time I scooted home for a dry wetsuit three guys showed they had the same idea. None could seem to stay in the right spot and none of them made a take off in the time I watched before deciding I wasn't getting skuned twice in a day.

Lot of north in the wind and forecast for some rain and a strong south westerly in the next few days.

Not Quite Bunbury

Stopped in at one of my favourite spots 4th Groyne, Mandurah on the way to and from Perth,

The mid-morning session was frustrated by a very high tide. There was enough swell but it wasn't breaking well. Add in sidewash and the take off on the odd set was a killer.

The arvo session was a little better but the swell had backed off. The tide was still full but the odd one was giving some of that speed wall you get on the good days. One wave sets were very, very inconsistent and I blew wave of the day.

Still, it was way better than nothing.