We all love backing the underdog.
Nothing like seeing a new face battle it out with the seasoned pros.
Inexperience versus veteran.
David versus Goliath.
Battling up and comer versus multi-sponsored athlete.
And don’t think that those at the top of the heap underestimate the wildcards for an instant.
At the media conference for the 2009 Rip Curl Pro, when a journalist asked Stephanie Gilmore if she had any advice for women’s event wildcard, 14 year old surfing sensation Nikki Van Dijk, she smiled and shook her head. To Van Dijk’s obvious astonishment and delight, Gilmore said she felt the younger woman could be a serious threat and did not to give her any advantages.
Smart woman.
Wildcards have a history of toppling champions - you don’t want to give them any opportunity.
Look at Mick Fanning.
He burst through as a skinny kid who blitzed through the seemingly invincible field to take out the 2001 Rip Curl Pro.
And this year’s event saw the usual finals suspects topple faster than the economy. Kelly Slater eliminated by Owen Wright, now dubbed the ‘Slater Slayer’; Taj Burrow who won in 2007 , seven times world champ and recently retired Layne Beachley, current world champ Stephanie Gilmore and Chelsea Hodges all departed earlier than expected.
So when Jan Juc’s Adam Robertson who’s listed at 76th on the WQS took his wildcard opportunity through nine grueling heats to emerge as the highest ever ranked Victorian surfer at the world’s longest running surfing competition, it’s a cause to celebrate.
Coached by one of Australia's most respected surfers, Grayeme 'Gally' Galbraith (current Australian over 50s title holder and co-director of Torquay Surf Acaedmy http://www.torquaysurf.com.au/) saw Robertson fit, focussed and on fire.
After out surfing some of the best performers on the WCT, including Hawaiian Kekoa Bacalso, Australians Tom Whitaker and Bede Durbidge, Robertson came up against the polished technique of the highly experienced Gold Coaster Joel Parkinson in the final. Despite a home ground advantage, not to mention 99 per cent of the crowd cheering him on, Robertson emerged runner-up.
But he can hold his head up high.
He entered the event without a key sponsor, but no doubt the marketing execs have sat up and paid attention.
Hopefully, he’ll get some backing to match his passion and dedication.
On the podium, he was a good sport, acknowledging his rival and joining in the clapping and cheering when Parkinson rang the bell for the second time in his career. The man who’s taken out the first two WCT events this year spoke generously of Robertson and there’s no doubt that from the beginning, he took the wildcard seriously.
Paddling out earlier today, Parkinson was possibly recalling the day nearly a decade ago when as a 17 year old wildcard he became the youngest every surfer to win the Billabong Pro at Jeffrey’s Bay.
The bell on Robertson’s own trophy for second place no doubt sounded sweet enough to someone whom the bookies would have given heavy odds to make the semis, let alone the final.
But the look in his eyes says it all.
Underdog no longer.
He’ll be back.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Shake it up baby – Surfing’s continual musical wave
Surf music is an incredibly diverse genre. Ever since its inception on the beaches of Southern California in the late 50s and its speedy adoption in Australia, surfers have been listening to a wide variety of music that falls into the ‘surfing sounds’ category. So lets put down our sticks and wade into the surf music debate…
Ask a non-surfer to define surf rock and you’ll get conventional answers with the Beach Boys in high rotation. Ask the same question to a bunch of surfers and you’ll get answers as varied as their boards.“The Atlantics rule”, says a shortboarder who must have been born a good two decades after Bombora first rocked the airwaves.
“Jack Johnson, Xavier Rudd and the Beautiful Girls”, says a longboarder.
“Midnight Oil”, proclaims her friend on a mal.
“Paul Kelly’s Gunnamatta”, calls out a silver surfer as he paddles by on a custom 9’2” Peter Ashley.
“Beau Young’s Last Wave of Summer”, chips in a wahine on a carver.
And after hurtling down a wave and dropping in on me, a young bodyboarder grins. “It’s what old people listen to”, he offers.
He’ll keep.
From its beginning in the late 50’s, surf music always had the ability to mean different things to different people at different times. Once surfing music was very identifiable with a distinct resonance, but now, a wide range of musical styles fall into the surf music category at concerts, accompany surfing films and on surf inspired CD compilations.
You can think of surf music in two categories; vocal and instrumental. Jan and Dean's hits Deadman’s Curve and Surf City paved the way for groups such as The Beach Boys harmonic vocals leaned more towards the mainstream pop-rock style of music, often referred to as ‘beach music’ or ‘surf pop’. Whereas, instrumental groups like The Atlantics often comprised one or two guitar players, a bass player and a drummer and were inspired by Dick Dale, the original ‘King of the surf guitar’. Dale pioneered instrumental surf music and was the first to play Leo Fender’s breakthrough guitar, the Fender Stratocaster. Dale reckons that his distinctive sound came from his desire to recreate the sound of Gene Krupa the famous jazz drummer that created the sounds of the native dancers in the jungles along with the roar of mother nature's creature's and the roar of the ocean.
Today Dale and Jan and Dean are still performing after overcoming huge personal and professional odds, with Dale overcoming cancer and Jan Berry terrible brain injuries in a near fatal auto accident in 1966. Some 12 years later, he was finally able to tour again with Dean when they supported the Beach Boys, some 15 years after they first played together.
Like longboarders, surf musicians seem to go on forever.
Surf music’s current resurgence means that it is listened by more than those who can recall Phyllis O’Donnell winning the first woman’s world championship in1964. Surfers of all ages as well as their non-beach going mates are turning up their radios – or iPods – to catch the surfing sounds. Surf music is also full of players who would not know a good wave from a wipeout. The Atlantics were from Sydney’s eastern suburbs and took their name from a petrol sign, not the ocean as many supposed. Dale confessed that while he did surf, he wasn’t great and paradoxically, Dennis Wilson, famously the only Beach Boy who actually surfed, drowned in 1983. However, despite their lack of ability as a group to grab a wave, the Beach Boys certainly managed to hijack the genre.
You don’t have to be a surfer to enjoy the music that’s been inspired by the wave-walking lifestyle. No matter if your tribe is into Foo Fighters, Powderfinger, a Coastal Chill collection or the whole Blue Crush soundtrack, it seems that they all concord into the surf music category. And it’s not just the beachside suspects singing about sex, surf and sun; take the Vivesectors who describe themselves as ‘a Lo-fi Psychosurf band from the Deep Russian Underground’, or Denmark’s The Baywatchers, a surf rock n’ roll punk ensemble founded in Copehagen and now based in Berlin. It seems that if surfers (or those who like the idea of surfing) listen to it, then its surf music.
Just as Australia’s surfers tended to follow the lead shown by their US counterparts when it came to board construction and design, we also followed their musical influences. 1963 was the year when surf music exploded in Australia, with eight of the national top 10 hits surf related. The Denvermen’s ‘Surfside' was the first Australian surf song, but it only hit the charts after American songs ‘Pipeline’ by The Shantays and ‘Wipeout’ by The Surfaris livened up the airways.
On the local scene, surfers and landlocked youngsters alike were stomping along to Little Pattie (Patricia Amphlett now the president of the Media Alliaince) who was then as famous as any recent Australian Idol winner. In 1963 her first single He's My Blonde Headed Stompie Wompie Real Gone Surfer Boy/Stompin' At Maroubra reached #2 on the Top 40 charts, beaten only by The Beatles at #1. Once The Atlantics recorded 'Bombora' it seemed that every major recording artist was recording a 'Surf' record – including crooner Barry Crocker and ballet dancer Sir Robert Helpman.
But sometimes being a local band wasn’t a virtue,
"When ‘Bombora’ was first released, a lot of people especially in the music industry thought we were American”, comments drummer Peter Hood. “Since then, we've met a lot of deejays who have confessed that if they had known we were an Australian band then they would never have played our records." The late ‘60’s shortboard revolution kick started by Bob McTavish, Nat Young and George Greenough was in tandem with traditional surf music losing popularity to rock, despite strong bands such as the Sydney northern beaches group Tamam Shud, who contributed four songs to legendary surf movie 'Morning of the Earth, which is enjoying a resurgence and fecently played a number of sell-out concerts around the country to an audiance comprising mostly surfers who could rememebr the 60s and beyond.
But then, suddenly surf music was old hat and the music from your tranny was more likely to be from the ‘British Invasion’; the Rolling Stones, the Animals or the Beatles. Like longboards, surf music was regarded by the mainstream as the sign of the old timer, while punk, rock and heavy metal stood sway.
The current revival slowly came to mainstream ears when Midnight Oil released 'Wedding Cake Island' and it slowly gained momentum in mid-80s when Quentin Tarantino used Dale's ‘Miserlou’ in Pulp Fiction. Suddenly, baby boomers rediscovered the longboards they abandoned along with bands such as the Atlantics (who by the way are still going strong and for the most part, look as fit and hip now as they did back then). Despite having their first hit in 1961, like any good surf break they are still rocking. In 2000, the Sydney Olympics closing ceremony featured ‘Bombora’, while 100 lifesavers dragged a giant lifesaving reel into the arena and their support during the Beach Boys tour in 2003 showed that they had not lost their passion or ability to put on a stunning performance.
Another more grass-roots venue for surfing musicians are surf film events held in RSL’s, school halls and surf clubs all over the country. Whether it’s the local board-riders running a fund raiser or part of a mega surf brand competition, these events allow both local musicians and the broader surfing community to come together. At the 2005 Australian Surf Movie Festival, the live music at the Palm Beach Sydney show came from local band Token View with surf film soundtrack stalwart Pico playing at intermission to an audience that ranged from under six to 60 plus. Mostly wearing surf themed t-shirts, boardshorts, loud shirts and thongs.
Events such as the Byron Bay Blues and Roots Festival have showcased the emergence of talented artists such as Jack Johnson, Xavier Rudd, John Butler, The Beautiful Girls, Ben Harper and his pro-surfing pal and singer-songwriter Donovan Frankenreiter, whose mellow tunes and lyrical sounds appear to have totally re-invented the surf music sound. Johnson is typical when he says that his diverse musical influences includes; Nick Drake, The Beatles, Hendrix, Tribe Called Quest, Dylan, Ben Harper, Radio Head, G. Love, Special Sauce, Otis Redding, Neil Young, Marley, Kurosawa and Tom Curren.
This new surf wave with their blues-roots sound and eclectic influences have encouraged many local and internal surfers to make waves in the recording studio. Beau Young, former 2000 and 2003 world longboarding champion, has shown he’s not just incredible in the water, as his first release 'It Ain’t Easy' on the Weekend Sessions CD proves. “In my mind, music in my life is just as important as surfing.” His first album Waves of Change was a critical and commercial success and Still, album number two shows he's as unstoppable in the studio as he is on a wave. Friend and fellow longboard champ Lucas Proudfoot’s band, Max Judo released their first CD in 2005 and it went gangbusters in Japan. Even Kelly Slater is getting into it with his imaginatively named band ‘The Surfers’.
Even the Rip Curl Pro the longest running profesisonal surf comp in the world, now subtitles their event a 'surf & music festival'; the 2009 lineup included Ash Gunwald, The Goons of Doom and a host of talemt as diverse as the waves Bells can produce.
But the classic surf sounds endure.
Paul Kelly’s glorious release Gunnamatta is reminiscent of early surf instrumentals and ‘Mal & the Longboarders’, a gang of cool dudes who surf – what else – longboards in the 2nd Wind Longboard Club based at Federal near Byron Bay, play their own songs alongside more traditional music and are in huge demand at surfing comps and parties up and down Australia’s east coast. Member Soz Carlberg is so devoted to music, he even named his son Strat, after his favourite Fender guitar. Their new album 'The Other Side 'is selling strongly to longtime wax-heads as well as kids were weren’t even born when the band first rode a wave – or wrote a note. “It’s all about fun in the sun and catching waves”, says their bass guitarist Mal Walker.
“Like surfing, surf music is all about good times”.
Aloha to that.
More Info
Waltzing the Plank – the illustrated encyclopedia of Australian surf music 1963-2003 by Stephen J McParland www.garyusher.com/cmusic.html This encyclopedic work is an essential publication for anyone interested in the history of Australian surf music
Must have surf sounds
Atlantics – Bombora and Point Break
Beach Boys – Surfin’ Safari
Ben Harper – Diamonds on the Inside
Beau Young Waves of Change
Blue Crush soundtrack
Chantays – Pipleline
Coastal Chill – any compilation
Donovan Frankenreiter - Donovan Frankenreiter
The Sandals - Endless Summer soundtrack
G-Love & Special Sauce - The Best of G. Love and Special Sauce
Jack Johnson – Brushfire Fairytales
John Butler Trio - Living
Mal & the Longboarders – The Other Side and Sticky Feet
Midnight Oil – Wedding Cake Island
Paul Kelly - Gunnamatta
The Surfaris – Wipeout!
Weekend Sessions (any compilation)
Wetsuits – Golden Tones of the Wetsuits
Xavier Rudd – Live at the Grid
Ask a non-surfer to define surf rock and you’ll get conventional answers with the Beach Boys in high rotation. Ask the same question to a bunch of surfers and you’ll get answers as varied as their boards.“The Atlantics rule”, says a shortboarder who must have been born a good two decades after Bombora first rocked the airwaves.
“Jack Johnson, Xavier Rudd and the Beautiful Girls”, says a longboarder.
“Midnight Oil”, proclaims her friend on a mal.
“Paul Kelly’s Gunnamatta”, calls out a silver surfer as he paddles by on a custom 9’2” Peter Ashley.
“Beau Young’s Last Wave of Summer”, chips in a wahine on a carver.
And after hurtling down a wave and dropping in on me, a young bodyboarder grins. “It’s what old people listen to”, he offers.
He’ll keep.
From its beginning in the late 50’s, surf music always had the ability to mean different things to different people at different times. Once surfing music was very identifiable with a distinct resonance, but now, a wide range of musical styles fall into the surf music category at concerts, accompany surfing films and on surf inspired CD compilations.
You can think of surf music in two categories; vocal and instrumental. Jan and Dean's hits Deadman’s Curve and Surf City paved the way for groups such as The Beach Boys harmonic vocals leaned more towards the mainstream pop-rock style of music, often referred to as ‘beach music’ or ‘surf pop’. Whereas, instrumental groups like The Atlantics often comprised one or two guitar players, a bass player and a drummer and were inspired by Dick Dale, the original ‘King of the surf guitar’. Dale pioneered instrumental surf music and was the first to play Leo Fender’s breakthrough guitar, the Fender Stratocaster. Dale reckons that his distinctive sound came from his desire to recreate the sound of Gene Krupa the famous jazz drummer that created the sounds of the native dancers in the jungles along with the roar of mother nature's creature's and the roar of the ocean.
Today Dale and Jan and Dean are still performing after overcoming huge personal and professional odds, with Dale overcoming cancer and Jan Berry terrible brain injuries in a near fatal auto accident in 1966. Some 12 years later, he was finally able to tour again with Dean when they supported the Beach Boys, some 15 years after they first played together.
Like longboarders, surf musicians seem to go on forever.
Surf music’s current resurgence means that it is listened by more than those who can recall Phyllis O’Donnell winning the first woman’s world championship in1964. Surfers of all ages as well as their non-beach going mates are turning up their radios – or iPods – to catch the surfing sounds. Surf music is also full of players who would not know a good wave from a wipeout. The Atlantics were from Sydney’s eastern suburbs and took their name from a petrol sign, not the ocean as many supposed. Dale confessed that while he did surf, he wasn’t great and paradoxically, Dennis Wilson, famously the only Beach Boy who actually surfed, drowned in 1983. However, despite their lack of ability as a group to grab a wave, the Beach Boys certainly managed to hijack the genre.
You don’t have to be a surfer to enjoy the music that’s been inspired by the wave-walking lifestyle. No matter if your tribe is into Foo Fighters, Powderfinger, a Coastal Chill collection or the whole Blue Crush soundtrack, it seems that they all concord into the surf music category. And it’s not just the beachside suspects singing about sex, surf and sun; take the Vivesectors who describe themselves as ‘a Lo-fi Psychosurf band from the Deep Russian Underground’, or Denmark’s The Baywatchers, a surf rock n’ roll punk ensemble founded in Copehagen and now based in Berlin. It seems that if surfers (or those who like the idea of surfing) listen to it, then its surf music.
Just as Australia’s surfers tended to follow the lead shown by their US counterparts when it came to board construction and design, we also followed their musical influences. 1963 was the year when surf music exploded in Australia, with eight of the national top 10 hits surf related. The Denvermen’s ‘Surfside' was the first Australian surf song, but it only hit the charts after American songs ‘Pipeline’ by The Shantays and ‘Wipeout’ by The Surfaris livened up the airways.
On the local scene, surfers and landlocked youngsters alike were stomping along to Little Pattie (Patricia Amphlett now the president of the Media Alliaince) who was then as famous as any recent Australian Idol winner. In 1963 her first single He's My Blonde Headed Stompie Wompie Real Gone Surfer Boy/Stompin' At Maroubra reached #2 on the Top 40 charts, beaten only by The Beatles at #1. Once The Atlantics recorded 'Bombora' it seemed that every major recording artist was recording a 'Surf' record – including crooner Barry Crocker and ballet dancer Sir Robert Helpman.
But sometimes being a local band wasn’t a virtue,
"When ‘Bombora’ was first released, a lot of people especially in the music industry thought we were American”, comments drummer Peter Hood. “Since then, we've met a lot of deejays who have confessed that if they had known we were an Australian band then they would never have played our records." The late ‘60’s shortboard revolution kick started by Bob McTavish, Nat Young and George Greenough was in tandem with traditional surf music losing popularity to rock, despite strong bands such as the Sydney northern beaches group Tamam Shud, who contributed four songs to legendary surf movie 'Morning of the Earth, which is enjoying a resurgence and fecently played a number of sell-out concerts around the country to an audiance comprising mostly surfers who could rememebr the 60s and beyond.
But then, suddenly surf music was old hat and the music from your tranny was more likely to be from the ‘British Invasion’; the Rolling Stones, the Animals or the Beatles. Like longboards, surf music was regarded by the mainstream as the sign of the old timer, while punk, rock and heavy metal stood sway.
The current revival slowly came to mainstream ears when Midnight Oil released 'Wedding Cake Island' and it slowly gained momentum in mid-80s when Quentin Tarantino used Dale's ‘Miserlou’ in Pulp Fiction. Suddenly, baby boomers rediscovered the longboards they abandoned along with bands such as the Atlantics (who by the way are still going strong and for the most part, look as fit and hip now as they did back then). Despite having their first hit in 1961, like any good surf break they are still rocking. In 2000, the Sydney Olympics closing ceremony featured ‘Bombora’, while 100 lifesavers dragged a giant lifesaving reel into the arena and their support during the Beach Boys tour in 2003 showed that they had not lost their passion or ability to put on a stunning performance.
Another more grass-roots venue for surfing musicians are surf film events held in RSL’s, school halls and surf clubs all over the country. Whether it’s the local board-riders running a fund raiser or part of a mega surf brand competition, these events allow both local musicians and the broader surfing community to come together. At the 2005 Australian Surf Movie Festival, the live music at the Palm Beach Sydney show came from local band Token View with surf film soundtrack stalwart Pico playing at intermission to an audience that ranged from under six to 60 plus. Mostly wearing surf themed t-shirts, boardshorts, loud shirts and thongs.
Events such as the Byron Bay Blues and Roots Festival have showcased the emergence of talented artists such as Jack Johnson, Xavier Rudd, John Butler, The Beautiful Girls, Ben Harper and his pro-surfing pal and singer-songwriter Donovan Frankenreiter, whose mellow tunes and lyrical sounds appear to have totally re-invented the surf music sound. Johnson is typical when he says that his diverse musical influences includes; Nick Drake, The Beatles, Hendrix, Tribe Called Quest, Dylan, Ben Harper, Radio Head, G. Love, Special Sauce, Otis Redding, Neil Young, Marley, Kurosawa and Tom Curren.
This new surf wave with their blues-roots sound and eclectic influences have encouraged many local and internal surfers to make waves in the recording studio. Beau Young, former 2000 and 2003 world longboarding champion, has shown he’s not just incredible in the water, as his first release 'It Ain’t Easy' on the Weekend Sessions CD proves. “In my mind, music in my life is just as important as surfing.” His first album Waves of Change was a critical and commercial success and Still, album number two shows he's as unstoppable in the studio as he is on a wave. Friend and fellow longboard champ Lucas Proudfoot’s band, Max Judo released their first CD in 2005 and it went gangbusters in Japan. Even Kelly Slater is getting into it with his imaginatively named band ‘The Surfers’.
Even the Rip Curl Pro the longest running profesisonal surf comp in the world, now subtitles their event a 'surf & music festival'; the 2009 lineup included Ash Gunwald, The Goons of Doom and a host of talemt as diverse as the waves Bells can produce.
But the classic surf sounds endure.
Paul Kelly’s glorious release Gunnamatta is reminiscent of early surf instrumentals and ‘Mal & the Longboarders’, a gang of cool dudes who surf – what else – longboards in the 2nd Wind Longboard Club based at Federal near Byron Bay, play their own songs alongside more traditional music and are in huge demand at surfing comps and parties up and down Australia’s east coast. Member Soz Carlberg is so devoted to music, he even named his son Strat, after his favourite Fender guitar. Their new album 'The Other Side 'is selling strongly to longtime wax-heads as well as kids were weren’t even born when the band first rode a wave – or wrote a note. “It’s all about fun in the sun and catching waves”, says their bass guitarist Mal Walker.
“Like surfing, surf music is all about good times”.
Aloha to that.
More Info
Waltzing the Plank – the illustrated encyclopedia of Australian surf music 1963-2003 by Stephen J McParland www.garyusher.com/cmusic.html This encyclopedic work is an essential publication for anyone interested in the history of Australian surf music
Must have surf sounds
Atlantics – Bombora and Point Break
Beach Boys – Surfin’ Safari
Ben Harper – Diamonds on the Inside
Beau Young Waves of Change
Blue Crush soundtrack
Chantays – Pipleline
Coastal Chill – any compilation
Donovan Frankenreiter - Donovan Frankenreiter
The Sandals - Endless Summer soundtrack
G-Love & Special Sauce - The Best of G. Love and Special Sauce
Jack Johnson – Brushfire Fairytales
John Butler Trio - Living
Mal & the Longboarders – The Other Side and Sticky Feet
Midnight Oil – Wedding Cake Island
Paul Kelly - Gunnamatta
The Surfaris – Wipeout!
Weekend Sessions (any compilation)
Wetsuits – Golden Tones of the Wetsuits
Xavier Rudd – Live at the Grid
Confessions of an ice queen
When I was getting into my wetsuit at the Torquay car park one chilly dawn last winter, I overheard a rugged-up-to-the-max dog-walker say to another as they glanced over at me, 'what makes these people go there when it's so bloody cold?'I wanted to call out, “passion, my friend, passion”. But as I struggled with the back zip and inserted my earplugs, I had to admit that it’s more a heady mixture of passion and sheer bloody determination to down the last of your coffee from the insulated mug, kick off your wooly slippers, shed a toasty polar fleece jumper hastily donned over your PJs to drag on an often still-damp wetsuit, run across sand so cold it burns your feet despite booties and relish the warm (by comparison) ocean. Although, when an offshore westerly signals snow dumps to cheer the hearts of skiers even as it penetrates your wetsuit, chills your spine and the waves refuse to break, you do occasionally wonder what in hell you are doing out there. Sometimes it can be bleak out there in the water with the other desperados, while everyone else appears to be at home reading the weekend papers and enjoying another slice of hot buttered raisin toast. But when the swell arrives, be it at Possos, Juc or places further south, when you paddle those numb hands and catch that icy wave and tear down its glassy face, you wouldn't change your place with kings.
It takes a special kind of person to surf through winter. I’d like to think that as someone who willingly wakes before five o’clock in the morning twelve months of the year, leaps into their swimmers without even checking the surf report and
despite modern conveniences such as surfcams and online weather reports, bundles her boards, wax, a towel and a yawning husband into the car (not in that order) before driving off to the local beach with supreme confidence that today it will be pumping despite howling winds or hail; I’d like to think that this kind of person is, well, someone cool. But I suspect it really boils down to being obsessed and as stubborn as all get out. Sure, it’s easy to rise before dawn during Torquay’s seemingly endless summers and spend the day alternating between the glassy waves and the shade from the twisted trees at Point Danger. But come that first autumnal hint, then the non-committed turn away from the ocean and take up squash, skiing or footy until November.
Thank goodness.
Like those who purport to follow Richmond, but in reality only cheer them when they are winning, they don’t realize what they are missing as winter surf is exhilarating time! Not only are the waves less crowded, they are heaps more fun to ride. Fewer surfers mean less competition and a far mellower vibe. Any foolish rivalry, either real or imagined between the tribes shortboarders, longboarders, mal riders, waveskiers, kneeboarders, standupd and bodyboarders, for the most part disappears as we all sit there, hands tucked under armpits, teeth chattering together. As you bob up and down with your fellow desperados, you feel scorn for those who non-believers who pull into the carpark, shake their heads and return home, warm, dry and without a wave to their name.
Some of the more mature longboarders even don neoprene rubber caps, looking strangely like medieval butchers or extras from ‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail’ as they swiftly paddle past. Perhaps it’s because I learned to surf here in Victoria where the water might be just 10 degrees whilst the wind chill factor you’d swear under oath is no more than -11, that Sydney’s winters seems very mild by comparison. Still, you know how cold it is by the time it takes for your feet to numb up - when you can’t feel your toes; it’s definitely time to paddle in.
Emerging, the wind whips through you as you pelt up the sand. In the car park you thaw your frozen feet under a cold shower or by pouring the remains of the thermos flask contents over them and hurriedly place a towel on the seat so you can drive home rubber clad. On the days when my husband has the car and I cycle to the beach, I wear gloves so I can maintain grip on the handlebars and I peddle as hard as I can to get the blood going. Dashing inside, you jump in the shower, turn the water on hot, hot, hot and are revived in the heat rush. Later, rugged up and sipping miso soup or tea, then gobbling porridge, crumpets or poached eggs (some days you feel so starved you’d consume it all) by the fire, you relive every wave and email or text your girlfriends about the amazing rides you caught, wiped out on and the Harvey wallbanger sunrise you were privileged to witness.
Who cares about mortgages, the falling economy, your idiot boss or newspaper headlines?
Its winter waves ahoy.
The surf is up and so are my spirits.
It takes a special kind of person to surf through winter. I’d like to think that as someone who willingly wakes before five o’clock in the morning twelve months of the year, leaps into their swimmers without even checking the surf report and
despite modern conveniences such as surfcams and online weather reports, bundles her boards, wax, a towel and a yawning husband into the car (not in that order) before driving off to the local beach with supreme confidence that today it will be pumping despite howling winds or hail; I’d like to think that this kind of person is, well, someone cool. But I suspect it really boils down to being obsessed and as stubborn as all get out. Sure, it’s easy to rise before dawn during Torquay’s seemingly endless summers and spend the day alternating between the glassy waves and the shade from the twisted trees at Point Danger. But come that first autumnal hint, then the non-committed turn away from the ocean and take up squash, skiing or footy until November.
Thank goodness.
Like those who purport to follow Richmond, but in reality only cheer them when they are winning, they don’t realize what they are missing as winter surf is exhilarating time! Not only are the waves less crowded, they are heaps more fun to ride. Fewer surfers mean less competition and a far mellower vibe. Any foolish rivalry, either real or imagined between the tribes shortboarders, longboarders, mal riders, waveskiers, kneeboarders, standupd and bodyboarders, for the most part disappears as we all sit there, hands tucked under armpits, teeth chattering together. As you bob up and down with your fellow desperados, you feel scorn for those who non-believers who pull into the carpark, shake their heads and return home, warm, dry and without a wave to their name.
Some of the more mature longboarders even don neoprene rubber caps, looking strangely like medieval butchers or extras from ‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail’ as they swiftly paddle past. Perhaps it’s because I learned to surf here in Victoria where the water might be just 10 degrees whilst the wind chill factor you’d swear under oath is no more than -11, that Sydney’s winters seems very mild by comparison. Still, you know how cold it is by the time it takes for your feet to numb up - when you can’t feel your toes; it’s definitely time to paddle in.
Emerging, the wind whips through you as you pelt up the sand. In the car park you thaw your frozen feet under a cold shower or by pouring the remains of the thermos flask contents over them and hurriedly place a towel on the seat so you can drive home rubber clad. On the days when my husband has the car and I cycle to the beach, I wear gloves so I can maintain grip on the handlebars and I peddle as hard as I can to get the blood going. Dashing inside, you jump in the shower, turn the water on hot, hot, hot and are revived in the heat rush. Later, rugged up and sipping miso soup or tea, then gobbling porridge, crumpets or poached eggs (some days you feel so starved you’d consume it all) by the fire, you relive every wave and email or text your girlfriends about the amazing rides you caught, wiped out on and the Harvey wallbanger sunrise you were privileged to witness.
Who cares about mortgages, the falling economy, your idiot boss or newspaper headlines?
Its winter waves ahoy.
The surf is up and so are my spirits.
Surf Tribes
Down here in Torquay the Rip Curl Pro is on at Bells and town is full of all kinds of surfers from all over the globe. The water temperature’s dropping like the economy;- if you’re not thinking about wearing a wetsuit, then you don’t own one. To those poor souls who've never ridden a wave, we rubber-clad surfers may all appear alike, but the waves are home to a surprising diversity of tribes. Here's a short guide on the different surfing clans and how to identify us...
Soul surfers
Come from every walk of life and surf every kind of board. No longer driving only clapped-out VW vans, they’re as likely to drive a sand-filled station wagon as the latest Audi or 4WD. While spotted at chilled out Wattegos to the most insane that Bells or Narrabeen can pump out, they generally prefer the less crowded breaks. Choosing careers in a trade or running their own consultancy to achieve maximum water-time, they are still after every wave they can ride! Like the core surfer, they’re uninterested in surf company hype, highly skeptical of advertising gimmicks and unimpressed by surf rage or “label lemmings”. Committed to getting their kids involved in surfing and the environment, they plan to retire to a beach community that offers good waves – see Silver Surfer.
Soul sista
Spotted everywhere from Jan Juc to Noosa via Yallingups, the female soul surfer is a class act. Doesn’t care what anyone else thinks, she’s secure and confident enough to be the only woman paddling out the back at dawn with the local guys – but she’s not taking any shit either. Fit, positive, with a healthy sense of humour, she’s not taken in by surf advertising hype. Confident with her own style which comprises a chic blend of surf labels, quality fashion and gear she’s had forever. While amused by hyped-up surfychicks, she doesn’t look down on them as she remembers her own grommet years and is happy to encourage the younger girls. If she’s a career woman, then she chooses a job that won’t own her and if a parent does everything she can to encourage her partner and kids into the water – after all, better they all be surfing together than having to run them to netball or footy just when the waves are really kicking in.
Surfychick
The young female grommet lives, breathes and talks surfing – and she’s got all the gear to prove it. While a lot more fashion savvy than the “label lemming” or grommet, the surfychick loves to wear surf gear top to toe and if she’s in school uniform, will still carry the Roxy backpack and sport a tide watch. Unlike her older soul or core sistas, she’s never been exposed to the old ‘boys on the boards / chicks on the beach’ paradigm and as a consequence, is a confident wave-rider as her male counterparts. Fit, sassy and determined to surf well, she’s often started out in nippers before progressing to the local boardriders club where she sees the guys her surfing mates as much as her galpals. Habitat – check your local beach.
Grommet
Young, energetic, cheeky and totally wave-obsessed, the grommet dream is to surf professionally. This period of a surfer’s life is critical in determining their eventual growth to weekend warrior, soul, core or angry. Easily identified at any beach I nthe country as the kid peddling to the beach for a surf check on a winter’s dawn clad in flannelette skull and cross bone PJ’s, slippers, polar-fleece jumper and beanie, only water so flat you could water-ski or circling sharks will deter – and sometimes not even then. The lifeblood of boardriding clubs up and down the coast, they consume huge amounts of junk food and remain rail thin, until they hit 15, when suddenly that cute kid you always beat for a wave, suddenly morphs in to a deep voiced, kick-arse surfer. While stirred by older brethren, groms are much envied for their uncomplicated approach – see wave, surf wave – and should be encouraged to develop into core or soul.
Red Neck surfer
Unimaginative, boorish and aggressive, these guys (it’s a 99.9% male virus) generally ride a shortboard and are both immature and insecure. This arrogant and ignorant boor is so convinced of his tribes’ superiority, he’s unable to visualize surfing anything else. A real (but denied) fear of standing out from the crowd sees him attack verbally and occasionally physically, anyone he sees as not conforming. He relies heavily on his peers who ride the same boards, listen to same music and wear the same surf clothing labels. Think ‘Life of Brian’s’ ‘we’re all individuals’. While the majority thankfully grows out of this to become somewhat human and embrace the wonderful diversity surfing offers, there are still a few demented tragics who persevere with this pitiful red neck attitude. Unaware that they are simultaneously pitied and despised by other surfers, they curiously resist extinction. Locale – unfortunately, many beaches have this dinosaur.
Core
Wintry solid 8ft a-frames at Winki or 11 degree and junky on-shore 2 ft lumps at Avalon, the core surfer will be out there getting their daily wave fix as long as there’s swell. The boards they surf are no indicator of ability or talent; they can be found riding everything from epoxy shortboards to retro single fins, swallow-tailed fish to 60s longboards, George Greenough inspired kneeboards, standups, mals or waveskis. Unimpressed by advertising, the core surfer has been around long enough to know that the latest board shorts won’t improve their surfing – besides, they’d rather save up for a new custom board from a local shaper who really knows their surfing style and local conditions. Contemptuous of the red neck surfer, the core regards them as blight on the ocean and wishes they’d go away and take up lawn bowls or something.
Weekend warrior
A core whose work, family or study commitments mean that unless it’s daylight saving, they can’t get out during the week, so they make up for it on weekends. Often a middle or senior exec, the weekend warrior has often been known to arrange for the company sales conference to be held at Torquay or Terrigal, rather than Canberra or Castlemaine, so that they can sneak out in the mornings for a few waves. The limited time they have available means they encourage their kids and partner to get involved and always, always, always will holiday by the beach.
Label lemming
Found at every beach. The surf company’s cash cow, this dream customer just has to have the latest wetsuit / boardshorts / surfboard and they want it now and amazingly (unless they live in the surf capital of Torquay and have access to all the discount shops) will pay full retail price. As soon as they see their idol accepting a trophy or in a magazine advertisement, they simply have to have the same t-shirt / shoe / fin / sunglasses / board - and they feel left out if all their mates have the cool new surf watch while are still wearing last years model. A pack animal, LL’s can be a great surfer, albeit one with a misguided consumption habit. While the global fincial crisis has put the handbrake on their shopping addiction, they are still out there spending up, while the savvy wait a few weeks fo them to appear for 1 per cent of the original price at the local op shop. Often a short but critical stage between Grommet and Core, most will move onto when puberty is over and common sense kicks in or when their parents stop footing the bill.
Competitive surfer
These boardriders are more motivated than a grommet! Immersed in surfing 24/7, they are constantly thinking about winning, which in turn will help then get a sponsor or keep their current supporters happy. Every weekend is spent attending competitions up and down the coast, every spare moment is spent in the ocean or cross-training, and even in their sleep, they dream of stardom at Bells, Margaret River or Teahupoo. Aiming to make it in the junior pro events and get noticed by the by surf companies, they understand that there’s only a short time to make it the World Qualifying Series before stepping up into the major league of the World Championship Tour. Their walls are covered by posters of their single name idols – Fanning and Slater / Layne and Chelsea – whom they regularly watch on DVD and whom they want to emulate so much they can taste it. Recognizing that half of success is a head-game, they’re willing to do what it takes, often leaving education and relationships, determinedly surviving on a pittance to follow their dream. Habitat – the best beaches.
Alternative Surfer
Not afraid of being different they’re over the ‘I have to be part of he surfing mainstream’ mentality, they are comfortable being the only knee-boarder / body boarder / waveskier / paddle surfer in the pack out the back. These surfers are often way ahead and aware of surf design innovations as they beyond the usual surf mob thinking. Often in career in creative fields such as photography / music / art / media, they’re happy to achieve their own dream while surfing to the beat of a different drum. While sometimes targeted by the angry surfer, the alternative is cool enough to defuse any potential surf rage and is uninterested in getting into a blue. They generally give off a positive vibe and are genuinely stoked to see other surfers catch a good wave. Habitat – they prefer the secret spots up and down the coast.
Silver Surfer
Semi or fully retired, they prove that snow on the roof doesn’t mean you can’t rip. Now work is a distant memory, they can finally concentrate on what’s important – the waves. Sporting a perpetual smile, chilled out and laid back, they know who they are, want to enjoy the moment and are happiest surfing with their friends. Found at most beaches and often riding a longer or retro board, while they can now afford the custom quiver of their dreams, somehow they seem to end up surfing with a couple of old favorites. As well as finally taking that luxury Indo surfari, they also attend a few longboarding festivals to catch up with old mates. Living by the beach, they are as renown for their surfing as their ability to pick and predict swell, you can find them at any beach hanging ten and encouraging the next generation.
Green Surfer
While just about every surfer is concerned about global warming, the green variety does more than simply adding another bumper sticker to their car, even supposing they have one. Green surfers may be identified by the board rack on their bicycle as they peddle to the beach. They may wear the same gear as the LL, but their boardshorts probably cost $4 at the local op shop rather than 20 times that amount from a leviathan surf store. Often spotted wearing an old Surfrider Foundation t-shirt, vintage straw hat and eagerly going through council hard rubbish collections in search of collectable boards thrown out by less perceptive surfers, they also pick litter up off the beach when walking out of the waves to the car park. Often the backbone of local conservation groups, they have an inclusive approach to other surfers, enjoy a good laugh in between sets and look for practical solutions rather than moaning about the problem. Habitat – most beaches, they are the ones picking up rubbish in the car park.
Soul surfers
Come from every walk of life and surf every kind of board. No longer driving only clapped-out VW vans, they’re as likely to drive a sand-filled station wagon as the latest Audi or 4WD. While spotted at chilled out Wattegos to the most insane that Bells or Narrabeen can pump out, they generally prefer the less crowded breaks. Choosing careers in a trade or running their own consultancy to achieve maximum water-time, they are still after every wave they can ride! Like the core surfer, they’re uninterested in surf company hype, highly skeptical of advertising gimmicks and unimpressed by surf rage or “label lemmings”. Committed to getting their kids involved in surfing and the environment, they plan to retire to a beach community that offers good waves – see Silver Surfer.
Soul sista
Spotted everywhere from Jan Juc to Noosa via Yallingups, the female soul surfer is a class act. Doesn’t care what anyone else thinks, she’s secure and confident enough to be the only woman paddling out the back at dawn with the local guys – but she’s not taking any shit either. Fit, positive, with a healthy sense of humour, she’s not taken in by surf advertising hype. Confident with her own style which comprises a chic blend of surf labels, quality fashion and gear she’s had forever. While amused by hyped-up surfychicks, she doesn’t look down on them as she remembers her own grommet years and is happy to encourage the younger girls. If she’s a career woman, then she chooses a job that won’t own her and if a parent does everything she can to encourage her partner and kids into the water – after all, better they all be surfing together than having to run them to netball or footy just when the waves are really kicking in.
Surfychick
The young female grommet lives, breathes and talks surfing – and she’s got all the gear to prove it. While a lot more fashion savvy than the “label lemming” or grommet, the surfychick loves to wear surf gear top to toe and if she’s in school uniform, will still carry the Roxy backpack and sport a tide watch. Unlike her older soul or core sistas, she’s never been exposed to the old ‘boys on the boards / chicks on the beach’ paradigm and as a consequence, is a confident wave-rider as her male counterparts. Fit, sassy and determined to surf well, she’s often started out in nippers before progressing to the local boardriders club where she sees the guys her surfing mates as much as her galpals. Habitat – check your local beach.
Grommet
Young, energetic, cheeky and totally wave-obsessed, the grommet dream is to surf professionally. This period of a surfer’s life is critical in determining their eventual growth to weekend warrior, soul, core or angry. Easily identified at any beach I nthe country as the kid peddling to the beach for a surf check on a winter’s dawn clad in flannelette skull and cross bone PJ’s, slippers, polar-fleece jumper and beanie, only water so flat you could water-ski or circling sharks will deter – and sometimes not even then. The lifeblood of boardriding clubs up and down the coast, they consume huge amounts of junk food and remain rail thin, until they hit 15, when suddenly that cute kid you always beat for a wave, suddenly morphs in to a deep voiced, kick-arse surfer. While stirred by older brethren, groms are much envied for their uncomplicated approach – see wave, surf wave – and should be encouraged to develop into core or soul.
Red Neck surfer
Unimaginative, boorish and aggressive, these guys (it’s a 99.9% male virus) generally ride a shortboard and are both immature and insecure. This arrogant and ignorant boor is so convinced of his tribes’ superiority, he’s unable to visualize surfing anything else. A real (but denied) fear of standing out from the crowd sees him attack verbally and occasionally physically, anyone he sees as not conforming. He relies heavily on his peers who ride the same boards, listen to same music and wear the same surf clothing labels. Think ‘Life of Brian’s’ ‘we’re all individuals’. While the majority thankfully grows out of this to become somewhat human and embrace the wonderful diversity surfing offers, there are still a few demented tragics who persevere with this pitiful red neck attitude. Unaware that they are simultaneously pitied and despised by other surfers, they curiously resist extinction. Locale – unfortunately, many beaches have this dinosaur.
Core
Wintry solid 8ft a-frames at Winki or 11 degree and junky on-shore 2 ft lumps at Avalon, the core surfer will be out there getting their daily wave fix as long as there’s swell. The boards they surf are no indicator of ability or talent; they can be found riding everything from epoxy shortboards to retro single fins, swallow-tailed fish to 60s longboards, George Greenough inspired kneeboards, standups, mals or waveskis. Unimpressed by advertising, the core surfer has been around long enough to know that the latest board shorts won’t improve their surfing – besides, they’d rather save up for a new custom board from a local shaper who really knows their surfing style and local conditions. Contemptuous of the red neck surfer, the core regards them as blight on the ocean and wishes they’d go away and take up lawn bowls or something.
Weekend warrior
A core whose work, family or study commitments mean that unless it’s daylight saving, they can’t get out during the week, so they make up for it on weekends. Often a middle or senior exec, the weekend warrior has often been known to arrange for the company sales conference to be held at Torquay or Terrigal, rather than Canberra or Castlemaine, so that they can sneak out in the mornings for a few waves. The limited time they have available means they encourage their kids and partner to get involved and always, always, always will holiday by the beach.
Label lemming
Found at every beach. The surf company’s cash cow, this dream customer just has to have the latest wetsuit / boardshorts / surfboard and they want it now and amazingly (unless they live in the surf capital of Torquay and have access to all the discount shops) will pay full retail price. As soon as they see their idol accepting a trophy or in a magazine advertisement, they simply have to have the same t-shirt / shoe / fin / sunglasses / board - and they feel left out if all their mates have the cool new surf watch while are still wearing last years model. A pack animal, LL’s can be a great surfer, albeit one with a misguided consumption habit. While the global fincial crisis has put the handbrake on their shopping addiction, they are still out there spending up, while the savvy wait a few weeks fo them to appear for 1 per cent of the original price at the local op shop. Often a short but critical stage between Grommet and Core, most will move onto when puberty is over and common sense kicks in or when their parents stop footing the bill.
Competitive surfer
These boardriders are more motivated than a grommet! Immersed in surfing 24/7, they are constantly thinking about winning, which in turn will help then get a sponsor or keep their current supporters happy. Every weekend is spent attending competitions up and down the coast, every spare moment is spent in the ocean or cross-training, and even in their sleep, they dream of stardom at Bells, Margaret River or Teahupoo. Aiming to make it in the junior pro events and get noticed by the by surf companies, they understand that there’s only a short time to make it the World Qualifying Series before stepping up into the major league of the World Championship Tour. Their walls are covered by posters of their single name idols – Fanning and Slater / Layne and Chelsea – whom they regularly watch on DVD and whom they want to emulate so much they can taste it. Recognizing that half of success is a head-game, they’re willing to do what it takes, often leaving education and relationships, determinedly surviving on a pittance to follow their dream. Habitat – the best beaches.
Alternative Surfer
Not afraid of being different they’re over the ‘I have to be part of he surfing mainstream’ mentality, they are comfortable being the only knee-boarder / body boarder / waveskier / paddle surfer in the pack out the back. These surfers are often way ahead and aware of surf design innovations as they beyond the usual surf mob thinking. Often in career in creative fields such as photography / music / art / media, they’re happy to achieve their own dream while surfing to the beat of a different drum. While sometimes targeted by the angry surfer, the alternative is cool enough to defuse any potential surf rage and is uninterested in getting into a blue. They generally give off a positive vibe and are genuinely stoked to see other surfers catch a good wave. Habitat – they prefer the secret spots up and down the coast.
Silver Surfer
Semi or fully retired, they prove that snow on the roof doesn’t mean you can’t rip. Now work is a distant memory, they can finally concentrate on what’s important – the waves. Sporting a perpetual smile, chilled out and laid back, they know who they are, want to enjoy the moment and are happiest surfing with their friends. Found at most beaches and often riding a longer or retro board, while they can now afford the custom quiver of their dreams, somehow they seem to end up surfing with a couple of old favorites. As well as finally taking that luxury Indo surfari, they also attend a few longboarding festivals to catch up with old mates. Living by the beach, they are as renown for their surfing as their ability to pick and predict swell, you can find them at any beach hanging ten and encouraging the next generation.
Green Surfer
While just about every surfer is concerned about global warming, the green variety does more than simply adding another bumper sticker to their car, even supposing they have one. Green surfers may be identified by the board rack on their bicycle as they peddle to the beach. They may wear the same gear as the LL, but their boardshorts probably cost $4 at the local op shop rather than 20 times that amount from a leviathan surf store. Often spotted wearing an old Surfrider Foundation t-shirt, vintage straw hat and eagerly going through council hard rubbish collections in search of collectable boards thrown out by less perceptive surfers, they also pick litter up off the beach when walking out of the waves to the car park. Often the backbone of local conservation groups, they have an inclusive approach to other surfers, enjoy a good laugh in between sets and look for practical solutions rather than moaning about the problem. Habitat – most beaches, they are the ones picking up rubbish in the car park.
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