Where did you surf today ?

[Trev]

Oh man. I LOVE winter.

[OddaP]

That little east muscled up nicely here on Sunday. It was a flaccid 2 occasional 3 on the Saturday. Come Sunday it picked and was coming in consistent lines. Winds swirled all day, north straight up, to nor west, howling Sou west for a hour and then swung back from there to the nor west and slowly died. Surfed 2 local back beaches, 1 a creek mouth that fared better than expected as a consequence of 250ml of rain last Friday, lovely lefts running down the beach. Later at a spot further north, a real jewel, although hammered it meant the bank was almost a shorey, 3 foot odd bigger and punchy in the shallow water. Too much fun.

[Donweather]

Scored some damn sensational waves yesterday. Inconsistent 3-4ft kirra style lefthanders running down a beachie bank for 60-80m+.

Oh and did I mention i only had to share with 2 others!!!!

[Natho]

Surfed a known south swell spot (Northern Beaches) yesterday late arvo. It was getting bigger pretty quickly. There was a young kid out there who I could see was very quickly beyond his limits. He moved further and further out to avoid the waves so I could see he was not comfortable. The waves were now double the size they were when he and I first entered the water 40min earlier. Anyway paddling back out I realsied the kid was in trouble. He had thrown his board, only to have a wave break his leggie leaving him in the impact zone without a board. He copped three good sets on the head (as did I) and he then got sucked back into the impact zone and pulled under. He panicked and I could tell he was in trouble by the look on his face. I paddled over and got him to rest on my board. Problem was I only had a small board 5'7 so there was only room for one of us on the board. Of course I got smashed all the way to the beach but with the help of a mate who was paddling back out we got him in to safety. I felt pretty good about myself I must say, but I pretty much tired myself out in the process. Those moments a part of what makes surfing so great. Because while we were all out there competing for waves against each other, I know if it was me in trouble someone else would have helped me. My d!ck feels about 2 inches bigger today as a result.

[aaronn]

Surfed a known south swell spot (Northern Beaches) yesterday late arvo. It was getting bigger pretty quickly. There was a young kid out there who I could see was very quickly beyond his limits. He moved further and further out to avoid the waves so I could see he was not comfortable. The waves were now double the size they were when he and I first entered the water 40min earlier. Anyway paddling back out I realsied the kid was in trouble. He had thrown his board, only to have a wave break his leggie leaving him in the impact zone without a board. He copped three good sets on the head (as did I) and he then got sucked back into the impact zone and pulled under. He panicked and I could tell he was in trouble by the look on his face. I paddled over and got him to rest on my board. Problem was I only had a small board 5'7 so there was only room for one of us on the board. Of course I got smashed all the way to the beach but with the help of a mate who was paddling back out we got him in to safety. I felt pretty good about myself I must say, but I pretty much tired myself out in the process. Those moments a part of what makes surfing so great. Because while we were all out there competing for waves against each other, I know if it was me in trouble someone else would have helped me. My d!ck feels about 2 inches bigger today as a result.

so youi're horny for the boy ?

[ctd]

Those moments a part of what makes surfing so great. Because while we were all out there competing for waves against each other, I know if it was me in trouble someone else would have helped me. My d!ck feels about 2 inches bigger today as a result.

Having been rescued by a surfer myself many years ago (when swimming, young, caught in a rip etc), for what its worth I'll pass on my own gratitude to surfers keeping an eye out on others and being prepared to help. Hopefully the guy who rescued me (1988 Wilson's Prom) still feels good.

Of course, the downside is that I now get stressed if I'm surfing without anyone else in the water (despite almost certainly able to swim in from anywhere I'm prepared to surf).

Do you feel that you are 'competing' for waves or 'sharing' waves? Guess it depends on where you are surfing.

[Davros]

Nth Styne/Queensie yesterday the usual drop-ins, cranky old locals (god some of them suck, its Manly boys simmer), waves on but the banks are a little out of whack.

[aaronn]

Nth Styne/Queensie yesterday the usual drop-ins, cranky old locals (god some of them suck, its Manly boys simmer), waves on but the banks are a little out of whack.

they're cranky-crazy...that's what 30 plus years of "surfing" that appalling excuse for a wave
will do to you. AND it'd ultra crowded. .. now that it's
SURFCITY
http://www.manly.nsw.gov.au/

have surfed there a few times. always dread it

[Beanpole]

Yeah, finished something I had been buggerising around with for weeks at work. Had a fun surf this arvo in very nice conditions. Stopped and picked up a pork roast for dinner and grabbed one of the remaining Whistler Black Tusk Ales I had in the fridge. Just putting the vegies on now and I think I've got a glass full of very good Spanish tempranilo to go with dinner. Then State of Origin.

[purple pyramids]

it makes me sick just thinking about getting stuck in a rapidly rising swell beyond your ability.

when i was coming in last week at bondi, i bought in a swimmer who was going under and freaking out. i put the board between him and me so he wouldn't pull me under. but i thought i did a pretty poor job of it all up. he kept slipping off the board. at one point the board was upside down fins forward with his head next to the fins -- i thought this is going to be nasty. turned out ok.
bit of applause from the assembled crowd, but i slunk out of there.
any tips on getting someone in on your board? i put him on and tried to push him in on the next wave. but he pearled it.

[Nick Carroll]

Yeah.

a) don't get off your board. You need to be in control of the situation and as soon as you get off the board, you've lost control of the situation.
b) a normal surfboard is not the best tool for bringing someone in; they're not built to float two people. What they're good for is supporting the person in difficulties. Provide that support and signal for help from others (lifeguards, other surfers, whatever). At Bondi you've got the lifeguard crew there most of the time, for instance, they have much better craft for bringing people in.
c) If you're stuck with bringing the person in, make sure they're calm before you try anything. TAKE YOUR TIME. Nobody's gonna die.
d) do NOT catch a wave in. it's the easiest way to fcuk up. Just put the patient in front of you on the thickest part of the board, get up close and on top of 'em and paddle in. Let whitewaters wash past you. Keep the patient secure with your body weight and keep talking to 'em all the way in.

Communication, talking, rule number one, keep that going. That's how you find out if anything else is wrong with 'em other than panicking, and it's how you project a sense of calm and control, even if you're not feeling it yourself.

[purple pyramids]

thanks so much nick. that was great. i didn't think the person was in much real danger, but he was panicking.

doing the bronze medallion in a parramatta pool left out a few things...at least i didn't try to administer the hair tow!

[ctd]

thanks so much nick. that was great. i didn't think the person was in much real danger, but he was panicking.

doing the bronze medallion in a parramatta pool left out a few things...at least i didn't try to administer the hair tow!

also check out http://www.surfingaustralia.com/event.php?id=666 (havent done the course myself)

For me the real test will be if I'm ever in conditions that are pushing me to the limit and then I have to rescue someone. I can sit with them on my board out the back, but getting in during big surf might be an issue. Then again, most of the time there is an escape route somewhere on a beach you can paddle over to.

[Nick Carroll]

If you want to learn how to rescue people in the surf, do the surf bronze with a good surf club.

[Nick Carroll]

For me the real test will be if I'm ever in conditions that are pushing me to the limit and then I have to rescue someone.

Just a tip: don't enter the water on a day where you're pushing your limits without having first figured out a couple of escape routes.

Exit lines rarely present themselves from out in the lineup in large surf, you need to check 'em from the beach angle.

If you've got the exit lines worked out, you'll be more relaxed in the surf and the issue with maybe having to help someone will be way less fraught.

[Beanpole]

Yeah had the classic one years ago. Good size Tama. At that stage I was riding a Taka Speedie Mal that went really well in larger waves. Dropped family at Bronte and thought hey I can go out in the rip, paddle up to tama and then I'll be able to come back down to get in instead of dodging the cave. Shot out in the rip to be confronted by a guy with a hand plane and flippers who had been standing next to me on the beach. He was freeking out and latched on to the front of my board going "oh, I've really got out of my depth out here." Ended up floating around for about 15 or 20 minutes till a jetski came from Bondi to get him. Thought we were going to drift around in front of the cemetery for a while. No way would we have got in on a wave.

[Trev]

Today was my 8th straight day of surf.

8 days of winter.
8 days of surf.

[channels]

In Perth for a week, surfed a fun reef at chest to head high in the metro area. Got called off by a weekend warrior for paddling straight to the top of the peak. Reasonable waves considering I was expecting abysmal.