Name Game

Merewether beach yesterday....sigh!

Had to have a picture, so put this nicey of Dave's home break up...

Brian reports that the swell hung around enough to make Act Cent (or should that be "Wedgies"?) serve up some tasties yesterday.....here's his report:

I went to the activity center yesterday afternoon and had a great session. It was smaller than “Big Wednesday”, but had great shape. I paddled out and sat right on the end of the far side jetty. No wind, smooth as, and no one else in the water. Long lefts, over and over. I had a great time. In the words of Pointy Dan I was “totally stoked dude!” So fun!!!
I think it might be fun to ask the boys to name some of the spots we surf, but that have no names. Names such as Pillbox, Restaurants, The Rocket, and Jin Shan, and Power Plant are great, but perhaps the following areas could be named or renamed.
Jin Shan 2:_____________
The beach near the Howard hotel just after the tunnel:___________
Activity center beach:___________
The far end of green bay:___________
Bai Sha Wan beach:____________
Others???

Wedgin' Wednesday!!

What an encore performance from the act cent! Super Sunday morphed into Wedgin' Wednesday. What could be better? Perfect temps, sunsets, offshore winds, 3-4 foot peak going both ways and a "crowd" of 2. This was even better than the weekend. Great drops off the peak, smooth semi steep walls then kick off or try to outrun the inner bank. Ross and Dave surfed till dark and only got out when exhaustion set in: those waves kept rolling in. We even had a model in a photoshoot!!

Cyclone Wati pounds NSW

Newcastle beach yesterday: our good friends at surfwx.net provide an excellent reporting service as well as some crystal images every day of the week, but they got some special action as Cyclone Wati gave Newcs a little spanking the other day. Also, check some video of Sydney beaches.

Super Sunday!

The activity centre went off today! It was just like the Rocket used to be: rocket ride out (no paddle) and spat out onto big peaks jacking up at the harbour entrance and going both ways. It was pretty big on the set...the fishing boats had to time their entrance. There was a 6' plus elevator drop on the peak before it calmed down with big open faces for some fun carving until it dropped again onto the inner bank for another fast section. Dave and Ross were going left and right, depending on where the current placed them. Hard work in these big stormies, but very, very satisfying....great surf! Ross manned the camera today.
Right off the topic: got a spare 5 minutes? check the hilarious Ben Stiller trying to "talk the talk" surfer style here.

Early afternoon

An early afternoon start and a light dusting of cross shore at the Pillbox saw some small but fun conditions. Ross and Dave each got a few early on but by the end, it was getting a little desperate!
Ross waits for one last good one

Pointy of the Month: Dave

Name or nickname: Braggy, Bragé
Favorite surfing beach: Merewether point or Angourie
Best surfing moment (describe): can’t split the many times of sitting in the sun, fun size offshore waves with just a mate or two trying to outdo one another!
Also, surfing 8’ stormies with Nat Young at Angourie…he was mental!
Surfing hero (and why): I’ve always been in awe of MR. He’s from Newcastle and he has that “wounded seagull” style I love.
Favored board type: Something pretty small and maneuverable
Surfing maneuver you’d love to do: Just once, I’d like to nail a simple forehand re-entry…vertical, fins out, you know the drill
Dream surf spot: Merewether, offshore and sunny, 6 foot and barreling, just a couple out
Other sport (play) and (watch): anything brutal..rugby league is my favourite to watch
Greatest personal sporting moment(s): diarrhea attack half way up Heartbreak Hill in the City to Surf..a good look and seen by thousands!
Ultimate pin up: Sophie Marceau or Jennifer Connelly
Food: Indian, fish and chips, baked lamb dinner
Drink (variety): beer (Crownies or VB), good quality aussie red wine
Thing you miss most about home: local TV news, clear blue skies, restaurants
Thing you like best about Taiwan: service, the “buzz”,
Music: U2, Kiss, Most Aussie rockers (Oils, Chisel, INXS, Hunters, AC/DC, Rose Tattoo, Powderfinger, Jet and of course, silverchair!)
Best advice you’ve ever had: Work to live, don’t live to work
Movie: anything “2” eg Terminator 2, Rocky 2, Godfather 2, Kill Bill 2 etc.
Collections: DvDs, I had a weird collection of Japanese cigarette lighters once.
Who would play you in a movie?: I’d love Sean Penn, but maybe this dude from “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” would be more realistic.
Current car: ½ of the famous “auburgino”
Dream car: Black 1998 Harley Davidson Dyna Glide
Near death experience: Flew past a telegraph pole at 80 km/h after crashing a motorbike; had to pick splinters out of my shoulder.
Your idea of a great night out: Bobby P’s sounds great…it would be even better without a hangover!
Philosophy on life: Two men enter, one man leaves.

Offshore Experience

Paddling for a wave and getting a facefull of offshore spray would be annoying to many, but the surfer knows that this means great conditions out in the water. We don't experience it very often here, but Tobes and Garry got all the conditions right on Saturday morning. Tobes hasn't experienced a real offshore breeze in the surf here, so the sting of the spray was just the tonic for him on the weekend. Shots here are from Nicaragua, where, I'm told, it's "offshore all day long"...paradise!

It was only this big...

Friday evening was a bit of a fizzer waves wise. Ross braved the surf and miraculously got up on a few, but we drank a few VBs each which went down very well. Cop this video or this one and you'll get the idea!

Call their Bluff

Some of Lewy's mates got a couple of OK waves down at Shipstern's the other day.

To get the adrenalin pumping check this out....!

Zef vs. Dan

Most critical drop of the day going to Zef doggy dog. His dredging sand wave is a little steeper than the mush ball his old man is riding on just above his head.
Who are all those other dudes?

POINTY HAT SPEAK

Thanks to Tobes for these gems....we'll start with "A" and re-visit from time to time

The following surfing terms are taken from
The Surfin’ary by Trevor Cralle

A
Accessory Man: A guy who always has all the unnecessary accessories like visor, webbed gloves, reef walkers, etc.

Aggro: Australian slang for aggressive behavior, usually in the water.

All Time Hooter: An exceptionally good surf party.

All-Timers Disease: An affliction that causes surfers to overstate the quality of the surf or overemphasize the radicalness of their surfing ability.

Ankle Slapper: A wave that is barely ridable.

Anybody Home?: What you say when paddling out, meaning, “Are there any sharks in the water?”

“Any Waves?”: The first question a surfer asks another surfer.

Aqua Boot: Vomiting into the ocean.

Arm Dance: The waving of the arms out the car windows on the way to surf in order to conjure up the waves.

Asphalt Surfer: Another name for a skateboader.

Asshole: Everyone else in the water.

Weekend warriors

Lots of boys out last evening: Dan getting a few little smoothies with tiny pockets on the point and Carl and Steve were out in the pack at Jinshan picking up a few lefts.
Ross and Josh got some tiny peaks at the activity centre, but overall, it was pretty frustrating.
Saturday morning, Carl reports a shoulder high peak on the set at Jinshan, relatively few guys out. Full early, fairly small but the wind is due to pick up for tomorrow: possible blow out, but it should whip up some swell. Pointies, got any photos?

Small, smooth and shiny

Late yesterday, Ross and Dave rushed to the Act Centre to catch a few small, smooth ones after a long, boring day. Tobes was already there on the mal, but quickly changed to the new fish when they arrived. It was pretty full, but at times on the set, a few nice drops and shiny faces presented themselves. The no wind situation and cool water meant the short suits were back and a beautiful sunset was just the tonic. Good fun surf saw the tension just dripping off.

A little fishy...

I thought it was supposed to be flat on Sunday? There are some very "fishy" activities going on:
1. Tobes has sent me this photo (above) and I reckon Carl and Tobes have been trying to hog all the waves to themselves!
2. Young Jack looks pretty stoked with his new fish....hmmm, I wonder!!!
3. I also hear reports of some South African secret agent by the name of Mark at the Activity Centre: when he heard that we have to kill anyone else who surfs there, he immediately claimed diplomatic immunity!

Tragic

The Jinshan boys have done better than ever here this afternoon. Peering through the haze, looks like the summer lovin' "I like to loll around on a flat ocean" brigade are back. I think I'd rather be at work!

12 Million Man Marathon

Flowers on the hill and Carl reckons there were "12 million" in the marathon, all making it very hard to get to the beach! Pretty flat today but nice conditions, except at least 20 people on the one little peak that's breaking. Tobes taking a couple of shots I'll share with you soon (marathon photo on here now actually). Yesterday had more swell from reports, but nothing special.