YORKE PENINSULA 2011

Yorke Peninsula turned it on for the Club Trip.  It was a little unfortunate that more club members could not go.  Four members and one friend, joined John Heath (Sneaky J) in his home surf to share some waves.

A few of us had the opportunity to leaved early on Friday to sneak in a surf before dark.  With what appeared to be a westerly wind blowing, by the time we reached the coast the wind was non existent.  Glassy conditions, a bit of swell around but not hitting the known spots, so a quick call was made and soon we were in the water at a lesser known spot down the road.  Frog took off deep only to get cleaned up a few times, but soon he go the hang of the spot and made some good take-offs and nearly got tubed.  It was great to see.  I had my share of waves and challenged the rocks on a few.  A great start to the trip.

By nightfall we had joined Craig and Pinebox at the Caravan Park, setting up tents and finalizing sleeping arrangements.  That night we were treated to Pinebox adventures, Frogs sugar free diet lectures and Craig's special coffee.   There was little optimism around as the wind forecast was favourable, but the swell was dropping with a a small kick predicted Saturday afternoon.

Early next morning it was off to Chinamans.  The wind was easterly and the swell small.  Only one wave broke that could be ridden.  All the swell magnets between Chinamans and Pondalowie Bay were checked.  Although there were a few waves around most  were taken by 'early bird' surfers or closing.  A call was made to go to Lizards.  Driving to Lizards we could only be amazed by the amount of wildlife about.  Kangaroos, snakes, lizards and lots of Emus with their young chicks.  It was sad to see a dead Emu chick on the road.  Always take care when driving in this area.

There was a small but rideable surf at Lizards and the group split up to surf two separate breaks, both of which got crowded early.  There were a few signs of the swell picking up.  After lunch, another check of the swell magnets and Chinamans.  Again the group split up looking for a wave.  Pinebox, Craig and Sneaky J surfed Chinamans, While Frog, Kristian (not a member) and myself surfed Trespassers.  Each group got their share of waves.  Craig at Chinamans got dropped in on and straightened out only to take a serious wipeout.  Pinebox got plenty of rides, but had to convince a local grommet to share waves.  (Did you ask him nicely Phil?)  At Tresspassers, Frog and myself were rock hopping at Inners, but scoring some fast down the line waves.  I put Pinebox's Kneelo tips (provided lunchtime) into practice and was surprised how different and better if felt.  Thanks PB.

That night it was dinner at Sneaky J's.  BBQ, plus two choices of sweets, what more could you want?  Thanks to John and his lovely wife Gayle, we had a great night which was finished off with a short movie session of Craig and Pinebox surfing Chinamans earlier that afternoon.

Paul Francis was to join us on Sunday, but Pinebox phoned him early to talk him out of coming, saying conditions for Sunday did not look too good.  How wrong he was!  Maybe it was intentional, to keep the numbers down?  Paul you know who your friends are!  Sunday dawned with very light south easterly winds and a new swell that was slightly bigger than the day before.  An early call was made to go to Tresspassers and for the first time the whole group was together.

You know the surf is going to be good when you see Pinebox heading for the sand hills  with toilet paper in his hand.  In sympathy for Paul not being there, I made the call, right or wrong, to take photos, while the boys enjoyed three foot plus conditions at 'Tressies'.  It was great.  I was impressed with the skills and local knowledge that Sneaky J showed in the surf.  Everybody got good waves.  Craig made some late take-offs, Pinebox hit lip after lip and added a few roundhouse cutbacks, Sneaky J scored the longest rides with a number of cutbacks, while Frog dodged the close-outs at Inners and picked up a number of small, but fast right handers.  It was good to shoot some frames, but I would have loved to have been in the surf.  (To see the photos, click on the link below.)  After a long walk back from Tresspassers and with an increasing wind it was an easy decision to make tracks for home.  Besides, Frog still had to drive to Robe after we got back.  Craig and Pinebox took Sneaky J home to Marion Bay.  I'm not sure if they got another surf.

All in all it was another great club trip.  Good company, good surf and personally I picked up another kneeboarding tip that hopefully will help me enjoy my kneeboarding more.  If you are a member, you have got to come along on these trips.  You don't know what you are missing!.

Story and Photos by The Gun

Yorkes Trip 2011 Photos

KANGAROO ISLAND 2011

Kangaroo Island has everything.  Beautiful coastline, lots of wildlife and off course surf!  It's the latter reason that attracted the Southern Kneeboard Association (SKA) to make an annual pilgrimage to KI.  This year we got it all, Whales, Dolphins, Seals and lots of waves.

One hour off the ferry and were were into the surf at P-Bay.  Maxi (aka The Hammer) and a former club member Kym, now a resident of the island, were already sampling the waves and soon to be crowded out by 10 wave starved mainlanders.  Lots of good waves came through and hardly a wave went by unridden. There was a bit hassling as everybody jockeyed for a position.  The occasional drop-in (sorry Max).  But all in all a good session.

After the surf it was off on the long drive, over some questionable road surfaces, to get to our weekend accommodation.  Unpacked and then checked out the point near-by.  Surf was small and not really getting into the bay but three of the boys entered the water to sample the conditions.  Paul and Cade took on the point, Fangio the inner section.  All got a few nice waves to see out the day.

The next day could only be described as sensational.  Surf was too small for the point, but P-Bay seemed to pick up the swell a little better and was near perfect.  Small two to three foot clean lines entertained the SKA boys for the whole day.  I took photos in the morning session watching and photographing every ride.  Freddie had the uncanny way of finding the waves that took him to shore, without closing.  Stylemaster went right and left with smooth turns and arms everywhere.  Cade and Fangio took some nice drops on the rights.  Paul picked up a few of the bigger lefts, while Craig tucked into whatever he caught.  Pinebox and Jake just pulled each wave apart with radical manoeuvers, which would have scored highly in any contest.  Mark's smooth style with nicely timed turns was very impressive.  It was good to watch and photograph.  (See photo gallery - link below.)  I had my session later in the day and was lucky to be on my own for a fair part of the session.

Most of the crew had two sessions, with the highlight being a whale swimming across the bay and a pod of dolphins taking over our break.  It was a great day, lots of rain, sunshine and rainbows.  Immaculate lighting conditions, with amazing cloud reflections on a glassy sea in the afternoon, just topped off a perfect day.  That night the crew watched Jake's movies of the day's surfing and had a sneak peak at the 800 or so photos taken over the two days so far.  Mark and Pete had a country music jam session with guitar and harmonica, which sounded classic.  I hear they are releasing an album next week.

Day three, our final day, dawned with the sound of a small swell lapping the shores near our accommodation.  This was the first time all weekend that we heard the surf near our house.  It was a race out to the point.  Fangio won!  He worked out how to avoid puddles, just fly over them.  He had his Holden Captiva airborne more than once.  The point was bigger with the occasional huge set sneaking in.  Everybody got into it, including the seals.  With bigger waves on offer, I couldn't resist hitting the water and unfortunately got no photos.  The point wasn't ideal, but the power of the waves and the size of the set waves made it worth every effort.  Freddie and Paul taking off deep and PB doing snaps of the lip was incredible to watch.  I got a few waves to the car park.  For me this was the best session for the weekend.

Later in the day the surf was smaller and with the light wind turning on-shore a few of us braved the conditions for our second session of the day and the final for the weekend.  It was another great weekend on KI.  For me, my third, and they get better each year.  In closing, I would love to give out the following awards:

Thanks must go to Craig for organising the weekend.  I know he had assistance from Paul and possibly others.  But Craig was the catalyst that got it all together.   Bring on next year.

 

Photo Gallery KI2011