Holidays Day 1

Started a week of holidays today, well yesterday really......went down the coast looking for wind and as the photos suggest there wasnt too much around! Gorgeous day at Middleton Point though.

Interesting trip down to south coast, got to the end of the freeway, Noarlunga, and could feel a real wobble coming from the front end and then banging, not good me thinks. So after my mechanical skills were tested, ie finding the button to release the bonnet, I found that the CV boot on the passenger side was torn off and the drive shaft looked a bit worse for wear. So a limp home for 20kms at about 50kms an hour. Only just made it, was making a hell of a racket when we got up the drive way. Mechanics did warn me a few weeks ago that this might happen. I feel an expensive week coming on......

Anyway heres a few shots of Middleton Beach today......

A few sets came through, only about 2 feet at the most, the mal riders were dominating.

This is the view from the carpark back to Goolwa and Day street.

I love coffee

After reading another blog regarding ethically sourced coffee, I though what a great time to introduce you to our local coffee shop. I spend many hours and money in this place! It is Illy on Waymouth, a chain cafe in the city, right next door to my work building! I love you coffee bean, you are my reason for exisiting! Strong flat white all the way!

Just a quick post to show you some photos of our valley up in the hills all fogged up. Looks cold eh?

Not a lot of wind to try out my new board this last month, have only managed two outings, the first at a local kiter beach in 10 knots, a bit disheartening, and another effort on the weekend at Beachport, two blistering runs in very shallow fin destroying water in Lake George (was all going well until my boom ties snapped in the jaws of the boom clamp)



Very happy with the performance of the new board, feels really light and responsive. I have only done a few runs on it, but already feel comfortable on it. Quick onto the plain, but not as quick as the old Bic. Yet to really put the hammer down on it. I will get a good run on it soon, fingers crossed, looking good for this Sunday.


Heres a few photos of the last couple of weeks activities....kicking off with last weekend catching up with my sister Fiona. Heres Kym and Fiona on the back beach at Beachport.



Back beach again, place called Post Office Rock, Lochie and the fam doing a bit of Dune sliding!

Kym and I laxing on the beach, looks cold eh?

A very dead puffer fish on the beach at dust bowls.

The track down to the back beach coast line. This is a fairly easily accesable track with any kind of four wheel drive, the little subbie (Subaru) did it with ease. One thing that really dissappointed me was the amount of dead Wombats on the roads around beachport this season. I heard from a local that the rabbit colesi (spelling) virus is affecting them this year, I saw 5 dead Wombats in and around Beachport. To me they looked like the had been run over by speeding drivers and four wheel drive enthusiasts. I have only seen two live Wombats in the wild, so to see 5 dead ones in one weekend was distressing! Slow down people.

Lake George, still abit shallow, but still sailable. This is the Saturday, 7th July, just as a squall came in, I am in the water somewhere there, broken boom fitting, trudging back in the mud. Nice rainbow though

The wagon on the spit at Lake George, not much wind, or water to speak of! Lachie doing his best to get the car bogged!

Lano's new board

Well I took the plunge this week and bought my first ever new board. Big thanks to Pete at Onbord for his help and service (and not a bad deal either me thinks)

I decided to go up in size to maximise Adelaides fickle winter conditions and to be up and cruising all summer. My previous board, a 1996 Bic Vivace is getting a little tired, collapsed foot straps, big dents, a dodgey repair from when we left it in the sun in 2000. I have been eyeing off new boards for years so thought it was about time. I went for the 2007 Starboard Carve 122 ltr, was looking at 111 ltrs but thought it would be too similar in size to what I ride now. Heres a pic of my new board and Phoebe on her 5th birthday!

I so excited!

Happy birthday gorgeous!

Also thought I would also post up a new sail I purchased for Kyms and my aniversary last month, this sail looks indestructable, which is a good thing as I, especially, have a reputation for putting limbs through sails!

The sail I got was a 5.0mtr, will be great for wave sailing and real windy days for me, dont ya love the black?

Footnote: Conrats to Giampaolo Cammarotta on his Windsurfing magazine feature, keep up the good work brah! You can see GP's blog here....http://mauisurfreport.blogspot.com/

Mad May!

God I wish I was doing this again! Here's me about to have my first sail at Kanaha last year! Fuck that was a good holiday!

What a crazy month May has been! First Kym was away for half of it, with work in Whyalla, then she was a complete zombie for the two weeks after she got back (I guess 16 hours days working in a pellet plant surrounded by Engineers / tradies and armpits will do that to you!) Work for me has been busy, I keep telling myself I need a holiday, but I'm not listening.....although cheap holidays to Maui advertised in todays paper.

I have started football training again, thats soccer to all Americans and uncultured Australians, gotta get back to fitness. I have seen a few photos of myself recently and I'm not impressed. So back out with the boys, great to be out with a team again. Not too keen on the running, but the shooting and passing is good. I still feel I have good touch and stamina, but then realise I have trained for only 10 minutes and there is an hour to go. Stay tuned, a match report will follow...or check out www.uniwhites.com.au I am Divaldo or 'big daddy' - Dont ask!

Also, please do not mention the European Champions League or the FA Cup Final, I am still licking my wounds form Uniteds defeats! At least we won the league.

Sailing has been a bit ho hum lately, two frustrating weeks for me personally, but Kym had a great sail at a break last weekend, place called Snapper Rocks. This shot was taken last weekend, 20-25 knots. Her sailing has really come on, going from strength to strength. She is now starting to nail gybes a lot more regularly and is bloody fit at the moment, helps when you swim 12 kms a week I guess?

Time to upgrade a bit of equipment as my board is getting very tired (1996) I think I have held out long enough, so will be looking around the shops soon. We purchased Kym a second hand wave board last year, a Starboard EVO, only cost $400 second hand, had been thrashed a bit, but she loves it. We were really happy buying a board second hand, especially for wave sailing which we dont do that much of and couldn't justify a huge expense for something that might get used only once a month. I have been reading with interest GP's blog talking about cheap equipment and reusing peoples older gear instead of new kit. Which brings me to my dilemma.....I have been searching worldwide for a good second hand 115-120 ltr Starboard or JP for a good six months now, as I didn't really want to spend $2000 buying a board, but do you think I could find any? No! I even shot an email off to Kevin Pritchard, via his Blog, to his credit I got an email back. He had a quiver of boards up for sale which included a few used S-Type Freeride boards, 115 ltrs too! But mentioned with freight I was probably better off buying from my local shop :(

So if anyones got something, two years old or newer, JP Freeride (xcite ride 120ltr?) or Starboard Carve 115 ltr hanging around and wants to offer it for sale to me, please contact me.

'Hey! Dont you dare blow out my candle!' - this is my niece, isnt she cute?

Till next time.

Whyalla Steel City!

Spent a bit of time in Whyalla recently, as Kym has been up there with work. For those of you that dont know Whyalla, its a steel producing town, formally a BHP stronghold, not sure if they are still there, but Onesteel are definately there producing metal for railway tracks and other uses.

I used to live in this town 30 years ago, 1978 to be exact, and I can tell you not a lot has changed in this town since. Everything is still dirty, there is still salt bush in the main street, the tide still goes out about two kilometres every day (definate potential for windsurfing!), the runway at the airport is still dirt (or maybe its just stained from the pellet plant)

Whyalla is about 4 hours drive north of Adelaide on the top of the Eyre peninsular. There are approx 30,000 people there (I think) and its South Australias fastest growing city, again. Its been through its fair share of booms, the late seventies was definately one. There are about 4 football clubs, 5 soccer clubs, one ten pin bowling venue, no decent cafes, some true aussie pubs (about 8 of those), one shopping mall, thank god!

Overall its a top place. You have to go looking for things to do. But if you like the outdoors, sports etc you will be well catered for.

Here are a few pics of the first week we went up, yes we flew up twice for one day each time. The things you do for love!

This is the Pellet Plant at Onesteel, looks clean eh? Not!

Took a wrong turn! Sack the captain! HMAS Whyalla tourist attraction

REX Airlines, does it get any more Aussie? Hows the baggage truck?

Some interesting rock formations at Point Lowly. It looked like paving in a backyard.

Family goodness at Point Lowly

Phoebe and I caught the local youth concert weekend! Whyalla's 'Little Day Out' These guys were called forgiveness or deliverance or something scarey. Think Blink182 as 14 years olds and you get the drift. Their first gig! There was also an excellent aboriginal hip hop group on before hand, no pics but they rocked out! I love live music! Cute eh?

First ever show, I wasnt even sure this young lads voice had broken!

Our great brown land!

I love the way the desert meets the sea up on the Eyre peninsula,

Luck we were sitting by the exits! Arggghhhhhh!!!!!!!!

Until next time,

:)