Surfing Ability/Journal

Beginnerish. Can get up on a wave and ride for a bit. I have to practice turning on the wave. I am working on strengthening my swimming ability as you need strong arms/shoulders to paddle out when there are big waves.

The only picture of me surfing at 1770

May 26.09 - Had a good 4 hours of surfing in 1770. The surf was great for me. I rode the smallest board to date, it was 6'4"!! I did well with it and was happy with my last surf day up the coast. I even pushed myself and tried catching a wave off the rocks, which can be scary. Screw up there and you end up getting smashed against the rocks. I never managed to catch a wave there though. Got a nice rash on my chest from surfing all day. I need to buy a rash shirt...

1770 is going to be my last opportunity to surf up the coast. I did not know this, but once the Great Barrier Reef starts, it kills the surf. Well 1770, get ready for me...

I'm not heading to the beaches near Brisbane.

Didn't get the chance to surf at Surfers Paradise, but the surf did look amazing.

May 12.09 - Had our final surfing lesson from surf camp (since we left a day early). It was insane, but not the cool kind of insanity. We went to Seven Mile beach, near Byron, not the one near Sydney. THE SWELL WAS 10.5 FEET! WTF. People trying to learn how to surf shouldn't have been taken to waves like this. It was just mean. Shame on you Mojosurf. Now I had dealt with waves almost as big as that when I was trying to learn on my own, so I wasn't that bad, but watching people who had never surfed before being smashed again and again as they tried to get out the back of the waves was not fun. I was the only one who could get out the back of them, and even that took all of my energy, so much so that I'd have to wait several minutes before attempting to catch a wave. Yes, that big. I got destroyed by the biggest wave I've seen so far, and was caught in the worst spot for it. I think I did about 4 barrel rolls underwater. Mean. I did catch 2 waves though, but it was a couple short rides. I did improve a little, mostly in learning how to get out back of the waves, but everyone else, not so much.

May 10.09 - AMAZING DAY SURFING. A group of us rented boards and went surfing in Byron Bay's Main Beach. The surf was perfect for us newbies fresh out of camp. Used my camera which has 12X optical zoom to get some great shots of us surfing. Check this one out!

I love this shot. Check out Lisa's face in the background. What what.

Me just about to catch the wave.

May 6-8.09 Went to a surf camp. Focused on nailing the fundamentals. Learnt about the ocean, proper ways to pop up on the board. Where you want your feet. How to stop deep water versus shallow, and to make a sort of grid with markers around the beach to keep you in the best spot. Had my longest ride to this point. Great surf everyday.

April 20.09 - I've sold my surf board, so I cannot surf atm. BUT, my first stop when I start traveling is a 4 day surf camp. I'll get 4 hours of lessons each day on a beach with great surf, so I am thoroughly looking forward to that. Will post lots when the time comes.

Apr 16.09 - Beautiful day with beautiful surf at Bronte. Tried for a couple hours to get up. Managed to a couple times. The best break was near the rocks which I didn't dare try. Great fun though.



Apr 5.09 - Went to Bronte for 1.5 hours. Waves too big for me. Check this post for more details.

Apr 2. 09 - Wow I haven't been surfing in a month. I went once in March but with the lack of waves I didn't even both record it. And it's weeks like this where it decides to rain the entire time and I have some days off that suck. Oh well, I will make sure to go at least 2 more times before I sell my board and start travelling. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to bring a surfboard along with you. If I want to surf when taking the bus up coast I'll have to rent one for a day.


Feb 3. 09 - First time surfing in a while. Was at Bronte for 3 hours, had decent waves, on which I got up a few times, and I also had some good falls. One particular fall I faceplanted nicely into the board because I tried to catch the wave too late. It's OK mum my face is all good. There was also seaweeds everywhere.


Jan 18. 09 - Went surfing 2.5 hours at Bronte beach. The surf wasn't that great; had to wait 15 mins between good wave sets. I rode an awesome wave. Not only was it the longest I've been up so far, but it was at the fastest I've gone as well. I ended it with a nice carve to the right and managed to stay up on the board.

I loved my board while I had it. I just hire them now. It's cheap, usually around $10-15 a day.