Bastard

The Mex (oldfartsurfer No. 4) turned up to work today but colleague Rockhead (oldfartsurfer No. 42) didn't.  "Late this afternoon Rockhead sent me this photo of a river mouth break" said Mex.  "Bastard!"

A bit of research into the Old Fart Surf Co. archives  revealed that the last time this spot broke this good was  11 January 1978, the Mex had a sickie.
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Nectar Sumurai, Spaceman Dude & the last Shuttle

The buoy is telling us its 9m average and 17m max wave height.  All the big swell points are going to be firing.  But we know they are going to be crowded, this is the most anticipated swell of the year and everyone has known it is going to hit for about 5 days now. 

(The last blast for space shuttle Atlantis? No its the Dude, the Nectar Samurai)

"I've been checking the maps and I reckon I've found a spot that will get the swell, its got a sand bottom off a rocky point and it might be a bit of a walk." said the Dude.  "A big risk to try something new but we knew all the local points are going to be crowded. Plus, the wind was forecast to have too much west in it for the first day so we decided to venture where we thought no man had ventured before" said the Mex.

(Atomic melt down, the Dude prepares to save the world from angry bees)

On the Friday, the Mexican has a quiet word with Rockhead.  Serendipitously, The Rock has had the same spot eyed for years with the Wild Hog Gang and they were also planning an assault.  Could this be the Oldfartsurfers meet the Wild Hogs for a rumble?

(Not Atlantis, The Dude prepares to stabilise the honey reactor with a bit of twine and "space smoke" provided by the Other Dude.)

After a long drive and a walk,a three rocky points were found on the rising tide.  The sand spit the boys were looking at on the maps wasn't firing but head high waves were found on the first point with two dudes enjoying some smoking head high waves, and, further kilometer away with about 10 dudes were on a point with overhead waves.  This was a place that in the combined 80 years experience between the Mexican and Rockhead, that neither of them had ever heard of.  Sensational in this world of overcrowded breaks.

(The Dude and a can of nectar fission removed to save humanity after securing the hive from 60 knot gusts)

The boys paddled out at the first point in 5 deg C and 50 knots of westerly.   "The Other Dude got a pearler on the first wave, took off under the lip, avoided the dolerite boulders and sped on down the point" said the Mex.  "We thought we were in for a great session, unfortunately , that was about he last wave that came through, the tide came up and the swell seemed to drop away"

(Chaos on the home font as the 17m swell destroys beaches previously though of as  protected )

(The Dude, the Nuclear Samurai removes his kit after saving the hive) 

After venting their spleens (literally) on the dolerite boulders the The Dude, The Mex and the Other Dude retired to the Dudes Shack for a couple of ales and a bit of apiary.  "I'd been worried about the Little Dudes in the Box' said the Dude, "all 60,000 of them".  "I was worried the poor little buggers home would blow over and had to do something to save them from the ferocious gusts".

The next day the Dude, The Mex and the Macho Family enjoyed remnants of the swell, secure in the knowledge the hive had been saved.

Note: No Bees lost their tails in the creation of this story, much to the Dude's  relief.

Sasquatch - Experienced Surf Expeditioner Joins the Oldfartsurfers

Swiss watch, Swatch, no - Sasquatch.  That's the name given by the students of the latest member of the Old Farts Surf Co. (OFSC) while he was teaching in Vancouver.  His lessons involved the study of optics and detailed assessment of snow condition as the class checked out the ski fields through binoculars from the classroom and decided which field to hit after school.

Sasquatch might have big feet for the mountains yeti was also known to tear the water mountains off Vancouver Island (no apologies for that, it was hanging there and the Oldfartsurfer just can't resist).  "We heard that the big hairy monster is now known to inhabit coastal regions of NSW and ride a 5'10" fish in cyclone swells." said OFSC Head Honcho, Mexican.  "We mounted an expedition and were so tickled pink to find Sasquatch and get him to sign up as OFSC No. 60." chirped Mex .  "Whilst we tried, we still couldn't get photographic proof that he existed, however, he did send us a few photos of his local break."
"We also nicked a hair out of his beard for DNA testing" said Mex.  "You wouldn't believe it but the tests showed that he is some kind of distant cousin of mine" said Mex.  "Probably where I get the hairy nostrils."  The tests also showed Sasquatch to be related to oldfartsurfers, 6, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 36.

An experienced surf expeditioner,  Sasquatch gave the Mexican some great pointers for his research trip to Margaret River.  "He basically told me to ride a small board so that the crew wouldn't call me into the big bombs"  said Mex.  "It was sound advice so I downsized to a bright yellow 6'10" gun so I could stay under the radar".
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OFSC Easter Classic 2011 - Warm Up

When Rouge (OFSC No. 45) comes to town for his annual pilgrimage you know you are in for a big weekend.  The Old Farts Surf Co. (OFSC) decided to pull out all stops to attract their star surfer for the big Easter oldfartsurfing festival.  "Pizza, beer and a bed for the night got him flying in a week early for the big Easter Classic 2011"  said Old Farts Surf Co. Head Honcho, The Mexican (OFSC No. 4).  "It was a mighty fine pizza" burped Rouge.

(Hot surfer chick slashing and flaring)

Holding back on Mex's 18 yo Scotch, the boys were up early for a rendezvous with The Dude (OFSC No. 12) and a trip to the coast for a warm up session.  The Dude was looking like he had been bopped by the Good Woman.  "No, all's sweet on the home front" he told the boys.  "Just had a bit of work done around the eyes"  he said.  "Yeah, we know how it is when you become an oldfartsurfer" Rouge nodded knowingly.

(The Dude and a bit of work done around the eye)

Things were pretty damn perfect with sunny skies, solid swell, water just warm enough for a 3/2 wettie and a hot surfer chick slashing and flaring perfect peaks.  The visiting star, Rouge, dominated for two hours, snagging a bag load of waves and getting out before The Dude and the Mexican.  Unfortunately there is no photographic evidence of Rouge's epic session so we have had to rely on the verbal reports of  those trustworthy and reliable members of the oldfartsurfcommunity,  The Mexican and The Dude.

(Mex's head bobbing around next to Bob the Bobsled)

Once he got towelled off (much to the delight of the local birds), Rouge grabbed The Mexican's trusty Canon and fired off a few snaps that we can show here to prove it was an epic session.  "Mex got hammered, then got caught inside for about 15 minutes" said Rouge.  "It was a crack up watching his head bobbing around in the whitewater next to his beloved Bob the Bobsled".

(This bird was pretty impressed by Rouge's keg)

(Mex and Bob survived to tell the tale)

 While in the water the boys were joined by the Other Dude who was on day release from nanny duties.  "The Other Dude took up where Rouge left off" said The Dude. "And Rouge managed to snap one of him stalling for the tube as evidence of his raw talent"

(The Other Dude released from nanny duties)

Down the beach some dude was being towed in and snaring bombs.  Shaking his head in dismay the Mexican said "Each to his own but at this moment in time the Oldfartsurfers are relying on their pure paddling power to catch their waves.  Mechanical assistance is for pussies.".  

(Pussy on a mechanically assisted bomb)

The following week, Rouge continued his warm up for the OFSC Easter Classic 2011 by tearing up the local beach breaks while the Dude and the Mexican had to fulfil their 9 to 5 sponsor duties.  "Its a commitment we make to our sponsors to hang out around their offices, give them a helping hand and a bit of advice" said the Mexican.  "Its not all beer and pizza being a professional free surfer" said the Dude.

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The Field of Opportunity

Neil Young said, many years ago, "in the field of opportunity its ploughing time again".  When you're young (pardon the pun) you have it all before you and many oldfartsurfers are fans of Neil and we have benefited from what he sowed in that field.

Many years later, Paul Kelly, in his book "How to Make Gravy" laments the passing of time:

"When you're young you think everything's possible.  All of a sudden you're past the middle of your life, you've only done a fraction of the things you could have, and the field of possibility grows smaller every year"

 

There's always one more wave to catch.  RIP Reg, thanks for taking me to the beach when was a kid.

Rouge Gets Burned by a Lid While the Ladybirds Fly

Following the previous blog about the Surferqueen (OFSC No. 37) and the surferbirds tearing it up, Rouge was inspired to make the following comment:

Good one Mex. But you failed to mention that on the VERY NEXT PEAK, OFSC #45 was quietly working the lineup, his smooth moves being reflected by the Birds and SurferQueen.

cheers
R

Rouge's smooth moves on the birds proved too much for a jealous lid who burned hiim with a perfectly executed drop in manouver, documented by the following photographic sequence:

To his credit, Rouge kept his cool and let the lid live.  "I was having a good karma day" said Rouge "and didn't want to draw blood and attract the sharks while the surferbirds were in the water."

Meanwhile, Macho (OFSC No 23) and Mrs Macho had a bit of a chuckle at Rouge's expense.  "Hilarious" said Macho, Rouge gets the award for the most entertaining wave and for showing restraint".  "If the lid had dropped in on Macho the lid may not have lived" said the Mex.  "He didn't get the name Macho being a softy"

While Rouge provided the days entertainment, Spot slipped out on the other side of the surferbirds and pulled some smooth backhand moves.

The Mex slipped out for a couple and tried to use the beach as launching ramp for some new aerial moves.

At the end of the day Rouge was philosophical about the lid incident and decided to fix his steely gaze on the horizon and declared everything was good.

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OFSC No. 37 Takes it to the Young Gunnettes

In the true spirit of oldfartsurfing, OFSC No. 37, otherwise known as the Surferqueen, pulled on a white competition singlet and took it to the young birds.  "I figured it was the best way to get the best peak on the beach for half an hour with only three other surfers in the water"  said the Surferqueen.  "I got one good ride and a few more that I wouldn't have got otherwise if the peak had been packed with 20 other surfers".

(The young Yellowbird showed a lot of enthusiasm)

The Surferqueen started the final getting a good sized right and working it in classic style all the way to the beach.  Unfortunately, the Bluebird, an experienced champion, soon  snared a couple of good waves and pulled off some big moves that the judges scored highly. 

(The Redbird was a strong competitor)

The Surferqueen fought valiantly as a representative of oldfartsurfers around the world.  Not only did she have to out surf the youngbirds but she had to contend with a vicious rip to try and stay on the peak.  "At times she was dragged 40m or so down the beach and had to summon Herculean strength to paddle back against the rip" said oldfartsurfer Macho (OFSC No. 23) who observed the contest from the beach.  "Surferqueen was an inspiration and when the heat was finished I grabbed my board and paddled out at a peak down the beach".

(The Surferqueen takes off)

The Old Farts Surf Co. Head Honcho,  Mexican (OFSC No. 4), said "it was appropriate Surferqueen was in the white singlet, she was like the White Knight defending the honour of oldfartsurfers around the world".  "Its a good thing he didn't tell me that before the contest" said Surferqueen, "it would have been too much pressure knowing I had that responsibility, I just wanted to catch a few waves".

(The Bluebird showing competitive experience)

There were unsubstantiated rumours that Surferqueen could join the Old Farts Surf Co. Splinter Group world tour of oldfartsurfing.  Best known for Expressions Sessions on hollow timber surfboards but also includes the likes of upstart Canuck Female oldfartsurfer, Moose (OFSC No. 3).

(Our heroine reaches the bottom of a takeoff)

The Surferqueen's competitive effort was all part of the Old Farts Surf Co. Easter Classic 2011" said Mex.  "It was a true surfing festival typifying the ethos of the oldfartsurfing movement".

(The Surferqueen, crouches ready to pounce)

(The Surferqueen having fun on a fat one)

(Surferqueen aims to take out Redbird)

(Surferqueen style, forearm parallel to the board, pointing the way)

(Bluebird watches in awe as Surferqueen nails a bottom turn)

(Bluebird carves a heat winning cut back)

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