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 ...

A story about surfing and the Mercy family (directed by Samia Goudie ) .

I saw this video over at Surfsister's blog but you can find out more about Erin Ashley and the Worm's town here .

Good things come to those who wait. But the latest Kurungabaa will be going into print very soon, so if you do want to read the latest issue then you better get onto the website and order yourself a copy ...

A song. I wanted to find a clip for The Well, but this is another one of my favourites. The words are lovely. And Paul McNeil made such beautiful images to go with it too. What I love about Bill Callahan is that despite everything, he always finds a way to leave you with everything that you thought you had lost. I think that it's amazing that he can write such beautiful words and make such beautiful music, that manages to tear me apart and then put me back together again.

Rell Sunn shows us how to nose-ride... ...and, let's admit it, generally how to surf.

Recently, at my local break, a young boy got hit in the back the head with a board and ended up with a shattered skull that required the insertion of 5 titanium plates. The offending board and associated carelessness, it is claimed, belonged to a beginner. I wasn't there and have only heard about it in the last few days and it is all over the news and I'm not going to post the picture, but that is about the sum of it and any way you look at it, it's not cool. What it has ignited is a discussion about the nature of increasingly busy and populated surfbreaks and the potential threats they pose. For example, Ben at In Byron Bay Today has been commentating the issue ( here and here ), and over at Real Surf , there is a 12-page-and-growing forum thread debating the topic. People seem to be upset and engaged and have clearly been thinking about many of the issues for some time. While the idea of this discussion makes sense, what is frightening is many of the ideas and methods ...

I read this some months ago now, but have been thinking about it again lately... From an ASP press release from 10th October 2009 Prize money at the ASP World Tour and ASP Women’s World Tour level is set for a substantial increase in 2010. Base prize money for the ASP World Tour events will increase from the current US$340,000 to US$400,000 in 2010, taking the total prize pool on 10 events from $3,400,000 to $4,000,000 per annum. On the ASP Women’s World Tour, total prize pool will increase from US$630,000 to $800,000 in 2010. Along with the increase in event prize purse, an additional US$100,000 bonus will be awarded to the year-end ASP World Champion, as well as an additional US$30,000 bonus to the year-end ASP Women’s World Champion. I realise that there are differences in the numbers of surfers allowed on each tour, but nonetheless, the disparities in the rewards on offer seem overly significant.

A story about home, by Brett Caller ... Every year in my home town Urunga we can expect at least one massive flood. In 2009 we recieved 6 floods in total. Urunga lies at the mouth of both the Bellinger and Kalang rivers and due to the 6 floods the beaches north and south of the mouth are now littered with just about everything from trees, oyster leases, the local river rat boat, Driftwood and washed up cows. Every year a local guy that we call Grogan who is a fellow that I guess you could call a drifter rides his bike along the beaches collecting timber to build his log shacks that the council likes to burn down. This year Grogan located a new million dollar building site and constructed a two bedroom, one bathroom, double lock up car port shack with an olympic size pool out the front. Ha ha its pretty amazing I reckon I could probably live in there.