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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