Saturday

Swell - 1.6m
Tide - Rising, HT around 11am
Wind - light to moderate ssw
Period - 10 seconds, underlying was only 5.9 seconds.
At the beach - 3-4ft+

Better late than never but you can gauge from the lateness of this entry that it wasn't a particularly great session.

Lovely weather though, nice and sunny as I jogged down to my local around 8.15am.

Bus loads of summer surfers and students all had the same idea and it wasn't long before the water was a little more crowded than usual - especially considering how poor the surf was initially.

A few 4ft+ rogue waves were coming though but the peaks really were all over the place and it was hard to know where to sit. The weak underlying period didn't help and I heard Rest Bay was pretty poor also.

The odd wave offered up a nice drop but little in the way of any decent length rides. My first wave was probably my best as I managed to blast a nice close-out reo on a shoulder high right. After that is was downhill for me.

I waited and waited, 40 mins passed and not a wave ridden. This was getting silly. Then a lovely big right began to loom on the horizon. I paddled, early making sure I wouldn't miss another. Turned, paddled, pulled back late at the last minute as some idiot paddled straight towards me. FFS!

He apologised, another dopey student without a clue what he was doing. "Sorry mate - didn't know which way you were going"

I replied: "it was a right, breaking right, so I was going right?"

"Oh okay mate, couldn't tell"

Johnny Stoneman, back after a month of self imposed exile - was on fire! Taking some nice late drops (and actually making them too!) and laying down some turns on the face.

His pro surf school stint in the islands has paid dividends and it is only a matter of time before he turns Pro.

Harv was picking off plenty as ever in his day-glo blue wetty, robbing a few from right under my nose and generally being a wave pest ;)

And in the distance lurked Pingu, aka Johnny Rainbow. People said he'd gone on the run after a tequila incident involving a plastic chicken had gone wrong. But there he was, sat out the back silently waiting.

I saw John catch a few nice long rides and he seemed stoked to be back in the water.

As for me - I wasn't so impressed and very little happened to make me smile. I think I'd peaked the previous morning in slightly bigger, more powerful but onshore waves.

The waves did improve and the paddle out became longer and harder as I kept taking waves too far inside - desperate for something salvageable.

Had one nice long left, took off late and made the section before it reformed nicely on the inside and then had a couple of nice drops on some steep right but my heart wasn't in it. My last but one wave was probably my best but yet again marred by some other clown in the water.

I'd made the drop and hooked into a sweet right just as I spied some guy up ahaead paddling like a madman for the wave I was already on? Why don't people look - I always do - it's not difficult?!

I shouted, he pulled back and that was all fine but I'd had to take a high line up into the lip, free-falling back down but losing precious speed on what could have been my best wave.

Harv caught a few nice sized lefts and it was definitely looking better. I was feeling tired, a bit frustrated partly due to the waves and partly due to the crowd but decided to end on a high note.

I waited patiently for a bigger one to finish on. A right reared it's ugly head and off I went. Bottom turned, the wave began to close so I looked to launch up and over the back.

At that precise moment my whole left felt like it was locked in a vice. It was either a great white shark or the dreaded killer cramp - the sort that makes you squeal like a little girl.

The white water came crashing down and gritted my teeth and waited for the moment when I could grab my leg and try and straighten it out! LOL

I surfaced, in pain, copped a few more waves on the head and then realised I was still quite far out so paddled in with that horrible leg spasming, stinging, wooden leg syndrome that only cramp brings.

Limping up the beach, the dry land brought some relief but I ended the session in a 'downward dog' position stretching out my calve.

You know when it's a bad one as your leg aches for days afterwards. It's Monday and it's still aching.

I've been getting cramp every session lately? I'm wondering if my summer suit is to blame as I don't really want to increase my salt intake if I can help it!

I've had it in my foot, calve, side of my shin?! Never had it there before - weird.

I'll try pre-surf Powerade drinks from now on...