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Showing posts with label windsurfing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label windsurfing. Show all posts
Friday, October 5, 2012
Thursday, April 5, 2012
New Website!
My new website is up so all future blog updates etc will be through there.
Check it out at www.wavesnwind.com
Also get on Facebook and/or Twitter
www.facebook.com/wavesnwindcom
www.twitter.com/wavesnwindcom
Friday, March 30, 2012
Waves
Autumn is the worst time of year for wind. That last forecast fizzled out a bit but it was good to at least have a wave sail.
There has been some surf around however, and it looks like next week is going to pump!
In the down time I have been working on my new website which is getting close to being finished.
For the moment check out the Facebook page here: www.facebook.com/WavesnWindcom
There has been some surf around however, and it looks like next week is going to pump!
In the down time I have been working on my new website which is getting close to being finished.
For the moment check out the Facebook page here: www.facebook.com/WavesnWindcom
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Looking good
There has been no real wind for about two weeks but we have been getting a few days of surf between sessions at Bells and Phillip Island.
It looks like this week will be a welcome change with a monster swell and strong winds Friday.
Hopefully some action tomorrow as well.
It looks like this week will be a welcome change with a monster swell and strong winds Friday.
Hopefully some action tomorrow as well.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Vic sailing
It has been 3 weeks since I got back from WA - a week of which was spent in Byron Bay for my Dad's 50th birthday - happy birthday dad!
After not getting out sailing for a while I was thankful that we have been getting some strong winds and a bit of swell. Had one session at Sandy Point in wayyy overpowered on 3.6m weather, that was a brutal first session after not sailing for a while.
Woolamai was pretty good last week, enough wind for a 4.2, cross off and clean head high waves. Could of been epic if the swell had been bigger. Got out yesterday at Gunnamatta, in hindsight we probably should of gone back to Woolamai but ended up having an ok sail anyway - pics below.
After not getting out sailing for a while I was thankful that we have been getting some strong winds and a bit of swell. Had one session at Sandy Point in wayyy overpowered on 3.6m weather, that was a brutal first session after not sailing for a while.
Woolamai was pretty good last week, enough wind for a 4.2, cross off and clean head high waves. Could of been epic if the swell had been bigger. Got out yesterday at Gunnamatta, in hindsight we probably should of gone back to Woolamai but ended up having an ok sail anyway - pics below.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
wavesailing vid
Put together a video of some ok conditions we've been getting over the last couple of weeks. Check it out.
Off to WA soon, so hopefully get some good action over there and end up with a better video!
Off to WA soon, so hopefully get some good action over there and end up with a better video!
Monday, December 5, 2011
Sick (for one hour)
Went to Woolamai yesterday instead of Gunnamatta like the other week in the hope of scoring some better banks and cleaner wind. Forecast was really good was I was looking forward to it all week! When we arrived the tide was dead low, blowing about 20 knots cross off with these logo high hollow peaks hitting a shallow bank and racing down the line. It looked sick!
The first hour it was consistently bigger and better than this.
You could drop into glassy, hollow sections rip a few turns and an aerial before kicking out into the channel.
However the awesome conditions ended up being short lived as the tide came in and the swell dropped - just in time with the cameras arriving at the beach!!
As the afternoon went on it deteriorated to this.
Was a fun session nonetheless.
Only a few weeks until we head off to WA so it is good to be getting some decent sailing to prepare! Can't wait to get over there and score some solid stuff.
The first hour it was consistently bigger and better than this.
You could drop into glassy, hollow sections rip a few turns and an aerial before kicking out into the channel.
However the awesome conditions ended up being short lived as the tide came in and the swell dropped - just in time with the cameras arriving at the beach!!
As the afternoon went on it deteriorated to this.
Was a fun session nonetheless.
Only a few weeks until we head off to WA so it is good to be getting some decent sailing to prepare! Can't wait to get over there and score some solid stuff.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Cat Bay onshore jump session
Yesterday we had a fun jumping session at Phillip Island. The forecast wasn't great with very border line swell predicted, so most decided it wasn't worth the 1.5+ hour drive and just stayed on the bay battling rain and fluky winds.
Although the swell was small and the wind very cross on it ended up being pretty fun when the sun came out and the wind cranked upwards of 25 knots until early evening.
Jono cheese roll.
Backie
Pushy
Backside riding
Although the swell was small and the wind very cross on it ended up being pretty fun when the sun came out and the wind cranked upwards of 25 knots until early evening.
Jono cheese roll.
Backie
Pushy
Backside riding
Friday, November 25, 2011
Gunnamatta
Yesterday we had all the elements combine to sail Gunnamatta which doesn't happen all that often. Warm, sunny and a solid SE seabreeze pattern.
The tide was ridiculously low so all of the banks where totally out of the water - I have never seen it like that before. This meant that there was a lot of water moving around and there was no cleanly defined rips and banks so it was pretty tricky sailing especially with the swirly, gusting wind. Still was fun, wish we had conditions like that more regularly.
This section was brutal if you got caught out!
Jono testing out SHQ's demo Icon 5.0
The tide was ridiculously low so all of the banks where totally out of the water - I have never seen it like that before. This meant that there was a lot of water moving around and there was no cleanly defined rips and banks so it was pretty tricky sailing especially with the swirly, gusting wind. Still was fun, wish we had conditions like that more regularly.
This section was brutal if you got caught out!
Jono testing out SHQ's demo Icon 5.0
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Flynns Reef
Scored a session at the incredibly fickle Flynns Reef yesterday. You need a combination of tides, wind direction and a big swell all at the same time. It probably only happens three or four times a year. It was the first time I sailed it - pretty fun wave.
It is really sucky, similar to Gnaraloo but gets a bit more wind affected and is only short. The shorebreak is absolutely brutal as well!
Wind was good for a 4.5 for a couple of hours then it dropped, as did the swell. The pics are from late in the day when conditions were declining.
Zac
It is really sucky, similar to Gnaraloo but gets a bit more wind affected and is only short. The shorebreak is absolutely brutal as well!
Wind was good for a 4.5 for a couple of hours then it dropped, as did the swell. The pics are from late in the day when conditions were declining.
Zac
Monday, May 16, 2011
Maui Trip
So had a month in Maui over April. It was really really busy and the conditions were inconsistent so it was a bit disappointing especially compared to last year when we had wind nearly every day for 5 weeks!
Spent a few days on Oahu seeing the forecast looked bad for Maui and I wanted to check out the fabled North Shore but we didn't end up getting a car organised and Hookipa turned out to be pumping... Wasn't too pleased about missing out on sick conditions while stuck in Waikiki.
The first day we had at Hookipa was by far the best of the trip, 4.2 wind, cross offshore and mast high on the sets. Wasn't ridiculously crowded as most of the photoshoots hadn't started yet. Unfortunately I felt like a total retard on starboard tack after only sailing port tack for the past 7 months or so!
We had wind for about 5 days and then a full week of literally zero swell and zero wind! Pretty unheard of for Maui! Wasn't much to do other than go for a SUP and check out girls.
Ended up having a few good days though and felt like I improved my starboard tack sailing by the end of it. Sounded like there was close to zero windsurfing conditions while we were away which definitely made it worthwhile!
Monday, May 24, 2010
Maui - part 2
New Swell
.JPG)
After the original swell we had scored in the first week had died down I wasn't expecting much more in terms of quality. Luckily we were suprised with a decent North swell coming into Hookipa up to logo high - about 4ft or so in surfing terms or 3m faces for non-surfers. Unfortunately for me it was ridiculously windy! Being a light weight I don't really like it when the wind is much over 30 knots. I was so overpowered I could barely sail in a straight line - let alone bottom turn! Joel and James on the other hand were loving it. The waves were pretty punchy due to the low tide and I had a few run ins with the reef, scraping my arm along the bottom. James also managed to find the mother of all sea urchins making his foot look even more like a pincushion. Later in the afternoon the wind backed down a bit as I had hoped so I was finally able to get out and get some rides. The crowds had back off as well which was a bonus, it was only me, Francisco Goya and about three others on the water all trading some decent waves.
Tweaked tabletop
.JPG)
The new swell was short lived, by the next afternoon we were back to mucking around on the small windswell. This was easily enough for some sick jumping conditions allowing me to practise my involuntary double pushloops! At the start of the trip we had all set specific moves we wanted to work on, mine was the pushloop with tabletop forwards coming in second. I had been having trouble slowing pushys down, usually ending up going way too fast and coming down hard after going into a second rotation. Although hilarious, they were pretty painful... We only managed to get one of the smaller ones on film.
Practising the Polakow tweak
.JPG)
On a windless morning Phil dragged me out bed for a trip to the cannery where Goya and Quatro were based out of. Due to a lack of research we actually had no idea where to go so ended up driving around the hills of Haiku for over an hour before finally giving up as the wind began to crank. The next day armed with the info we needed courtesy of Google maps we hit the road. When we arrived the guys were super helpful, Francisco, Pascal and Keith answered all our questions about the latest shapes and multi finned boards. Pascal even took us for a tour behind the scenes which was pretty cool, showing us the process that Keith goes through to ultimately end up building a sick board.
Sprecks forward
As the last week of the trip drew nearer the pressure was on. We all wanted to pull off our new moves and get enough video footage to make a decent movie of the trip. It was decided that everyone had to pick a move for someone else to land, Phil's was a decent stalled forward, Joel's a massive cheese roll, James' a tweaked pushy and mine - a tabletop forward. After the first day of this strategy no one actually pulled off their move, we all just ended up smashing ourselves. I was pretty motivated to nail a tabletop forward though so I ditched pushys and decided to focus solely on my new goal. A few days later I pulled one off at Kanaha totally dry. Bit of bummer that no one got it on film but I was still stoked.
Rockpools
On one of our last days a few of our friends took us to some rock pools around the corner from Jaws. It was a pretty sketchy walk down the cliff face - at one point we nearly lost Joel haha. The pools were pretty amazing with a little cave, lots of fish and urchins as well... You had to be careful where you sat! We also found a few hermit crabs and started a bit of a battle. My crab kicked ass until a fish tried to eat it.
It seemed like much too soon as the trip came to an end. It was hard to believe we had spent so much time away. The memories of all the days blurred together, the mediocre sessions were forgotten and only the sickest moves and the best crashes stood out. On the last day we were treated with nuking wind. Powered up on my 3.6 I wanted to make the most of the warm water and sunshine. Joel chased me around for about half an hour with the GoPro camera to amp me up for a double forward attempt but the ramps just never materialised...
Stalled forward
Later we got home and got packed before going for dinner at the Paia fish market. Our flight was leaving at 6am which meant we had to wake up at 4am. The thought of sitting on a plane for a whole day wide awake was not very appealing so I stayed up all night editing the video footage. After an hour and a half of sleep I had to get up again and get to the airport. Negotiating with the check-in chick about excess baggage when you are that sleep deprived is not much fun, especially when they didn't even accept my travellers card or cash to pay for it!! Luckily Phil saved the day and I was able to make it onto the flight. Thanks Phil! As soon as I got in my chair I was pretty much comatose. The sleep deprivation worked a treat. I woke up again to drag my luggage to the international terminal at Honolulu airport and then got back to sleep as we took off for Sydney. It didn't seem like too much longer and we were descending back into Australia. Time flies when you are that tired. After clearing customs without any dramas we had to drag our bags across another airport... At the Qantas transfer desk we had the biggest legend ever so got us all on an eariler flight so we didn't have to wait another 4 hours to get home to Melbourne.
Arriving back in Victoria it was pretty cold! The forecast was looking windless but with some decent waves for the next few days so it looked like even though I wasn't in Hawaii, I would still be in the water. You can't ask for much more than that.
.JPG)
After the original swell we had scored in the first week had died down I wasn't expecting much more in terms of quality. Luckily we were suprised with a decent North swell coming into Hookipa up to logo high - about 4ft or so in surfing terms or 3m faces for non-surfers. Unfortunately for me it was ridiculously windy! Being a light weight I don't really like it when the wind is much over 30 knots. I was so overpowered I could barely sail in a straight line - let alone bottom turn! Joel and James on the other hand were loving it. The waves were pretty punchy due to the low tide and I had a few run ins with the reef, scraping my arm along the bottom. James also managed to find the mother of all sea urchins making his foot look even more like a pincushion. Later in the afternoon the wind backed down a bit as I had hoped so I was finally able to get out and get some rides. The crowds had back off as well which was a bonus, it was only me, Francisco Goya and about three others on the water all trading some decent waves.
Tweaked tabletop
.JPG)
The new swell was short lived, by the next afternoon we were back to mucking around on the small windswell. This was easily enough for some sick jumping conditions allowing me to practise my involuntary double pushloops! At the start of the trip we had all set specific moves we wanted to work on, mine was the pushloop with tabletop forwards coming in second. I had been having trouble slowing pushys down, usually ending up going way too fast and coming down hard after going into a second rotation. Although hilarious, they were pretty painful... We only managed to get one of the smaller ones on film.
Practising the Polakow tweak
.JPG)
On a windless morning Phil dragged me out bed for a trip to the cannery where Goya and Quatro were based out of. Due to a lack of research we actually had no idea where to go so ended up driving around the hills of Haiku for over an hour before finally giving up as the wind began to crank. The next day armed with the info we needed courtesy of Google maps we hit the road. When we arrived the guys were super helpful, Francisco, Pascal and Keith answered all our questions about the latest shapes and multi finned boards. Pascal even took us for a tour behind the scenes which was pretty cool, showing us the process that Keith goes through to ultimately end up building a sick board.
Sprecks forward
As the last week of the trip drew nearer the pressure was on. We all wanted to pull off our new moves and get enough video footage to make a decent movie of the trip. It was decided that everyone had to pick a move for someone else to land, Phil's was a decent stalled forward, Joel's a massive cheese roll, James' a tweaked pushy and mine - a tabletop forward. After the first day of this strategy no one actually pulled off their move, we all just ended up smashing ourselves. I was pretty motivated to nail a tabletop forward though so I ditched pushys and decided to focus solely on my new goal. A few days later I pulled one off at Kanaha totally dry. Bit of bummer that no one got it on film but I was still stoked.
Rockpools
On one of our last days a few of our friends took us to some rock pools around the corner from Jaws. It was a pretty sketchy walk down the cliff face - at one point we nearly lost Joel haha. The pools were pretty amazing with a little cave, lots of fish and urchins as well... You had to be careful where you sat! We also found a few hermit crabs and started a bit of a battle. My crab kicked ass until a fish tried to eat it.
It seemed like much too soon as the trip came to an end. It was hard to believe we had spent so much time away. The memories of all the days blurred together, the mediocre sessions were forgotten and only the sickest moves and the best crashes stood out. On the last day we were treated with nuking wind. Powered up on my 3.6 I wanted to make the most of the warm water and sunshine. Joel chased me around for about half an hour with the GoPro camera to amp me up for a double forward attempt but the ramps just never materialised...
Stalled forward
Later we got home and got packed before going for dinner at the Paia fish market. Our flight was leaving at 6am which meant we had to wake up at 4am. The thought of sitting on a plane for a whole day wide awake was not very appealing so I stayed up all night editing the video footage. After an hour and a half of sleep I had to get up again and get to the airport. Negotiating with the check-in chick about excess baggage when you are that sleep deprived is not much fun, especially when they didn't even accept my travellers card or cash to pay for it!! Luckily Phil saved the day and I was able to make it onto the flight. Thanks Phil! As soon as I got in my chair I was pretty much comatose. The sleep deprivation worked a treat. I woke up again to drag my luggage to the international terminal at Honolulu airport and then got back to sleep as we took off for Sydney. It didn't seem like too much longer and we were descending back into Australia. Time flies when you are that tired. After clearing customs without any dramas we had to drag our bags across another airport... At the Qantas transfer desk we had the biggest legend ever so got us all on an eariler flight so we didn't have to wait another 4 hours to get home to Melbourne.
Arriving back in Victoria it was pretty cold! The forecast was looking windless but with some decent waves for the next few days so it looked like even though I wasn't in Hawaii, I would still be in the water. You can't ask for much more than that.
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