Talk about Cape Fear!
Today’s ocean is about as fearful as you would want, with 15 foot + bombs breaking out on the Merries reefs, it's so south it’s just sweeping past the coast.
I didn’t think I would find a surfer but yes, one guy paddled out to the Point and tried to surf, but really he couldn’t hold his spot and the waves were just breaking wide into the channel. A for effort though, he also tried to get a couple at Southies but had no luck.
Swellnet got it pretty right when they said a 10-12ft South swell with SSWest winds, hopefully the next few days should give up some solid waves with a slow drop into the weekend’s 3 footers with a Sou east wind.
This is in contrast to the last week where the surf has been absolutely perfect 3-5ft for days on end. I took a few pics on Mon/Tuesday just to show the conditions and the shape of the banks, which were looking good. My mate Dean Whiteman and his kids made a return to the Nulla from Avalon and wondered were all the people were, Gold Coast maybe?
This weekend see’s the annual Northies Alley Masters run at Nth Cronulla and the crowning of the Cronulla Triple crown champion so hopefully the waves will co-operate and see the blue jacket go to a worthy winner.
This column is a “Cape Fear” no-go zone after their decision to only accredit News limited as their media partner - good luck!
Meanwhile in a real surfing contest, The ASP Prime SATA Airlines Azores Pro presented by Sumol launched yesterday in excellent 4-to-6-foot hollow waves at the pristine praia de Santa Barbara on Sao Miguel Island. Surfers put on an incredible show mixing deep barrels and high-performance maneuvers to complete the opening round of competition and reduce the field down to 48.
Caio Ibelli (BRA) 20, got the best of the hollow conditions in the morning, clocking the most time in the barrel to post an impressive 9.53 and back it up with another solid score for the win.
I couldn’t see Connor's name so he may be elsewhere - someone could tell me?
Cronulla meanwhile will hold the only strictly women’s surfing event in Australia.
Aspiring female professional surfers can once again look forward to the Maxum ASP Women’s Pro Junior, when the elite ASP event kicks off from the 20th – 21st of September in Cronulla.
The ASP Australasia Junior Qualifying Series (JQS) event made its debut last year and will once again be run concurrently with the NRMA Women’s Surf Classic and form a two-day celebration of women in surfing.
. “The NRMA Women’s Surf Classic has gone from strength to strength over the years,” said Surfing NSW Event Manager Luke Madden. “What began as a grassroots boardriders event, managed by the Cronulla Girls Boardriders, has developed into a festival celebrating women in sport. 2013 was massively successful with the implementation of the Maxum ASP Women’s Pro Junior and now the 2014 event looks set to mirror the same success.”
While we are with the woman, The Swatch Women’s Pro Trestles, stop No. 7 on the 2014 Samsung Galaxy ASP Women’s World Championship Tour (WCT), will make history as the event welcomes the world’s best females surfers to its cobblestone shores for the first time ever. With just four events remaining on this year’s WCT, the Swatch Women’s Pro Trestles will be a crucial stop in the hunt for this year’s world surfing crown and an opportunity for surfers to gain vital points towards requalification.
Southern California’s Lower Trestles has hosted a men’s WCT event, the Hurley Pro at Trestles, for the past 15 years and this year the Swatch Women’s Pro Trestles will join the ASP Top 17 with the ASP Top 34 for the first time from September 9 – 20, 2014.
Former world championship tour surfer and ASP commentator Rosy Hodge is one of 12 pro/legends lining up to compete in the SurfAid Cup Malibu this Saturday September 6.
Twelve fundraising teams have entered the SurfAid Cup and they have raised nearly $40,000 so far with a target of $60,000. Teams of four surfers aim to raise at least $5,000 for SurfAid and, in order of their fundraising total, each team picks a pro/legend surfer to join them.
Hodge said she was excited to be invited to compete in the SurfAid Cup Malibu. “I think it's a privilege to surf with so many of my heroes in this event and be able to enjoy all of the weekend’s activities at a place as iconic to surfing as Malibu,” Hodge said.
“It's awesome to support a charity like SurfAid. We are so fortunate to be able to travel and enjoy this lifestyle, and it's good to be aware of what SurfAid does and give back to communities we travel to.”
Finally if you have a kid or two Mark Reside has just written Children’s book about surfing called, “Stunno’s Surf Adventure”- "Stunno went to the beach for a surf, and there were no waves so he drove up the coast looking for that elusive barrel. Join Stunno on his adventure."
He decided that it was important to put back some of what he makes off this book into a good cause, so has decided to donate $1.00 from each book he sells to the Surfrider Foundation Australia, you can find him on his website, http://www.stunno.com.au/
While you are there you might find a few other surfers who have gone into hiding over the last week!