Cyclone Yasi

Good news for North Australian surfers but bad news for the rest of the country as Cyclone Yasi hits Queensland.

Wind gusts of up to 125 kilometres per hour are already being felt in Cairns and Townsville, but they are expected to intensify to about 290km/hour as Yasi closes in and crosses between Innisfail and Cardwell about 11pm tonight.

Here's how BBC have covered it.

I've encountered a few over the years on various surf trips. My closest escape was in Mexico when a Category 5 like Yasi struck a few miles up the coast from where we were staying.

I'd been watching it on the weather charts and phoned the airline the day before to ask if the flight/holiday was still okay and they replied ti was all fine. I tried to explain what a Category 5 hurricane meant i.e. 'catastrophic' but they just told me not to worry about it....clueless idjuts!

Luckily it dropped to a 4 on the scale as it made landfall and although a few villages completely vanished, there was no major loss of life. The hotel had been a scene out of disaster movie with guests boarded up in the nightclub and staff having to fend for themselves in their rooms.

The beach had lost much of it's sand and the roofs which were locally weaved were being repaired but apart from that the hotel seemed fine.

Apparently lots of surfers had arrived the day before and surfed 15-20ft waves out front with the manager screaming at them to get out of the water! Surfers eh? ;)

I visited Puerto Vallarta one day and the scene there was very different. The sea walls had been destroyed, houses left in rubble and seawater damage had travelled a long way up side streets and onto the main road.

I bought a photo off a local photogrpaher which shows a 15ft wave rearing up about to break, right where I was standing on the esplanade where tourists normally go for a stroll at night.

The rest of my stay we only had 3-4ft with a fresh 6ft+ swell on the day I left which I got to surf as our flight was delayed :)

I also surfed a cyclone swell in Northern Queensland once upon a time...

I was travelling in Oz in the late 90s with a rucksack and board for company and decided to hop on a bus to Bundaberg to get some extra cash, fruit picking.

I remember wandering through town at night (as the bus arrived at some ungodly hour in the morning) - around 2am on a Friday night just as all the fights were kicking off outside.

Anyone who has been to Bundaberg knows it's not the kind of place to wander about on your own late at night.

It's a sprawling cowboy town built on the profits of sugar cane, rum and full of fruit pickers scraping a living. It also had a large contingent of drunk Aborigines with a taste for Bundy Rum (who can blame them?) who disliked backpackers (or at least did when I was there). Our hostel even got attacked and stoned one night!

Anyway...apart from a few shouts of "surfs up!" followed by laughter I made it to the hostel in once piece. It's the only place in the world where I've kept a hand on a knife - granted it was my chopping knife for cooking ;) but I figured it was better than nothing if push came to shove.

Bundaberg feels a million miles away from the surf but the coast is actually only about 8 miles away. Luckily enough I bumped into a sponger from Devon who told me a cyclone was coming and that we ought to go check out the beach and see if a wave had pushed in - I was not expecting this!

The next day we drove down to a beach, can't recall where it was but it may have been at Bargara as I notice there's a surf shop there now.

A normally flat beach had been transformed into clean 2-3ft waves - which is considered pumping in a place that normally has no surf due to the Great Barrier Reef blocking any swell.

A few weeks later I moved on and scored 3-4ft surf at a spot called Agnes Waters - which used to be considered the most northerly surfing beach in Queensland although the Barrier reef has plenty of waves...if you have a map, some balls and a boat.

Agnes Water was a strange place, arriving at first light, there's not much there apart from a few supply shops and a campsite but the little beach had surf!

The water (although brown, murky and apparently very sharky - not a good combo) was nice and warm so we surfed in boardies in the rain but I can't say I felt comfortable knowing what was swimming around underneath me. I found a nice clip of surfing here and the sea looks nice and blue?! so maybe a storm had just passed through when I surfed it causing it to discolour? Now I feel robbed...

Final clip is from Pete in Porthcawl who sent me this mad footage of guys jumping of harbour walls into pretty big surf - they've got to be Cornish!


Let's hope the cyclone loses some oompf before it makes landfall. Goodluck to any Ozzies staying put and battening down the hatches. It must be a very scary time, just waiting.

Nightmare or dream?

We've had not much to sing and dance about lately. The surf has been flat too with high pressure dominating but a few have been out scoring waves in more exotic locations.

A colleague at work, passed this onto me just now and I'm not sure how old the footage is, but it's pretty insane anyway so here you go.

Night surfing at Jaws, with a head torch on... The only thing he's missing is a cup of cocoa and a good book!



High pressure is hanging around all weekend so I can't see the Tsunami Cup and Elusive comps at Rest Bay going ahead which means I can drink and be merry on Friday night after all! :)

This wave drought should be over next week, so clean up your sticks and dry out those forever damp, wetsuit boots.

A tragic loss to South Wales surfing

I couldn't really write a local surfing blog and not mention the terrible tragedy that has hit the South Wales surfing community this week.

Tom Padden a talented 22 yr old local surfer (and former Welsh Junior Champion in 2009) was killed, along with his girlfriend Louise and dad Steve in a horrific car crash, late on Monday night on the M4.

Tom's mum, Suzanne and six month old baby Logan survived the crash.

The family were returning from a surf trip to Morocco and not too far from home when the crash happened.

At the moment, Police are saying that no other car was involved and it's thought that black ice may have been a contributing factor.

More on this story on BBC News.

It just goes to show how fragile life is and it really makes you think about your own priorities. I think as surfers we all tend to be a slightly mad bunch and go through life feeling slightly indestructible.

I guess it comes with the territory - you have to be a little unhinged to paddle out and surf big waves in the middle of winter, right?

But it's only when something like this happens that you stop and think; especially when you become a dad and have baby of your own to consider.

My thoughts are with the family and all of their close friends in Porthcawl at this difficult time.

Tom charging. Image by Peter Price:


I didn't know Tom personally but recognised him from the Welsh Surfing Championships that I filmed the year he won the Juniors, and from surfs at Rest Bay.

But from what I've read online so far, he sounded like a top bloke who will be sorely missed by his mates in the local line up and down at the Esp where he loved to charge those hollow lefts.

End of the swell

Well there we have it, the swell that's brought smiles to a lot of faces this week is finally giving up the ghost.

There are still tiny swell lines out there and a good underlying period but it's getting smaller by the hour.

I dare say some of the reefs have a wave today but get on it quick as we're in for a flat spell now until the end of the month.

Then we're in for a treat as macking low is heading our way. Still early days but this is currently on my radar for 31 Jan - 1 Feb:

Here comes the sun...

Another lovely day here today but no water time for Gull today.

To be honest I was just too damn tired with a 5am wake up call from Jnr - how can kids be so energised at that time of day is a mystery to me? Wanting to read books when I can hardly open my eyes until I've my first kick of caffeine!

Reports are good though. The Scarweather buoy has been hovering between 12-14 seconds all day with a 1m swell creating some lovely looking lines out to sea.

At the time of writing the tide is pushing and Rest Bay is a good 3ft, a little crumbly now but still very surfable!

Doc on Gower scored the reefs on his own for most of the session with glassy head high waves peeling in and plenty of swell out on the outer banks. Even the old bell was ringing, so if you know where that is, you'll know that the surf was well & truly up earlier!

The winds have been light NW all day so I'm sure plenty of you have scored in South and West Wales today.

Maybe tomorrow...I need to get one more surf in before high pressure kicks in. Rattz and Aran have timed their Moroccan adventure well (leaving next weds) but we're due a big hit later next week too so the flat spell will be short lived.

My American Irish buddy Josh has just mailed me a few pics from my trip to Ireland back in Nov last year so here are two contrasting shots. Enjoy ;)

Golden orbs

Swell: 1.5m
Period: 14 seconds
Tide: Nearly low, small tides though
Wind: Hardly a breath but technically NE
At the beach: 3ft+ hollow peaks

What a treat we had today after a weekend of big and blustery; yet generally shitty surf.

The wind had died over night and I woke to a light NE breeze, barely moving the flags over Rest Bay. I processed Jnr into nursery double time today and drove down for a look at 7.50am. There were 4 in already - including Rattz and Harv who were on it at first light.

I believe they must have both wet the bed today as they're never normally in that early!

Clean 3ft+ peaks were barrelling their little heads off left and right all the way down the beach and I had my soaking suit on it about 10 seconds with barely a groan!

With the tide nearly low, you know it's going to be good when it's like this and it didn't disappoint.

I paddled out in time to see Harv taking a nice left and then got my first flush as a large set exploded repeatedly on my head - at least it had some power!

My first wave was a nice clean fast left, too fast in fact. I'd have to be up quicker and take a higher line on the next one.

Pic on porthcawlsurf today. Check out those lines!


The lefts continued to fire. Its hard to do it justice when it looks as nice as it did, not a drop out of place, a nice sunrise, no wind...you get the idea.

My next few were better or rather I was better as I was up quicker, made the initial section and found some lovely clean walls through to the inside but I wanted a right.

I told Harv I had to go in 5 mins for work so he'd leave me a set wave but he was already inside when it came ;)

A lovely 3-4ft right reared it's head and I didn't need an invitation!

I took off late, getting a nice steep drop and half expected a gaping tube but I was a millisecond too slow so bottomed turned hard and blasted a lovely clean shoulder with a kind of otl/cutback combo just in time to see a grom paddling out with a look of sheer terror in his eyes, as I skirted around him and carried on riding :)

Why people don't move is beyond me but there we go...you're meant to get out of the way of the incoming surfer.

Pic taken as I left for work - doesn't do it justice:

Wow, I was buzzing after that one and it probably made me even more annoying out back than usual as I was positively frothing at the mouth after that! ;)

The rip kicked in but not before I'd stoked into a similar sized left. Not expecting to make the drop, I was rewarded with a nice high line and warp speed which drove me right around the fast close-out section and onto a lovely clean wall! More hooting followed!

I saw Harv catching another nice right, not quite getting barrelled as the wave shut down just as he kicked out.

Ratter (ahem) was on his new 6'6 Byrne and lack of surf time was showing. I did see him catch one wave but he did his classic 'rolly polly' off the nose on take off gaining him a double thumbs up from me ;)

He did get it into a bit more later apparently but he was at cove and I was right down the other end by then.

The rip kicked in but I decided to fight it today as time was short and I wanted the best peaks for my last 30 mins or so. Rattz and Harv went with it.

So I literally had it to myself by 9am.

My heart was pounding like mad in my ears as I paddled out once more, just in time to spot a lovely set coming my way. I sat still and watched as 3 seagulls, glided in formation along a pristine, sun lit wall right in front of me - absolutely beautiful. No other sound audible apart from my heart beat!

It went hollower after that so I did my very best to get slotted which is a bad habit of mine anyway. I pulled in and stalled myself into some ridiculous body contortions but eventually made it inside one or two. One, I didn't make it out of probably offered me my best view of the day.

As I stalled and tucked under the lip, I was greeted with a perfect cylindrical tube with the sun shining right through it - proper 'surfermag' cover shot of a view inside the barrel.
Time stood still and then splat, it shut down on me! but it was a magnificent sight and made the session for me.

I caught a few more and decided it was time to go. As my feet hit the sand I was overcome with that warm, stoked feeling - (no I hadn't wet myself!), but was grinning like a fool as I walked back, marvelling at the quality of waves I was leaving behind...

High pressure on the horizon so that might be my last surf for a while but I hope not.

Safari update

Well a quick update on the surf safari - it was dire!

Matt, Blods and I loaded up my van and headed West.

I then spent the day driving around Pembs checking places which on the swell size - 10ft+ on the buoys should have had something! but the direction just seemed a bit weird and the tiny tides didn't help matters.

BHS had a 3ft close out and 7 or so on it, but not doing much:

Manorbier was 3-4ft and surprisingly clean but a bit crumbly looking so we opted for 2ft and clean at Tenby.


There were a few bigger sets pushing through now and again which had a nice shape so I had a few ok rides but it wasn't really worth the drive.