Sunday

Lots of swell yesterday but the surf was interesting. The wind was strong and both had lots of south, which isn't ideal. 

But if you were patient you might have got one or two in your session to make it worthwhile. Apparently the Ryan Hardy bodyboard clinic at sidewash got a few which is good.

I eventually chose a handplane session at Barnacles. It was probably the best session of the summer so far and definitely the best of the year. 

The swell seems to have stayed around but with the Super Bowl one of my annual must sees I afraid to check out the beach as see if I'm going to miss something. 

Big waves

Not here though ! I just got out from a twilight handboard in 6" wind chop. There is a rumour of a spike tomorrow but it looks short and really south. The winds don't look great either but it will be worth keeping an eye on.

Meanwhile in Portugal Garrett McNamara has caught some of the biggest waves anywhere ever. It was here that he claimed the world record and this looks much bigger.

Bit of video with very wanky music !

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

Day Six Part Two

Had to get wet so took the handplane to Barnacles. The tide has helped just a tiny bit but it was minute and not suitable for stand ups.

It might have been small but it was enough to break my handplane. It looks like it just needs to be re-glued which is no big deal. That rail gets most of the work and flex so if it was going to fail it would be there.

Day 6 - 29/12/12 (2.00 pm)

Waves : Just knee height

Wind : W - 11 kph gusting to 15 kph

Swell : 0.28 @ 12

Quality : 2 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

Great start

Nice start to the day with a hand plane session at Juniors in small but clean conditions. The tide is still low and most waves are just closing out. But the water is crystal clear and the sky blue so its hard to be disappointed.

Groms, bodyboarders and those that just want to get wet might find a single wave to make their day. Beats housework.

0.63 @ 12

Little

Swell dropped off overnight. There is a great bank at Juniors but only the occasional hip height set. I tried to catch a couple on the slab but they were too small. Great for a handboard session but !

The wind gusting up to 30 kmh from the east and is getting stronger. The tide is still ultra low. Maybe this afternoon if everything comes together there might be a little wave. Its less than a 50/50 chance but might be worth a quick peek if the beach is on your way home.

0.30 @ 11

Good news/bad news

Been a while since I've had a good news/bad news day which I think is kind of good news.

Good news - went down south with a mate.

Bad news - strong wind warning - southerlies

Good news - buckets of swell and the wind is offshore and just right

Bad news - none for this bit

Good news - Smiths is cranking. The beachies, the reef and supers are all throwing up more than fun waves. The reef is even tubing. The sun is out and the water crystal clear.

Bad news - none here either

Good news - chose one of my favourite places, a series of banks between the reef and Supers. The big ones are closing out but the in between ones look good.

Bad news - my back, which was getting better, chose today to seize up. No paddling power and whenever I try to stand I'm so stiff I can't get my feet underneath me.

Good news - I'll just go in and take a picture or two on my new camera

Bad news - camera stops working. I assume that was because the battery wasn't really charged but when I get home I find its because the camera is full of water !!!!!!!!

Bad news - the SD card has died

Good news - dried out and wait long enough and the SD card starts working again

Good news - came home, had a great lunch at Happy Wife with my happy wife and then a great little hand plane session at Juniors. Got some nice rides, little cover ups and one left that wouldn't quit.

All in all more good news than bad.

If you are looking for a wave there is a few out of the rip at Juniors but although the wind is swinging more south it should stay ok for the rest of the day.

0.51 @ 11

Next project

A few days off, jobs done, no surf and no one home means that I can start building my next project. This time I'm building a body board from a shelf inside a wardrobe that I junked when we moved house. I am a little worried that the join isn't that strong but we'll tackle that if it happens.

I've decided on western red cedar to pump out the width and to add ply wood fins. The fins have been templated off the side biters on my SUP.

I've also taken the opportunity to upgrade my latest handplane to take my new waterproof camera. Hopefully this camera will last longer that the last few that have either been stolen or had the backs open in the water. I'm full expecting the mounts to rip off first time I use them so there will be a backup system attaching the camera to me.

Careful

Out of desperation I tried to get a surf at Juniors. I did get a short sharp marginal handplane session but nothing great.

What I did notice is that there has been a lot of sand movement both in and out from the last set of fronts. Juniors is ridiculously shallow everywhere. Its less than knee deep almost to the line up. Looking back from the the take off all you see is boils and bubbles and rocks popping up.

Further down the beach, where I hand planed, its a super shallow sand bank just off the beach. This just makes backwash a problem.

Still shallow banks are better than none.

Like spring

 Great mid-winter day. Just a little nip in the air, wispy winds and clear water.

The swell has continued to drop but there are still some shortish waves out of the rip bank at Juniors. The odd set has chest height takes offs but its mostly around waist height. Best of all is that there is no one out.

I've just had the best three board session for ages all by myself. I started on the map, switched to the slab and finished off with a couple using the hand plane. Nice start to the weekend but now the jobs around the house start.

0.40 @ 11

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

Better

The nice blue sky has tempted a few out. The waves are better than this morning but that's not hard.

You could probably get one or two if you wanted. There seems to be a new swell in the water so every now and then a bigger one comes through.

I just finished watching "Come hell or high water", the Malloy brothers new movie on body surfing. It is a really high quality flick and more meaty that the normal surf porn. That charged me up so I had a mid- afternoon session at Juniors on my hand plane.

Looks like some bad weather over the next few days but the weekend looks ok. It is a long way out to be to confident though.

0.48 @ 14

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

Windows

It was offshore this morning with some small swell but by lunch time the wind had swung southerly and got stronger. There was a small window just as the wind was changing where the rip bowl at Juniors started to throw up some fun waves for the two guys out.

BP reef almost came to life and there were a couple of bombs that near the old outside take off point. People who have surfed around here a long time will remember the days when the ride at the reef was twice as long because the wave broke on the outside ledge. In those days you wouldn't bother paddling out if it was only breaking in the currents spot. No one seems to know why the wave has stopped but there doesn't seem to be as much sand movement as in the past. Perhaps we are wearing the consequences of construction and dune stabilisation around Dallyellup.

I just missed the window so went for a hand plane session at Barnacles on version two. I got a few fun lefts but the rip and the drift were pretty bad so I found myself getting washed to the edge of Juniors a couple of times. Still worth the effort.

The forecast for tomorrow is moderate easterlies before a SSE change. More importantly Bathurst is on and it is the one day a year where I sit on my fat arse and watch sport. Go Skaffie (or any Holden).

Handplane Three

Had an unexpected day off today but there was no surf. I have all but finished hand plane three. All I need to do is add the strap.

I have kept it flat across the bottom with no concave or v and the only rocker is in the nose entry. I'm hoping that will give it extra speed and the stinger design with a fairly straight outline will put a bit extra rail in the water for control. More than likely is the fin will act as a brake.

It's 100% recycled material but I have some concern about the strength due to the age of the glue and lack of proper clamps.

Now all I need is to wait for a clean day and for the sand around Barnacles to move onto summer configuration.

Handplane version three

With the crappy weather it seemed to be a perfect time to start bashing away at my next attempt at a hand plane (or hand board whichever). This one has started life as a couple of broken breeze boards off my house and a piece of packing material. I'm not overly confident that the old glue I used will hold it all together as I lacked the necessary clamps. I'm thinking of ways to get around that.

My rough plan is for a "stinger" shape with a fin. It will be longer than the other boards and with less rocker. I'm trying for more volume, a longer rail line and flatness to give more speed in fatter waves.

It might already be jinxed though. The initial photos were on the camera that got stolen from my garage, some of the tools I had out were used to steal my bike and I went to use my drill (the tool I needed the most) it has stopped working !!!

It won't stop me giving it bash though. I can always fall back on version two or the Hydro plane or make another one. Version three won't be the last.

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.