A bit scared of this next swell

[murrum]

Struggling to find something surfable here today - massive and windy.
Took the dogs down the beach this morning to check the damage. Sh1t washed up everywhere, plastic, logs, dead and alive fish (much to the dogs enjoyment) loads of little black tern-like birds dead among the weed, and an albatross, spreadeagled, right where the track deposits you on the shore. Wings outstretched (2m or more), huge head and beak flopped over to one side and big webbed feet dug into the sand like he was trying to make it up the track to shelter.
At least the tanks are full.

[steve shearer]

Those little black birds are short-tailed shearwaters.(mutton birds).

Sure it was an albatross?

What colour was it?

[swvic]

Haven't the Shearwaters pissed off to the Nth hemisphere long ago?

[steve shearer]

Could be some early arrivals.

Or it might be little wilsons storm petrels.

Be cool to see a photo.

[BA]

Coupla guys scoring some very clean, sizey ones at the Queensie bombie this morning. Good luck to em'.

[2nd Reef]

Cheers BA...'twas epic out there. I only got 4 or 5 but was the most enjoyable session I've had in ages. I flew solo for a while before Hayden Cox and one of his mates (James?) paddled out on serious equipment. Another fella joined us and the four of us had it too ourselves for a few hours. Ended up pulling the legrope plugging out of my board, which ended my morning.

Prolly have some photos over at Swellnet soon.

[BA]

Yeah looked pretty epic.....

.....until I saw one of you get nailed by a set. Then it looked downright soil ya wetty type stuff.

Amazing that in a place like Sydney, those that want it, can get big, juicy uncrowded, near perfect waves. Defies belief.

Look forward to the piccies.

[marcus]

Cheers BA...'twas epic out there. I only got 4 or 5 but was the most enjoyable session I've had in ages. I flew solo for a while before Hayden Cox and one of his mates (James?) paddled out on serious equipment. Another fella joined us and the four of us had it too ourselves for a few hours. Ended up pulling the legrope plugging out of my board, which ended my morning.

Prolly have some photos over at Swellnet soon.

2nd reef, i was sitting in the carpark yesterday near the lagoon trying to figure out how to get out there. I messaged you and ben on the idea of paddling from shelley beach (no reply, you must have had better things to do) but when i got to deadies carpark i figured it would be dark before i could reach the bombie, and with no torches (cracked helmet) decided to check out deadmans.

not sure why people rate fairy bower, thats taking shoulder hopping to the Olympics

[2nd Reef]

Got your emails Marcus but I couldn't reply to them. They kept bouncing back and I couldn't find your phone number.

[Trev]

not sure why people rate fairy bower, thats taking shoulder hopping to the Olympics

marcus, if you think that, you haven't seen it working.

[BA]

Two rescue helicopters over Manly at the moment with searchlights. Backpacker?

[BA]

Now three helicopters and a police boat.

[channels]

There was a solo surfer out a Queensie bombie earlier...hope they aren't searching for him.

[Trev]

Sydney radio news at 9pm yesterday said a surfer was missing off Warriewood and they'd called off the search till today.

[BA]

There was a solo surfer out a Queensie bombie earlier...hope they aren't searching for him.

Nah, he was still there. Cops just pulled what appeared to be a clubby surf ski into their boat. Choppers have now gone.

[localbogan]

After the cops left that guy got a screamer then paddled into the beach then got another one into shore. He was riding an old school gun and looked about 40

[Nick Carroll]

Well somehow got away with that swell without irrational decision making, though it was bloody close.

Wednesday pissed down rain and the swell booted. That was fine, typical. On Thursday the rain started to get to me. The wind was flaring on and offshore, howling at 40-50knots and conditions kept veering close to OK. But Friday had looked like the day from the beginning so I tried to put my mind elsewhere.

Friday opened up with crazy, unbearable irritating rain still owning the atmosphere. Fark! Checked the ocean and the swell was definitely bigger, coming from two directions, one quite SE and one more dead east, I guess the low turning on itself out near NZ. But the wind. Sadistic SE gale! Would it swing? I could see there were rideable crazy looking waves on various bombie reefs off Newport. But everyone I called didn't want to know. Even little brother. I called him at around 2.30pm after yet another edgy, witless dash to the surf check point. My car was overwhelmed with surfboards, all the way from a 6'5" to a 9'6". Tom's voice had the sogginess of a man who'd already let life's commitments get the better of him. "Can't really see any good ones," he muttered. Nonsense! It was 10-15' and bombing out of hand!!

I kept jumping in my car and driving to the beach, extremely agitated. Actually being poisoned by my own adrenaline.

Then the wind clocked SW. It was still pissing down and the tide was dropping. Solid 15' waves were landing on the outer bombie. It looked like beyond maxed out Sunset. Nobody was around. I stood on a fence at the south end, completely spun. The lineup was almost inaccessible, the weather extremely foul and dark, sheets of rain thundering down, the ocean just mental. This was it, the moment where a truly stupid decision coulda been made. Instead I frothed, writhing in anguish at the check point. An older couple came down and started to talk to me about what it was apparently like at Coffs Harbour today. Fcuk, whatever.

I went home and got the dog and went for a run through the rain. By the time we got back on the sand, the wind had swung back SE and the magic had passed. Up the north end of the beach I ran into Andre, one of the guys who I might have persuaded to come out. "I was sitting at home watching it and freaking out!!" he said. "I couldn't get anyone to go out!" Well fcuk eh.

On Saturday, Realsurf's very own Goat came on Radio National and told everyone that the surf was "horrible -- I wouldn't go out anywhere". Yeah it was 10' plus and blowing SW, just absolutely terrible. Crikey surfing has changed over the years eh, once a hairball activity for people struck by a dangerous uncorralled magic, it has become a careful person's sport, upon which the day of the year is just all too much, and you might get sick from the stormwater. I got hold of TC at last and we surfed off the tip with Andre and his brother Chuckie, three and a half hours of super fun solid waves that washed away all that old adrenaline. It felt oddly mellow after what I'd watched the day before. Andre called it "a brother's session" and that's how it felt.

Then today was just easy and sick, clean offshore heavy waves everywhere. It was my birthday! Ha ha ha ha.

[Buff_Brad]

Happy 52nd Nick.