Surfing With the Bros

A House On The Point

2009-09-26T22:14:00.007+10:00

It’s a place that finds you when you’re not really looking. I’d scoured the pages of my Indo surf guide, read between the lines, searching for clues to steer me in the right direction. But Java hardly conjured the idyllic surfing image that has led many a man to give up everything to plant roots down where rice paddies were once green. The house on the point faces one of the most consistent

So Where Is Your Home Break?

2009-09-18T18:00:00.010+10:00

Five years ago, I was scouting the coastlines of Lombok and Sumbawa. On the south coast of Lombok, about an hour east of Kuta, Lombok, I'd heard of a claw-shaped bay that had a heavy right and left-hand reef break, peeling on adjacent sides of the bay. On this particular morning, the swell wasn't substantial enough to get the far outside points working properly. The only

Samoan Cylinders

2009-06-17T00:57:00.007+10:00

View pics from the trip here.It was a trip I was looking forward to for weeks. After four months of solo travel through Australia and Tahiti, I couldn't wait for a laid back escape mission to the island of Savaii, in Western Samoa, with my long-time wingman Jake, and his partner Sandy. Leaving the cold, schizo, sun-starved New Zealand winter behind for a week was all Sandy could think about,

Round one highlights from the Billabong Pro 2009

2009-05-12T05:32:00.004+10:00

East Coast Mission

2009-05-07T12:22:00.004+10:00

Jake feeling the drive of the Nugget.After a week of all-time Kirra barrels, I finally managed to drag my tired bones back to New Zealand for some much needed R&R with my surrogate family. Perched high above the sandstone cliffs of Maori Bay on the northwest coast of the north island, Jake and Sandy's cottage has been a favorite resting stop of mine for years. The exposed west coast beaches

Low Pressure = Deep Pits

2009-04-21T09:35:00.006+10:00

more pics here

Kirra Perfection

2009-04-20T20:59:00.006+10:00

This lucky grommet with a view to kill for.This is where it all happens - Coolangatta, Surf City Australia.A perfect Kirra drainpipe unloading down the sand bank.After the Rip Curl Pro I was set to return to hobbit-land with my flight leaving Melbourne in two days. The only snag was a mean low-pressure system developing in the central Tasman Sea that looked to bear fruit for the Gold Coast. A

Parkinson Wins Rip Curl Pro

2009-04-17T14:26:00.012+10:00

Pics from finalPics from David ZirrelliJoel Parkinson took out wild card and local hero Adam Robertson today on his way to ringing the 'bell' in classic 5-foot, offshore conditions at Bells Beach.Robertson's path to the final was decidedly longer than that of Parkinson. Since he's not in the top 44, he had to first surf an entire qualifying competition just to make it in to the draw for the Rip

Slater Sent Packing, Again...

2009-04-14T17:56:00.016+10:00

Pics from Round TwoMore Pics from Italian Photographer Davide ZerilliThe early morning sun cast its gentle light across the cow paddocks and rambling hills as a stiff northerly wind combed the building six-foot sets that were unloading on the 'bowl' section of Bells Beach. It was a sight I welcomed after a week of below average surf and onshore winds. The strong offshore winds were molding raw

Men's Round 1 starts at Rip Curl Pro

2009-04-07T18:58:00.003+10:00

The rain was pelting the roof above where I was sleeping this morning, making my first night back in a bed for a couple weeks not overly enjoyable. But it served as a good alarm clock to get up and shuffle down from Anglesea to Bells Beach for day 1 of the Rip Curl Pro.The Men's round 1 action got underway just after 9:30 a.m. in 4-6 foot semi-clean conditions at Bells. This event marks the

Bells Beach turns on for the first day of competition

2009-04-06T18:05:00.005+10:00

The Rip Curl Pro is set to begin tomorrow at Bells Beach in solid 6 foot conditions. The temperature has dropped and south winds are roaring across the Tasman Sea pushing a solid 6-8 foot swell along the famous reef, and giving the top pros plenty of raw ocean energy to warm up in before the big dance.Stay tuned for mores updates as the action unfolds...

Designs To Free Your Mind

2009-03-24T21:08:00.006+10:00

I recently read an article in the current 'Surfing World' about legendary shaper Geoff McCoy. Intrigued by his design theory, I sent him an email inquiring about the possibility of making me a board. The culmination of his 40-plus years shaping surfboards for some of the world's greatest surfers has resulted in the creation of his "Nugget" - a unique and inspiring idea in surfboard design at a

Down Time

2009-03-24T19:56:00.012+10:00

With the Quicksilver Pro wrapped up and a new 'King of Kirra' crowned, I turned my attention to the next five weeks - the time gap until the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach. What to do? One option, fly back to New Zealand and find some real work to top up my quickly vanishing available funds. Another - slowly make my way down the east coast of Australia, visiting old friends and surfing my brains

Parko Brings It Home

2009-03-11T14:07:00.006+10:00

On the 14th day of the Quicksilver Pro 2009, Joel Parkinson leans heavily on his local knowledge to navigate his way to victory.For the second day in a row, the contest was held at Coolangatta Beach, in pumping 6' top-to-bottom conditions.I even heard Jake Paterson make comparisons to a certain beach break on the North Shore. Not sure if I'd go that far, but there were definitely Escondido like

Game Over Dane

2009-03-10T18:59:00.013+10:00

Day 12 PhotosLike the outer bands of cyclone Hamish hammering my tent this morning, day 12 of the Quicksilver Pro got off to a sluggish start. 7am contest call, no word. 9am call, nothing. Sitting in the media room watching the building swell push through the near empty lineup at Snapper Rocks, I had my doubts. I was torn. The 4th round match-ups for todays heats were stacked. Fanning vs.

Dane the Mane...

2009-03-10T08:16:00.007+10:00

Cyclone Hammish moves further offshore northern Queensland, showing signs of fizzle and sucking the wind out of the building swell hype around Quick-Pro base camp. The contest is on hold this morning with a 9am call at Kirra. Conditions will be assessed and one of the 3 points (Snapper Rocks, Greenmount, Kirra) will be dubbed to hold center court to the quarter final action.The second half of

King of the Peak Sent Packing

2009-03-08T22:09:00.008+10:00

Slater escorted by security after losing his heat.For Kelly Slater, winning might not be everything, but losing is something he's obviously not good at. In today's 3rd round action at the Quicksilver Pro, crowds swarmed the beach for the much anticipated match-up between 9 time world champ Slater, and event wild card Julian Wilson. The last heat of the day, held in 3 foot semi-clean

Contest Site A Ghost Town

2009-03-04T11:05:00.008+10:00

With the flat, onshore conditions hanging around like a parasitic kook, the pros take another day off to rest, praying for a cyclone in the near future. The scene at ground zero is grim, not many people around, barely a wave to ride and light rain bands passing through on the hour. I managed to get a session in at D-bah on the early and had fun. It was empty except for a few pros keeping

Gold Coast is Flat

2009-03-03T13:20:00.002+10:00

No contest on today for men or women, experiencing extreme flatness on the Gold Coast today. Looks like swell building on Thursday, possibly Wednesday afternoon. We should get a decent southerly pulse by the weekend, hopefully it will be enough to move the comp back to Snapper Rocks...

Rookies Take Over First Round of Roxy Pro

2009-03-02T16:24:00.008+10:00

The first round of the Roxy Pro was held at D-bah this morning, while the men had another lay day. Round 1 saw explosive action from the young guns, with 4 out of 6 heats won by rookies. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), the fastest ever to qualify for the women's tour was on fire, surfing with power and precision scoring a 9.6 on her way to winning her heat. Long gone are the days of sludgy bottom

5 Questions with Aritz Aranburu

2009-03-02T14:53:00.006+10:00

Coming off an injury plagued rookie year on tour, Aritz Aranburu is hoping learn from his mistakes and climb up the rankings this year. Hailing from Spain, Aritz joins Jeremy Flores, Tim Boal, and Mikael Picon from France, Tiago Pires from Portugal, and Marlon Lipke from Germany as part of the largest European contigent ever on tour. I sat down with Aritz to ask him about his life on tour...

Contest Off Today

2009-03-01T13:43:00.001+10:00

Small swell and howling north winds crushing the lineups today.

Quicksilver Pro Round 1 Relocated to Duranbah

2009-02-28T15:28:00.000+10:00

Round 1 PhotosThe first round of the 2009 Quicksilver Pro kicked off this morning in classic 2-3 foot offshore conditions at D-bah beach. The swell wasn't doing it for Snapper Rocks and the points, so event organizers moved the comp up the beach for a 7:30 a.m. start. The Europeans came out blazing with Jeremy Flores (FRA), and Tiagoa Pires (PRT) both winning their heats and advancing directly

Corey Ziems wins final wild card slot for Quiksilver Pro

2009-02-27T17:13:00.000+10:00

Local ripper posts the highest score in preliminary rounds to win the last wild card seat into the main event. "I can't believe it", said the 25 year old from Currumbin, QLD. He'll join fellow wild cards, Danny Wills and Julian Wilson on a mission to collect a chunk of the $340,000 in the contest vault.

Good friends in the ZEE

2009-02-25T20:36:00.000+10:00

It's always good to catch up and reconnect with old friends. I spent the last month living with my best friend from early childhood, on the west coast of New Zealand. After 18 months working hard in Orlando for another great friend, it was nice to finally relax and get back in the water again. The surf was solid and consistent most of my time here, even if the mud bay sand banks weren't