Long Time Local

Long time local Nana Brine surveying her local spot a few moons back. Have been surfing this spot out the front of my Mum's for decades and yesterday was one of the best. Day before was howling onshore chop. Yesterday it was glassy early and nobody out. Tried the Derek Hynd no fin, no leggie approach and all I can say is it's weird and difficult but fun. Wind swung around offshore, so I put a big pivot fin on the Seahorse and slid left and right. Wind stayed offshore all day.

Oil x Wood

Took this one more than 30 years ago when film was the only option. When oil was plentiful. When we drove big V8's with pintail single fins strapped to the roof with stretchy straps that sometimes broke and would whack you in the head. When nobody was riding wood.

What will it be like in 30 years' time?

Peter Troy - one year on

There are at least five sizable islands off the Brinecoast - all with different mixes of reef, rock platform and sand bottoms. Some call this one Kong's Island after local legend Gary Elkerton's film appearance. Others call it Troy's Island after the late surf pioneer Peter Troy (RIP), who held  a 99 year lease on the place. I prefer the traditional murri name Mudjimba.

Back in the 70's, my brother and cousin and I paddled over from the nearest beach one day and surfed the rights, which sometimes run into the lefts, as this is kinda tear shaped.  So we hit it on our pintail singlefins. Needless to say, we had it to ourselves. 

Rested on the rocks after that, rolled a smoke (yeah we brought over supplies in a plastic bag) and paddled back over the shark infested channel.

A couple of years later, I was in Peter Troy's surfshop blabbing on about our adventure,  pointing to the beautiful aerial shot of The Island that he had on wall. He was such a nice bloke, listening to me dribble on and on about our big paddle over and back, then he just nodded and said softly, "yeah, it's a great spot, I have the lease for the island". And this from a bloke who had already surfed a million countries before I was born. 

RIP Peter Troy 1938 - 2008

Summer in August (what global warming?)

Remember last summer?

Balmy days.

High fire danger.

Surfing until dark without a wettie.

Oh, that was today - the highest winter temperature ever recorded in Brineyville.

Where's my order for Spring?

Busy in Brineyville

Busy in Brineville.

Nor-westers coming off the desert.

Snakes hatching early.

Hot off shores. Cold water.

Spring has sprung early.

The Power of Four

When the Going Gets Tough - the Tough Go Shopping

Sea Five

Woodstock Vs Byron Bay

When men on the chessboard

Get up and tell you where to go

And you've just had some kind of mushroom

And your mind is moving slow

Go ask Alice

I think she'll know

Some of the lyrics sung by Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane in their performance of White Rabbit at Woodstock - 40 years ago this weekend. Backpacker bus at Byron Bay lighthouse - Autumn 2009.

Monochrome Madness

monochrome madness

large spider in my darkroom

i dream in daDa

Bob and Hayden

H and Bob McTavish the surf pioneer outside the defunct Noosa Longboards Shop in Brisneyland, with one of H's many VW's.

Bob and George Greenough worked for Hayden Kenny in the 60's on the Sunshine Coast - you gotta hear Bob's funny take on that era. Both he and Hayden are still making boards. 

Bob's site:

 http://www.mctavish.com.au/

No, I don't ride his boards, but Mark and Phil below are fans.

Fish in Forest

HD Video still.

Crispy winter morning fish session.

Same spot where Hayden Kenny ( http://www.haydensurf.com/ )

and the helicopter guys rescued that surfer from the rocks during the Big Swell a while back.

Winter 2009

Beyond the Wires

Caffeine, cameras and commuting today. And again I search for the perfect mocha - taste, temperature and volume. Yes that's a coffee mug stain on my trusty notebook. On the other page I wrote:

Going up country

Looking for Aunty's Aunty

Beyond the wires

If you find the perfect mocha on the sunshine coast, email me.

Commitment

Colour Co-ordinated

How's this little grommet with matching boardies, surf shirt and cut-down Shane surfboard.

Are you still surfing, Barry?

Mooloolaba, Spring 1975

I Got This Deadly Treadly

Self-portrait with wild flowers, beside Murphy's Farm.

I have owned more bicycles then cars, more surfboards than bicycles, more cameras than surfboards.

Going fast. Leaning over hard while turning - on a board, a bike or skate deck. Wind rushing past your face. And then changing direction back the other way. It all adds to the stoke factor.

Down by the River (mouth)

This week it's all about Lefts. 

Deano, Andrew, Mark, Crofty and all you other goofy footers out there - drink it in.

This one down by the river mouth with a Japanese film in a Japanese camera and one of those cumbersome German plastic glove things.

Spring 1986

Andrew's Left

Legend has it that this spot between The River and The Lake used to be a nudie beach. Now it's top dollar real estate.

Had fogotten how much fun going back-hand on my Dick Van Straalen quad was until brine brother Andrew and I scored a few crispie lefts on the weekend.

This Spot Up the Road

We hardly ever get decent lefts around here, but there's this spot up the road....

The Dawn Patrol

A Japanese camera meets an American film in Australia.

Sunny Coast dawn patrol. You walk through the trees. There's no wind. Birds are singing - even the magpies are friendly.

And a string of nice little banks as far as the eye can see.

Place Without a Postcard

This week's infatuation with Lefts continues. Another century, another continent, but equally chilly. 

Video still from home made housing, shooting while surfing backhand on a board that's now retired. 

The hardest part is the takeoff - as Mr Zimmerman would say "with one arm waving free, siluhetted by the sea"

Autumn 2004

One California Day . . . Last Millenium

Huntington Beach Pier, late afternoon, late winter, early in my adventures with celluloid. Kodachrome slide film in a manual everything type camera.

Winter 1978

Snoozing = Losing

It's cold and dark. Why bother hitting it early? Why not snooze in a while longer?

Briney-eau-stomp

They reckon the human body is mostly made up of briney fluid....so who needs a big hunk of fiberglass?

Keeping the stoke stoked at Sunshine.

The Bazmeister & Balsa

My longboard mentor - The Bazmeister -  with his 9 foot something Riley balsa on a crisp morning at Happy Valley.

Full Moon Friday

Full moon. Clear skies. No wind. Augers well for the weekend warrior.

Howling Offshore

Howling offshore. Just you and the sea critters for company. And a mighty wind to paddle into. Heavy glass required.

We managed to shoot some sweet video out in the water later this day.

Winter 2009

Waiting for the Sharks

Waiting for the sharks to stop feeding so we could go for a surf. South of Tibrogargan. South of the Tweed. South of Responsibility, Middle Age and Mortgages. Use a tripod if you are like me and have the shakiest hands in the business.

Winter 2009

Beards are Back

Beards and long boards on the Sunny Coast.

Spring 2008

Bodysurfing the brine

Ryan Heywood has included one of my analogues in his latest Body Surfing series - an online  collection of shots from around this spinning blob of brineto maintain the stoke, but not sponsored or affiliated with any global  corporate troika.

http://bodysurf.com.au/html3/PAG21.html

The Brine Cave

Early rendering of the Brine Cave - late 70's. Free Ride surf movie and Simply Living magazine. Not a spono logo in sight. Feels like we've gone full circle. Time to cast off the leggies.....you first.

Fish Slide or Fishing?

A couple of mates wet aline in the brine. Sometimes it's not the waves - it's what's in the waves. Beware this spot is very sharkey.

Coffin Man

And now for a different way of sliding across First Point the coffin manouver. 

March 2009