Last Few Months - part 1

Since November I have been on the road, only spending 3 weeks at home in nearly six months! During this time I have been travelling to most of Australia's best wavesailing spots and have competed in a few of our premiere events, including the Mambo and the Australian Wavesailing Titles held at Margaret River.

Bluff Beach - Marrawah, Tasmania

After spending a month on the rugged west coast of Tasmania scoring some solid conditions with Leon Jamaer I prepared for the 10 000km round trip to Western Australia with the plan to base myself out of Margaret River. The aim was to also explore Esperance and Geraldton if the conditions allowed. The drive was mind numbingly boring, the only way to make it through was to crank the music and down the energy drinks.

Aerial - Australian Titles


Finally arriving at Margaret River after a quick session the day before in Esperance was a sight for sore eyes. We pulled over the hill leading to Prevelly just as Bombie and Main Break exploded with a solid mast high set. It was on! With less than a week till the competition started it was super busy on the water. Unfortunately we were let down by the conditions during the waiting period for the comp, only getting one day of solid conditions to finish a single elimination. The event itself was well run and former world champ Scotty McKercher took the title with an impressive display of vertical smacks and tweaked airs. After the event was over we drove 8 hours north to the mining town Geraldton, hoping to score some decent jumping conditions at Coronation Beach. Unfortunately we were let down as the Indian Ocean went flat for 10 days... It is hard to explain the boredom of sitting at the Corros campsite for a week with no electricity, running water, wind or waves...

Stalled Forward - Australian Titles

Cutback - Australian Titles

Main Break Sunset


It is safe to say I was glad to get out of Gero and to get back to civilisation in Margs. After two weeks of solid conditions and finally starting to dial into the unique wave at Main break the forecast looked promising for Esperance. Perfect timing for my solo trip back home! Leaving Margs at 5am I arrived in Esperance just as the seabreeze really started to crank. A punchy head high swell and 25 knots of cross offshore wind made for one of the most fun sessions of the trip. The next day the swell had dropped by half but it was still a fun way to end the trip before the huge drive back to Melbourne.

Final WA session


The drive itself wasn't without its dramas. A close call with a kangaroo on an early morning drive could've ended badly and definitely got the adrenaline pumping. On two occasions I nearly ran out of fuel when the roadhouses I had planned to stop at were shut. I didn't think I would have ever been glad to get to a roadhouse and pay $1.80 per litre!

Last morning on the road

Making it back to Melbourne and my own bed was a massive relief after 5 days on the road - sleeping in the back of my van on the side of the highway. I felt like my first trip to WA had been an awesome experience, and spending time in the big swells of Margaret River definitely raised my confidence levels. I was looking forward to testing out how much I had improved back in Victorian wave conditions. Luckily the forecast was promising for my return...