Absent Mind present Heart

I've been absent for a while, mostly for good reasons, holidaying in Nelson bay which was amazing, building a new board and of course surfing. Still it looks like summer is here judging by the the number of people in the water, but the warmth is certainly appreciated and my first surf without booties was lots of fun at bells with a 2ft swell on low tide, :-)

So now all I have to do is finish the 7'2" quad fish in time for the Christmass visit to see the kids in Noosa and hopefully have a bit of a surf along the way.

Surfing Bells, Finless

Well, today was a mixed day great and a bit embarrasing! Rohan and I had an RDO and went down to surf Bells beach. By the time we arrived at about 8am the swell had built to around 3ft. Whilst we sat there we were joined by one of the pioneers of finless surfing Derek Hynd, have a look at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3du0vEJM5yY . So after a really nice midsize wave I got my first set wave that I rode top to bottom all the way through, Stoked, only to be paddling back and see Derek Hynd spinning effortlessly double stoked. OK so now I could have walked out at that point and it would have been enough.

But!!!!!

I discovered that the Kook in me is still there and even though I go out of my way to be well mannered and follow the rules I still make mistakes. Unlike old friends you can't just drop in and say hi to the guy on the inside particularly those of a cranky disposition, not that you would know until you test it! Even when they are way down the line and you think that they won't possibly make it through that section, think again because you never know who that guy is!!!!

What did I learn from this lesson well a few things but most importantly that it is so important to look and look again. Its not good practice to upset people with poor etiquette, not that my faux pas was deliberate and that on a wave that is a decent size the thought of a 65-100kg surfer+ surfboard that is moving at 30 kmh on an impact trajectory with you is not something you particularly want.

Surf, Love, Dance, Sing, Smile :-)

The weekend

The weekend was magic! Saturday Tom, Rohan, Leroy and I headed down to bells and for me it was, thanks partly to Rohan a great Surf, I was struggling a bit to get on a wave mostly due to the swell around the 4ft mark quite fast but testy with an incoming tide, you really had to be in the perfect spot to take off and my 6'8" was just not getting there for me so Ro and I swapped boards, he has a 6'10" Mccoy and voila!

I got a wave. then another but as I took the bottom turn and started to trim I could see the lip curling over about a 2ft above my head, all I could think was how cool it looked as it was curling over, so I pulled in and tried to make it as far down the line as I could before the lip engulfed me. I didn't get far but IT WAS AWESOME!!!!!

My surfing life now has a new goal. I want to get completely barrelled at least!.........

Sunday, What an a amazing morning, after checking the report for a 3-5ft swell Sam and I headed down to Urquharts Bluff, shoulder high on the sets and a perfect day. I now have the worst case of wetsuit tan and my shoulders are currently in a state of rebellion but I feel amazing as I have had had some great rides on my 9'3" Noserider

I can't believe I will head down tomorrow!......

Wednesday Meditaion

I have heard so many surfers relate the ecstasy of a perfect ride to Nirvana and that being in the Ocean always feels like a purification of the mind body and soul. Being a meditator, designer and surfer and generally dreamy sort of individual these things are close to my heart and I always see the boundries blur as one feeds the other.

Recently on aBlog I have really enjoyed reading http://surfingnorthdevon.blogspot.com/ there was a post that considered The golden Mean, also known as the Divine proportion, a ratio derived from a certain mathematical principal. left me to consider that there are only a few patterns that define the whole of the Universe and that we live in a space where Microcosm = Macrocosm and that all of these Geometries can be described by formulae. It is also interesting that the profile of a wave as energy is released through motion, reflects the Fibonacci spiral. It would seem that we have a Single creative force at work within the Universe

From the Tao,

Like water penetrating rock the Tao seeps in, Therefore the wise act by doing nothing.

From the Dhamapada

The path of the Bhudda is the the path of enlightenment, this is through the study of self, to study the self is to forget oneself and to forget ones self is to surrender ones body mind and spirit to the omnipresent superconscious reality that pervades the entire creation.

It is truly a beutiful thing to be at one with a wave. First there is anticipation, timing, positioning and the belief, "I will catch this wave!" and then after taking off our effort recoils and a relationship is born a short but beautiful journey, a oneness, a Nirvana.

And ;-)

It is a wonderful experience to see your children laugh, hear their voices and to watch them create, dance and just be!

In the Absence of surf or more specifically north wind since there has been plenty of swell, its time to face oneself and all the things that have been ignored like the lawns, and if the home is a metaphor for the self then a haircut would also be a good idea, along with purging the mind of a few cobwebs.

So that was yesterday and after taking care of some of the things that needed doing I caught up with my Surf buddy Pete. After variety of Tapas accompanied by a very Chocolatey Scotch Ale, from the Red Hill Brewery on the Mornington Peninsula. we sat and watched Zathura and I wondered what it would be like if you were actually playing a game and all of a sudden your lounge was bombarded by meteors! It certainly would not be boring. Which brings me back to now.

If you Happen to live in Melbourne and are wondering what to do when the wind blows south and you still feel you need a surf fix, then I would highly recomend going to Rhomus Surf at 85 Brunswick st, Fitzroy.

http://rhombussurfshop.com.au/pages/

Cathedral Rock

It was a stunning morning at Cathedral Rock, Nr Lorne, Vic today, with super clean waves and clear blue skies.

The swell was around 4-6ft, it packed quite a punch and I managed to end up on the rocks a couple of times fortunately without injury, its interesting to experience how much more power is in a 3ft wave versus 4ft and then again from 4ft to 6ft , on the way back we had a discussion about how much this factor increases since it is definitely not linear!

So after some research and some basic assumptions, it goes something like this:

Today at 4-6 ft which peak to trough is around 2-4 metres

significant period 15 sec

Assuming an average depth of 3 metres and an efficiency of 40%

we get a wave that is moving at around 5.4 m/s (20 km/h)

If these factors remain constant then this gives a net power of

2.7 KW or 2700 N/m/s at 1 metre

10.8 KW or 10800 N/m/s at 2 metres

43.4 KW or 43400 N/m/s at 4 metres

In reality we would also get depth variation with wave size and therefore an increase in velocity as the wave increases in size.

But in everyday terms this is a compressive force of approximately 4.5 tonnes at 4 metres which is pretty incredible but what is more incredible is that the force increase is so rapid, more than 4 times the power of a wave at 2 metres and 16 times more powerful than a wave at 1 metre.

The fields were beautiful :-).

Kilcunda

A Grey Morning with the possibility of high winds and heavy rain, turned out to be a great surf at Kilcunda, a small town 10 minutes south of Philip Island.

Tom, Roh and I had a 3-4ft right hand bank to ourselves for most of our session with light rain and an offshore wind, we were pretty stoked.

Magic!

Saturday At Cathederal Rock

Roh, Tom and myself arrived at Bells Saturday Morning to see a solid 6ft set roll in, with no one at Centre side we decided that it would be worth the trip to Cathederal Rock. When we arrived there, it was about 4ft with some good waves peeling wide and no-one taking them, as most were sitting inside and further out. So out we went my Surf was some what interesting with a few bungled take offs that once again brought me down to earth, but I did manage a few metres at speed, which left me only wanting more!

Pic-Rohan taking it easy.

Tuesday at Point Impossible

Yesterday I looked at the surf forecast for today and thought if I start work at 5.45am I can leave at 2.15pm and be in Torquay by 4pm which would give me about 2hrs of surfing and I would be back in Melbourne between 8 and 10pm depending on whether or not I ate there.

So after making the decision and setting my alarm, I got to bed early. I was still undecided as to where to surf this morning since today was a beautiful winters day with 4ft+ and offshore wind all day and with high tide around 4.30 reducing the choices of breaks that were working well, I was certain that it would be busy.

When a friend suggested Point Impossible, a reef that I haven't surfed for about 8 months I was not sure I wanted to go there since I had always struggled to get waves on my old mini-mal but I decided to try again since I have improved a bit since then, not to mention it is an amazing place being a marine wildlife reserve.

As I paddled out the sky was dancing with the ocean in a way that turned one to the other and back again, a kind of metamorphosis that only happens in certain light and times of day. A dance that was interrupted only by the breaking of waves, rising monolithic walls, translucent in the evening sunlight. I was so glad I made the trip.

Still smiling :-)

Woolamai

I just got back from Woolamai, Philip Island. Today was cold, the water a chilly 11.5C and a strong offshore wind.

Yet we managed to have a lot of fun on the Bank Roh and I surfed, 2-3ft sets coming through with the odd one or two peeling nicely into the beach.

The Weekend

It was a Beautiful weekend with sunshine and offshore winds. Saturday Rohan and I surfed at Guvo's Near Angelsea and then on Sunday Rohan, Tom, Leroy and I Surfed Bells, it was about 3ft and slightly cross shore but we got some great waves.

Ford Design Art Show

Yesterday Ford Design Australia kicked off its annual Junior Diabetes Research Foundation Fund raising Art Auction.

The Exhibition featured an interesting variety of media including 3D collages, Framed Origame, Original photo's, Pottery, Digital Art, Textile Design, prints on Canvas and Original were just some of the pieces for sale.

This event offers the Designers a great opporunity to express their talents and skills outside of the studio environment and provides a forum for creativity that otherwise would not exsist.

Enjoy

Dave

Saturday evening

Urquharts Bluff was a very tranquil and meditative late Saturday Afternoon, Pink sky on mercury, I felt so fortunate to be out there that evening just a few other guy's and very chilled vibe.

It was a good weekend allround on Sunday Rohan and I headed down for a surf at Steps near Torquay and had the break to ourselves, mostly because there was a lot of choice that morning and right now only the diehards are in the water, but head high and offshore, it was pretty perfect.

The Journey home

Today I'm back in Crescent Head and have had a great Surf today. I started out at Angourie this morning in 1.5 to 2 times head height storm swell and finished up with a very relaxing session at Crescent at waist to shoulder height.

Noosa

I've been in Noosa for a week and have been fishing, climbing rocks, building sand castles and generally having a great time with the kids. Today is my last day here and I'll have to head back to Melbourne tomorrow :-(.

Since I've been here there hasn't really been much swell, some knee high peelers off the points for SUP's or Longboards and the odd quick ride on the beaches if you're keen. But there have been some amazing sunsets, rainbows and the water is warm.

Day 4 Crescent Head

What a Beautiful place! I arrived here on sunday evening just in time to catch a few waves and surfed well into dark, the moon was almost full, the milky way resplendent across the sky and the water was like polished obsidian as my board slid silently across the surface.

Today was just perfect 2ft and offshore at Crescent this morning and a little bigger at Point Plomer this afternoon.

There is a magic about this place as if it has forgotten to move into the race which is modern life. May it never change.