The Old Farts Surf Co. Fabulous Tour of Coolangatta - Day 6

The Dude (Oldfartsurfer No. 12) and Mexican (Oldfartsurfer No. 4) jumped out of bed at first light to check the surf, despite tired muscles from extensive tour surfing and sore heads, from extensive tour beer research.  (Of course there were to be no secrets on this tour, no "what happens on tour stays on tour", as the boys were accompanied by the good ladies, keeping a lid wild oldfartsurfer behaviour.)  When the sun finally rose over the superbank on the sixth and final day of the Old Farts Surf Co. Fabulous Tour of Coolangatta it revealed clean glassy 1' swell  peeling perfectly around the point.  The Mexican was tempted to grab Bob the Bobsled and slip out before the Saturday crowd arrived.  "I thought there might be a wave with enough grunt to push me and Bob along" said Mex, "but the Dude was doubtful and suggested there might  be more grunt if we went back to bed for a while".

(Sunrise on Day 6, perfect glassy 1' superbank)

After a bit more of a nap, the oldfartsurfers and the good ladies woke to a leisurely breakfast and a bit of chat.  The oldfartsurfers were distracted and couldn't keep their eyes off the superbank in case the swell suddenly jacked up. A rise in the swell wasn't predicted so it was just wishful thinking.

(Glassy conditions on the inside section of the superbank)

After breakfast the team packed up and put their bags in storage.  Of course boardies were put on top, just in case that swell did rise.  Then the team went for a leisurely walk around to Duranbah, on the State border with NSW at Tweed Heads.

(Saturday morning crowd gathers at the superbank)

On the walk around to Duranbah there was plenty of action on the superbank.  "There were some great team waves with about six surfers on each wave"  said the Dude,  "it was pretty amazing for such small waves, a testament to the quality of the wave."

(A six surfer team wave at the superbank)

Once the team reached Duranbah they stopped for a latte' in a lovely cafe' on the top of the hill.  The Cafe' had an art gallery out the back so a full morning's entertainment was complete with a browse of the artwork.  We were pretty pleased with this little find" said the Mex, "I think it was the high point of the tour for the Good Ladies, and their last memory of the Tour was what made if so fabulous".

(This kid scores one to himself)

The lady running the gallery was keen to leave the rat race of Coolangatta and the Gold Coast for the secret island home of the oldfartsufers.  The Mex filled her in on some good spots as long as she kept it a secret from the hordes.  "Made me appreciate how good we have it at home" said Mex, "We can still get six on a wave on a good day, even though we have less people and its really cold this time of year, its fantastic, you have to leave home to appreciate how good it is". 

(The kid gets slotted, while predators on the shoulder wait for him to fall)

"We'll have to do some more research for the next Old Farts Surf Co. Tour" said the Dude as he and the Good Woman jumped on the plane and left the Mex and the Good Lady to find Spot.

(Two for the price of one, tandem ladies surfing on the wave of the day)

(Duranbah, had enough grunt to support about 10 surfers on one wave)

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Spot, Moose's Mum and the Moose

Never being a man to shy away from a challenge, Spot (Oldfartsurfer No. 6) left the southern hemisphere at the end of November so he could catch the massive winter swells on the West Coast of Canada.  "I get so bored surfing in warm water" said Spot, "I need the danger of losing whole limbs to frost bite or killer whales, and Canada has all that thrill for me".  Of course his sojourn to the arctic north has nothing to do with catching up with Canadian upstart Moose (Oldfartsurfer No. 5).  Moose, of course, has promised to look after Spot and is trying to keep him away from Vancouver Island's big wave spots.  She has even tried distracting him by introducing him to the sport of curling.  "Spot thought he was going to be riding the curl" said Moose laughing, "but instead he found himself hurling 100kg lumps of granite across an ice rink".  Spot was positive about it saying "at least it help me bulk up the muscles for when I hit those big slabs off the coast"

(Moose teaching Spot how to ride the curl)

In order to distract Spot from his biggest rival, Kelly Slater, Moose's Mum (Oldfartsurfer No. 33), took spot on an expedition into the Rockies to toughen him up and prepare him for his big wave destiny.

(Spot sliding into some mountainous waves in the Rockies)

"I thought I could get him sliding into some mountain waves to get him acclimatised to the temperature before he hit the big liquid waves of the North Pacific" said Mouse's Mum.  "We also thought we could distract him from chasing Moose during the day" she said.  The distraction was only short lived, however, and Spot, with all the skill of an experienced hunter, managed to track down a real Moose.  "A poor substitute for a killer whale" said Spot, "but it still gave me that buzz from the potential of losing a limb when I snowboarded between its legs".

(The real moose Spot tracked down in the Rockies)

The last reports of Spot, Moose's Mum and the Moose were that they were doing altitude training in board shorts and tee-shirts on the highest peaks of the Rockies.  The Old Farts Surf Co. is sponsoring the training session by providing gingernut snap biscuits and good coffee.

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Moose's Mum & Kelly Slater

When Canadian upstart, Moose, spent a couple of months on an island off the south coast of Australia last Christmas getting secret surf refinement lessons from the mastersurfinstructor, The Mexican, she kept it a secret to avoid being mobbed by adoring fans.  "Can you imagine if the word got out", said the Mex, "the beach would have been swarming with bodies and the island would have slipped off the continental shelf into the Southern Ocean."

(Moose receiving instruction on the finer points of surfing from The Mexican)

Fortunately, word of Moose's secret training sessions didn't get out until after she had left the island.  Apparently one of Moose's biggest fans is 10 time world champion and the greatest athlete who ever lived, Kelly Slater.  Moose's mum has sent the Mexican a Canadian surfing magazine with an advert showing the great man surfing on the secret island on the back cover, soon after Moose had left the island.

(Kelly Slater on the back cover of a Candian surf magazine)

Rumour has it that the great man begged his sponsors to place the advert in the hope of getting noticed by Moose, who it is believed is now back in Canada.  Kelly has been a fan since first reading the Oldfartsurfer's stories of her surfing prowess and exploits south of the equator last summer.  Apparently, he had private investigators chase down her location and when he found out he made the trip south to see if he could impress.  Photographic evidence of Slater on the island appeared on the front cover of Australian Surfing Life stating the date it was taken as 20th March.  Unfortunately for Kelly, Moose had already left the island by this date.

(Slater on 20th March)

"The photo on the Canadian back cover and the Australian front cover are identical" said Moose's mum, "the placement of the photo in both magazines is an obvious ploy by Kelly to get my daughter's attention".   The Mexican defended Slater's actions saying " he's not stalking her or anything, he's just a big fan".  Kelly was pretty cool getting towed into some massive waves and he is quoted as saying "towing good waves is surfing's equivalent to a hot woman feeding your grapes".   "We're still analysing that" said the Mex, "we are not sure if he means surfing without towing is the equivalent of eating grapes or the equivalent of a hot woman".  Either way, as the Dude would say "we need to do more research".

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Home for Oldfartsurfers Relocating

You may have noticed that the old web site for the Old Farts Surf Co. has disappeared and that we have a "splash page" site in its place.  This is because we are upgrading the old template based site, which didn't look so good, and replaceing it with a professionally designed site.  We have also, we have decided to let our old host go and will be using a new host at considerable cost savings.
The new site is being designed and prepared by Billy Foran at MWPR who keeps telling the Oldfartsurfer this is going to be the best surfing web site anyone has ever seen.  We look forward to it getting up in the next couple of weeks.

Andy Irons & Kelly Slater

We don't usually make comment about the latest hot shot surfers or surfing fads in this blog, however, events this week have had such an impact on the surfing world that we have to give our respects to Andy Irons and Kelly Slater.
Its amazing how a bloke like Andy can ride the most dangerous waves in the world then get killed by a mosquito.  Sympathy and best wishes to his family.
Congratulations to Kelly on his 10th world title and for being both the youngest and oldest surfer to win a world title.  We bestow honerary oldfartsurfer status on Kelly for doing to stay stoked and for being the greatest athlete the world has ever seen.

The Old Farts Surf Co. Fabulous Tour of Coolangatta - Day 5

According to legend, Captain Cook named Mt Warning on a surf check in his gin palace yacht cruising the east coast back in 1770.  Cook is credited with the first surf boat trip and the discovery of a load of excellent breaks including Cloudy Bay, Adventure Bay, Botany Bay, Byron Bay and Teahupoʻo in Tahiti.  Cook was the victim of the first surf rage death when he dropped in on a local at Teahupo'o who promptly grabbed his spear and drove it through Cook in the first documented case of extreme surf localism.  It is thought that Australia's first sunrise every morning can be viewed from the summit of Mt Warning and it is therefore attributed with some pretty heavy mystical vibes by mung bean eaters and star treckies.  The fact of the matter is, however, that during the summer months, the first sunrise is seen from Macquarie Island, well south of Tasmania.

(Early morning view of Mt Warning from the bunk house)

Every morning of the Old Fart Surf Co. Fabulous Tour of Coolangatta the Dude woke up to a splendid view of Mt Warning.  The Dude is not prone to mystical mumbo jumbo, however, he felt himself strangely drawn to "The Mountain".  After day four of the Fabulous Tour, he said "enough, I can't bear it any more, I've got to climb that mountain."  "Well OK, said the Mex, "but lets go and have a surf first."  The LOOFS (Ladies of Oldfartsurfers) of course were up for a good hike instead of shopping.

(The Dude & the Goodwoman halfway up Mt Warning)

The boys started with a surf on the south side of the headland at Cabaritta while the LOOFS went for a stroll to the local instant coffee joint.  The NE wind swell combined with a small SE ground swell produced some interesting shifting peaks, and, if you were lucky enough could get a long lefthander down the beach.  After a time, the LOOFS returned from the coffee break and an expedition conceived.  A late lunch was held in a rustic restaurant at the base of the Mountain, so rustic in fact, that the table cloth had ingrained egg yoke along with other foodstuff.  The summit attempt was commenced at around 2 pm and the climbing party was immediately met with warning signs that the drive to the summit should not be commenced after midday or it wold turn dark before you got back.  "Damn Cook and his warning signs" said The Dude, "lets push on regardless".  So, off they went, stoically striving for the summit.  The first casualty was the First Lady of Mexico with a sore toe who turned back at the half way point.  The Dude, The Good Woman and the Mexican pushed on for the summit only to hit a dark wall at the 3/4 point in the impending darkness.  Common oldfartsurfersense got the better of goal achievement and the team turned back prior to the summit and went in search of the a hot bath and a good restaurant meal.  Mt Warning remained unconquered by the oldfartsurfers for another day.

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Old Farts Surf Co Fabulous Tour of Coolangatta Days 3 & 4

Day three of the Old Farts Surf Co Fabulous Tour of Coolangatta saw a run down the coast to Byron Bay so Bob the Bobsled could catch up with his roots.  The surf was a perfect 1' and uncrowded.  "We only heard rumours of the 12' shark that had chased a 15 year out of the water the day before after we got out of the surf" said the Mex.    "Plus I had a surf with Mal from Mal and the Longboarders and we had a pretty good rap".   While  the SOOFS (Ladies of Oldfartsurfers) enjoyed the sunshine and the boys caught up with Rockhead and his entourage.  The Dude then surfed his way north and found a peak of his own.  "The highlight of the day in Byron was the 6' monitor lizard outside the cafe where we had lunch." said the Dude.

(6' monitor lizard)

Day 4 of the Fabulous tour saw the Mex and the Dude head south again, this time they found a few fun waves at Cabaritta.  Unfortunately the boys left their Weber Afterburners at home as their creator, Greg Webber,  was in the surf and they would have loved to show Greg how a pair of olfartsurfers could handle the feisty machines.  

 (A local on a glassy Cabaritta zipper)

 (The Dude slices the top off a fat one at Cabaritta)

 (Mex rides a foam ball out of the tube)

It was a warm day at Cabaritta, so warm it drove the Goodwoman into the surf.  Not for long though as the chilly water proving too much for even the bravest without a wetsuit.

(The Dude and the Goodwoman frolic in the surf)

All in all it was a couple of fun days of surf south of the boarder.  The Mexican was in his element and assimilated pretty well, as did the Dude.  The Dude, however, was becoming restless, enchanted with the distant Mt Warning and was being drawn to the hinterland by its spell.  Would he sercombe to its spell and go bush instead of surfin?

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The Dude & Bob the Bobsled

The Dude (OFS Original No. 12) had resisted riding The Mexican's (OFS Original No. 4) new board, Bob the Bobsled, for some time.  He wanted to wait until it had a ding or two as he didn't want to be accused of putting the first ding in Bob.  As luck of some sort would have it, Bob received his first injury, a nice dent and a gash under the nose.  Last Saturday the Dude finally got his opportunity.  Due to a recent big swell the sand had been moved around at the local beach which was 3'-4' and holding with some nice big fat peaks moving all the way to the shore.  There was an early spring blue sky and the air temperature got to about 20 deg. but the water was still needed boots (and gloves and hood if you like to stay warm).  The Dude caught a couple of nice ones and did his usual Dude style of ripping.  "It goes pretty good" was the Dude's conclusion.  He went on to say "it paddles fast".  Well what more evidence do you need?  Bob the Bobsled goes pretty good and paddles fast. 

The highlight of the session came from Young Dude (OFS Original No. 51) who managed to get out of bed for a barrel.  "I did a cutback then dropped into a barrel on the inside section and managed to get a 20m tube" said the Young Dude.  "Perhaps if I hadn't cut back I might have made it out" he lamented.  "He's got to learn from experience" said the Dude who witnessed the big event.

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Old Farts Surf Co Fabulous Tour of Coolangatta Days 1 & 2

Avid readers may be wondering what on earth has happened to the oldfartsurfers over the past month.  Well, to beat the winter blues, Old Farts Surf Co. Head Honcho, and holder of the Original Series Individually Numbered Tee Shirt No. 4, The Mexican, organised the inaugural Old Farts Surf Co. Fabulous Tour of Coolangatta.  The Mex managed to secure the use of his parent's time share unit as the team bunk house and cashed in his frequent flyer points to get there.  To complete the low budget tour he secured a rent a bomb from Coolangatta Airport (cash only in the car park and no questions asked).  "I was pretty impressed with the bunk house", said The Dude (Oldfartsurfer No. 12) on arrival, "it had running water, a mirror for the ladies, a kettle and a magnificent view of the superbank".  "The boys enjoyed an evening brew or two watching the evening surf from the balcony".

(Day 1, perfect onshore conditions for an uncrowded surf)

The Mex managed to organise a crowd free day for the first day in the surf.  "It was 2' and on shore and the only crew out were in a longboard competition, perfect conditions to get used to the place" said the Mex.  The Dude managed to get tangled up in the competition and copped a little verbal explanation on how to surf in a heat without being entered in the event.  "There were plenty of waves to go round and I wanted to put on a show for the spectators" said the Dude.

(Day 2 Action on the Superbank)

Day 2 of the Tour saw the surf clean up to a perfectly clean 1'.  The Dude and the Mex were now experienced locals and were immediately accepted by the crowd.  "Getting waves out there was easy as eating cherry pie" said the Dude, "all you had to do was catch the wave and ignore anyone who may already be on it."  Team waves seemed to be the way to surf the Superbank. "They are a very sharing community, you should tell all your friends to come and surf it" said the Mex.

(Day 2 action from the bunk house)

Stay tuned for the next installment of the Old Farts Surf Co. Fabulous Tour of Coolangatta where the team goes south and goes feral.
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Byron, its just not Tassie

(Early morning Byron Bay, not Tassie)

Well Rouge (OFSC No. 45), after the comments you made about Mex and Spots trip to Byron Bay, you'll be pleased to know that the Mexican (OFSC No. 4) and The Dude (OFSC No. 12) got some great cold weather waves at Eaglehawk on Saturday.  Mex wore a Radiator under his 4/3 along with full regalia of boots, gloves and hood and it was still freezing.  The Dude wore his Patagonian yaks wool 8/6 and was warm but had to lay prone the whole time because the suit was too stiff for him to stand up in.  "There was lots of snow on the mountain and a cold south westerly blowing freezing drizzle into our faces as we tried to take off" reports Mex.  Despite the cold, the waves were a nice 3' with some nice long right handers on account of the southerly swell.  Bob the Bobsled managed to get Mex into the barrel but still failed to get him out.  "Its a work in progress" said Mex, I've been tying to get out of a barrel for 40 years now and only manged it once".  Unfortunately Mex had loaned his camera to his niece so there are no photos to prove how cold it was.  So, just for Rouge, we now show a series of photos Mex took on another trip to Byron a couple of weeks ago.

(The kid's showin off) 

(Oldfartsurfers sharing their waves) 

(Oldfartsurfing, the essence of pure fun) 

 (Looking for some shade in the Hot August sun)

 (Potential oldfartsurfer)

(Shot 2 of 5) 

 (Shot 3 of 5)

(Shot 4 of 5)

(Mex claiming Shot 5 of 5, having brilliantly switched feet in the barrel)

(Mex eases Bob into a massive cutback)

(Mex walking Back to the start)

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Spot Applies the Principle of Specificity to Surfing Fitness

Last weekend Mastersurfitness Guru and Oldfartsurfer No. 6, Spot, and Oldfartsurfer No. 4, the Mexican, made a sojourn back to, Byron Bay, the birthplace of Bob the Bobsled. 

(Bob the Bobsled the day he was born in the McTavish factory, 25th June 2010)

Spot & Mex were aiming to get down there for the traditional Eggs Benedict breakfast at their favourite seaside restaurant with none other than Oldfartsurfer No. 31, Les, and Oldfartsurfer No. 3, Yummy Granny.  Unfortunately, our intrepid epicureans missed breaky by about 5 minutes and had to settle for lunch.  "The restaurant obviously hadn't heard of the concept of the all day breakfast"  said Yummy.  However, the oldfartsurfers managed to scoff down two seafood platters in good time for Les to have a grandfather nap before driving home.

(Oldfartsurfers 31, 4 & 3 - Les, Yummy Granny and Mex wearing their team OFSC bucket hats and Yummy leading the team with her original series No. 3 OFSC tee shirt)

After lunch, Spot and Mex had a dag at the Wreck before Spot had to watch the Cats pounce on some poor insignificant team.  Meanwhile, The Mex wandered up to The Pass which was 1'-2' and crowded with missile mals and kooks.  "It looked pretty hairy out their" said Mex, "but I'd made the effort to walk around there so thought I'd give it a crack".  "Quite surprisingly I managed to snag a few zippy ones through the middle section that made Bob feel at home" said Mex,  "Bob had a bit of a battle with a mal missile that insisted on dropping in, but discretion was the better part of valour and bob came away unscathed".  Mex's sage advice for oldfartsurfers wishing to stay stoked is "its better to leave the 6'4" boofhead on the mal alone and live to surf another day".

 

(The Pass at Byron Bay)

After nearly wiping out half the surf school who were floundering on the inside, Mex wandered back and gathered Spot for a late surf before dinner.  The surf weary Oldfartsurfers couldn't quite finish their falafel smorgasbord served by some friendly hippie chicks but managed to wash it down with some BYO brews.  They then managed to watch the Wallabies smashing the Springboks till half time in the local pub before calling it a night.

(Mex cruises past The Wreck, Byron Bay)

The next morning Spot and Mex had a glassy session just north of The Wreck.  Spot got spooked and asked the Mex "are those fins dolphins".  "Yeah sure" said Mex hopefully.

In honour of the great Canadian Oldfartsurfer No. 5, Moose, The boys had a Canadian breakfast with bacon and maple syrup.

(Oldfartsurfer No. 5, Canadian sensation Moose in the Old Farts Surf Cafe)

Over breakfast Spot complained of tired muscles from paddling.  Intrigued, Mex asked Spot the Surfitness Guru what the best exercise for paddling surfitness was.  "Well there isn't much you can do in the gym to emulate paddling"  said Spot professorially,  "I would therefore apply the Principle of Specificity, which basically means surfing is the best way of getting fit for surfing".  "What a great idea" said Mex, "that way you can have fun surfing while you get fit so you can have fun surfing, that's pure genius Spot".

(Mastersurfitnes Guru and Oldfartsurfer No. 6, Spot, practising the Principle of Specificity)

Concerned for the health of Oldfartsurfers around the world reading his advice, Spot went on to caution about risks to people with cardio vascular, cardio respiratory or metabolic conditions.  "Any oldfartsurfer over the age of 45 is automatically classified as moderate risk" said Spot.  "This risk is upgraded to high if the olfartsurfer has one of these conditions or if they have two or more of the risk factors such as high blood pressure, obesity or a family history of heart disease or stroke".  "Geez, Better  better take it easy then" said Mex.

Top Shot from Tommo

Old Fart Surfer No. 26, Tommo, sent this weeks top shot of a backside rail grab somewhere on the east coast.  According to Tommo, "it was the only shot I got and I was out there".  Now Tommo being a cripple would have got plenty of rail grab time on this fat beast.

The Break, New Wave Surf Music

When the Oldfartsurfer first heard the new Album by The Break, Church of the Open Sky, he thought he was hearing the soundtrack to his surfing life.  It put a big grin on his faced as he tuned in and imagined himself carving down the line of a big walling wave to the music, no vocals, just solid thumpin' guitar twangin' music.
The Break is a reincarnation of Midnigh Oil musos Rob Hirst, Jim Moginie and Martin Rotsey along with Violent Femmes bass man Brian Richie.  What they are doing is having fun.  Which is what oldfartsurfing is all about.  All the tracks are named after surf breaks like Cylinders, Cyclops, Winkipop and the music reflects the character of these breaks.  However, its not all hard driving surf rock, some of the tracks are are more sublime and slowly drift along like a tropical afternoon having a Bintang in a hammock.
Avid readers will know that the oldfartsurfer Mexican was pretty disappointed when he missed seeing The Break in Byron Bay by one day when he recently went to pick up Bob the Bobsled.  Well you'll be pleased to know that the Mex finally caught the boys in Hobart.  "It was a sticky carpet pub crowded with about 300 people" said the Mex.  "The gig went off, Hirsty thumped the crap out of the tubs, Richie bounced around like a man possessed while Moginie, Mr. Cool, master of sounds, just put it out there".  "Not only that" said Mex, "I used my surf star status to catch up with the boys for a single malt before they hit the stage and we discussed their oldfartsurfer status".  The Oldfartsurfer has announced that The Break are now the official band of the Old Farts Surf Co. and the boys declared mastersurfmusicians.  Congratulations Rob, Jim, Martin and Brian!

An Eclipse, Stone Men, Bob and The Mexican

(The sun went dark in the middle of the day)

It was a weird weekend in Byron Bay, sometimes the universe seemed to be aligned for The Mex and Spot and other times things were out of whack.  It was the winter solstice, the natives were restless and beating the drums through a full moon.  Mex and Spot had managed to pick up Bob the Bobsled from the McTavish factory on Friday which gave them more time for sea trials over the weekend, so that was something positive.

(Mex sets up Bob for the section)

After the morning sea trials success, Spot suggested his favourite spot for Eggs Benedict and Latte.  "That's bit Metro" suggested Mex but woofed down the eggs to fuel the  next session in the water.  As the NE breeze came in the boys headed around to Tallows and found some lumpy 2-3' swells on the bank.  As they paddled across the channel to the outside bank Spot said "I don't like this, its spooky" so Mex said "go with yer instincts" and Spot paddled in .

(Mex Drives Bob through the section)

Mex paddled out the back and joined a couple of Japs and Brazilians.  Bob was behaving himself nicely.  Mex then spied a fin cruising from the south about 20m away.  "I paddled in a bit and kept looking about but didn't see it again so I figured it must have cruised on by" said Mex, "but it did spook me".  Mex caught a couple more waves until he got caught inside for 10 min so he decided to call it a day.

(Mex flies out the end of the section)

That night the boys wandered into town for a meal.  "check this out" said Spot, "The Break are playing tomorrow night, that's the band with Brian Richie and the Midnight Oil boys".  "Bugger", said Mex, "we're going home tomorrow, stomping around to a bit of surf music would have gone down nicely".  So their luck was out with the music, but that night, something unexpected and special happened.  There was an eclipse of the moon.  "It was pretty weird" said Spot, "we were sitting in this restaurant and everyone started pointing at the sky, we thought there must have been aliens landing or something but when we went out the full moon was disappearing."

(Sumo's turned to granite)

It was all pretty spooky.  Early the next morning Mex went for a walk and found weird things all around the Byron beach park.  "I found these Sumo wrestlers who had been turned into granite" said Mex, "who's going to tell their mums?"
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Hammer Scores Big Easter Magic

(Some Friendly Easter magic)

Oldfartsurfer, Stu Man (aka Hammer) sent in this shot he scored last Easter.  Seems he got it to himself too.  For his effort and dedication to the cause, Hammer wins a Top Shot Award.  Thanks Hammer.

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Sea Trials for Bob in Byron Bay

"Wake up Spot, Wake up Spot, its 1' and pumping" shouted Mex (Original OFSC No. 4) when he returned from his obligatory early morning sunrise at Byron Bay, Australia's eastern most point.  Mex had just been the first person in Australia to witness the sunrise, was pretty pleased with this accomplishment and wanted to hit the beach for the second sea trials of Bob, his brand new Old Farts Surf Co. Mexican McTavish Bobsled, but he needed Spot to record some images of the trials.  Trouble was, Spot is one of the worlds best sleepers, famous for sleeping through cyclones in far north Queensland.  It took Mex a good hour to get Spot out of bed and fed with a banana, muesli bar and orange juice.

(Spot, counts Moose to achieve world's best sleeper title)

The Oldfartsurfers went out the back gate of the hotel and hit a spot known as The Wreck.  "Mex was out the back before I could get the camera set up" said Spot.  "It must have been a combination of his enthusiasm and the highly paddleable Bob."  The Mex slipped into his first wave of the morning and Spot managed to get the following sequence: 

(Shot 1, The Mex paddles Bob into the first wave of the morning)

.

(Shot 2, "It was an easy take off" said the Mex)

(Shot 3, "the wave suddenly jacked up over a shallow bar and the bottom fell out of the wave" said Mex, "fortunately Bob behaved himself and with some subtle ankle movements I avoided going over the falls".)

(Shot 4, and the 1' wave dredged further and came up to the Mex's shoulder, and he still didn't sucked over or catch an edge)

"I was pretty pleased with Bob's behavior on that first wave" said Mex, "a lesser board and I think you would have been digging my head out of the sand at load tide"

(The Mex cruises while a bird on The Wreck looks on)

 

(Some local fans of the Mex shared a board so they could both claim to have shared the sea trials of Bob with the famous oldfartsurfer.  "That's the sort of sharing and caring place Byron is" said Mex.)

 

(The Mex Cruises past The Wreck crowded with fans watching the oldfartsurfer)

All in all the second sea trials of Bob were declared a success.  "It was just like successful sea trials of the  The Craic and the Old Farts Surf Co. hollow timber board, The Mexican" said Mex, it was just joy all round.  "I'm stoked" Mex carried on, then he took Spot out for a proper breakfast of Eggs Benedict.  But there is more to come, the afternoon session at Tallows was historic.

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