Making Friends With The Neighbours

Isaac is pretty much the nicest guy you could ever meet and can he ever surf an old mal!! And there he was, featured in a PLB gallery that I got sent via email this week, Double-ups are on, Isaac. Yew!

Smoke tally; Shredman - 150 Olive - 1 But damn! It was a good one.

On paper I should actually hate both this song and the clip, but I don't! And I can't figure out why...

I need time for myself, before the day ends. I grab a jumper, leave the house and walk through the back fence, across the road, past the motel, through the dirt-packed carpark, and up the sandy track. As I reach the top of the track, I pay attention as the sea is revealed in front of me. The banksia canopy peels away, the track bends, stones cut at my feet, and the sky breaks through the boughs and melts into the water. This is the moment I ache for when I'm away. This point, at the top of my beach track, when the ocean appears. My track. My beach. My ocean. My home. It's late. The sun has dipped below the trees behind me, leaving the sand in shadows. The light still plays further out, on the water, but the sky is lilac, faded blue, and silver. There's not much time left in the day but that is the time that I need. I sit in the dunes, in the still warm sand and run my fingers through it. As I dig I already know that deeper down it's cold and damp, and the white gives wa...

Izzy and Bec: aspirational surf check.

Fuck, it was hot today. Sweaty Hazy Ice-cream dripping Dog with its tongue out, hiding in the shade . Lobster pink backpackers on the beach Expanding water bottles. Air too thick to breathe. Frizzy hair humid Feet burning as I run across the sand Sunscreen greasy on my skin. Fingers leaving sweat marks on the pages of my book. Argh ! Don't touch me! Steering wheel too hot to hold Can barely move. Grocery shopping, for the air-con cool. Stay out of the sun! I'd love a beer. Condensation on my glass, Ceiling fan clunking as it pushes air. Swimmer bottoms, no top Every door and window open. Sticky Steamy Surly Sub tropics. Winter sounds so good right now.

After a recent post , an email landed in my inbox with the following image attached, Travel Resort Holiday Fashion 15 December 1938 (thanks, Gerry )

So, an update on the conversations that have arisen from the recent accident at The Pass , in Byron Bay... Recently, Ben at In Byron Bay Today asked people to write in and speak up, providing space outside of the rather confusing community forums, to see what people think about surfing in busy lineups these days. Obviously, these letters are about The Pass specifically, but it's kind of interesting in broader terms anyway, seeing the ways people describe situations and the ways they explain their position as surfers. The responses Ben published are here , and I reckon he set it up fairly well. He insisted that people use their own names, which meant folk couldn't go on some free-for-all rant, instead had to state opinions that would be linked back to them. I reaslise that The Pass is a pretty specific kind of break, but if nothing else, These letters give and an interesting little view into how some people see surfing hierarchies and traditions in Australia.

I warned you I was watching surf films again! This film, The Way of the Ocean , looks like it might be interesting and also, these are the storms that trashed my beach last year. STORMY from WAY OF THE OCEAN on Vimeo .

I used to watch a lot of surf films. Living in a city away from the beach, I would use them as a way to access the calm and the joy that being in the water brings me. I know it's not the same as being in the ocean, but it reminds me of it and helps me connect to those feelings; I can use the images to link to my memories and experiences and I find it can provide a little relief when I just can't find the time to get down the coast. But lately, well for quite a few months now, I've found these films boring. I've found them predictable and hard to sit through. I think that for the last 6 months in particular, having access to the ocean and to surfing has been so important and central in my life that having to compromise in any way has been completely unsatisfying. So watching footage of other people having the kinds of experiences that I couldn't get just made me sad and annoyed and I was jealous of them getting waves or getting wet if I couldn't. And then for t...

(This post must begin with yet another apology to my long-suffering friend, Kate. Who, despite what she knew would happen, pointed me in the direction of this particular magazine. You, dear Kate, are a true friend.) Obviously, I spend a lot of time thinking and talking about surfing and women who surf. I spend a lot of time trying to understand certain aspects of surf culture and where and how women fit within it all. So I can't tell you how pleased I was to find that the latest edition of Australian Vogue magazine has pretty much done the job for me, exploring, developing and illustrating what is essentially a 'field-guide' to Australian women surfers! I will admit that I was a little surprised at first, but then I remembered that fashion magazines not only provide high-quality and hard-hitting journalism but also are pretty on-trend, so who am I to dispute their findings. So in case you are on far-flung shores, or in case you would never in a million years pick up a copy ...