WAY OF THE OCEAN

Here is a wallpaper with photos from the Gold Coast Australia. The ocean was alive with surf and there was no shortage of barrels. The shot on top is classic Greenmount wrapping it’s way in to Kirra. The photos in the bottom right is through a rearview mirror, sometimes you can find interesting views of waves through simple reflections. The bottom left photo is from the bluff looking into a random right on a mostly lefthand wave.
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Just before we motored up to the beach we noticed we were once again board less. This couldn’t be for real, we just made it all the way out  and lost the boards? I was just happy to get on to land and regain feeling in my arms and hands. We quickly dropped the gear at the beach and Asher and Ado raced back out to try to round up the missing shred sticks. I had to laugh at this point because there were perfect 4ft grinding barrels right in front of me but no boards and no one in the water. Luckily they returned after about 15 minutes with the boards and it was time to get the camera gear together and capture some magic, or so I thought.

Some things just aren’t meant to be and this day was proof of that. After all the effort to get out there and seeing the potential of some incredible waves I got the camera gear ready just in time for the next squall to move in and the wind to switch ripping apart what was just seconds ago a world class wave. What I would also soon find out is that this wave like most fickle waves, is extremely tide sensitive and with all the extra time it took for us to get here, we missed the tide window and would have to wait it out for a bit. The boys were restless and decided to get a few of the small choppy waves on hand and I decided to try to sift through my gear, which was put to the test on the rough ride out. There were some interesting characters to photograph in the mean time.

After about an hour or so the boys had drifted down the beach a half-mile or more and in the distance I could hear random whistling every now and again. I zoomed in with the camera to see if they were getting better waves and could see a few explosions sectioning down the line. The squall finally started to pass and the wind slowly started to back off. The opportunity to shoot was now or never as there was another thunderhead in the distance and it was moving our way. I made the long trek down the beach watching long draining barrels peel off in what looked like less than 1 foot of water.

The current was relentless and the waters were sharky so the call to shoot from land seemed to be the only reasonable one. Usually things happen in three but today was an exception, as soon as the camera turned on Asher snaps his board on a closeout and left Dean in the lineup to enjoy the sand bottom barrels on offer. The winds were still pretty questionable at this point and the waves were not yet back to the form we had first seen but there were a few draining barrels and Deano was having a blast. Since the walk down the beach took a good 25 minutes and the wind was blowing 25knots, the storm arrived just in time for filming and the call to pack it up had to be made. So just like that I had to pack up and rush back to base camp for cover.

The pouring rain and wind continued for a while before we finally decided to call it a day and cut our losses . We needed to leave at least 2 hours before dark if we wanted to make it back before sundown. As we pack up the boys tell me about the perfect barrels they got not to long before I hiked down with the camera and how it turned on for an hour while the wind swirled in every direction. At this point I already accepted the fact that it wasn’t meant to be and was only thinking about a hot shower back on dry land.

As luck would have it the storm passed as we loaded up the ski beyond capacity and the tide had swung around and filled in along with the swell he had come so far to ride. Deano and Shaun had their own ski with only two people and no camera gear so they were able to trade waves as we motored down the beach ahead of them. With all the gear tightly packed away I could only bite my lip as I watched the waves turn to pure perfection and Shaun pull into a perfect stand up glassy barrel while we motored off into the setting sun. Sometimes memories far exceed what any film stock could provide, and that’s just the way it supposed to be.

After sitting around the house for days waiting for the rain and wind to stop we started getting restless. Frequent runs to the beach in between downpours only revealed victory at sea conditions but we knew it had to clean up sooner or later. So when the forecast showed a switch in wind direction, less rain and more swell, we decided to make a plan and head out to a wave that rarely breaks and needs heaps of swell like we had on our hands. Getting there would require spending some quality time on the ski and motoring out miles into the distant horizon. The crew consisted of Asher and his good mate Ado along with Dean Morrison and Shaun Harrington. The plans were made and we would take off dark and early the next morning.

We  awoke to what had to have been the loudest crack of thunder any of us had ever heard. It was pretty clear that the storm was nowhere near finished but plans were already made and so we headed off for the long drive to our launching point to assess the situation. Upon arrival we were greeted with howling side shore wind with pelting sideways rain. Out to sea the horizon was black and the wind driven white caps marched across it with no sign of remission. But, plans were made and the thought of what we might be missing out yonder wouldn’t allow us to cancel the trip, after all this wind would be off shore at our destination.

So we packed ourselves and the gear on to our ski, three hombres, five surfboards, one Camera, one water housing, one tripod, three backpacks, two extra fuel canisters and the storm of the year. Packed on like refugees we set off on our adventure  wondering what the day and our luck help in store for us.

After motoring out for about five minutes we heard Deano and Shaun whistling from their ski behind us and we realized we had lost all five boards. We quickly looped back and rounded up the wandering crafts and pulled ashore to reload. The seas were extremely choppy and it was clear no matter how tight they were tied down we were going to have to keep an eye on them.

Take two, so we made headway into the black horizon and as the wind driven sideways chop met the on coming swell we found ourselves caught in what felt like a washing machine. No sooner than the shoreline disappeared and my death grip to the back seat started to loosen we rode over the top of the biggest lump yet. Then we came down the back only to submarine right under the next wave. The ski had to keep motoring to stay afloat and we submarined for what felt like a good distance before Asher and myself were ripped from the ski into the murky water. Luckily the tripod bag floats because it went flying off as well and was floating a few yards from where I popped up. The waters we were in are known to be very very sharky and we didn’t exactly want to hang around to find out.

So now that we had two mishaps in the books there was sure to be a third since things seem to always happen in threes. We continued on for what seemed like forever bobbing up and down and slowly making our way to an island we still couldn’t see. Luckily the rain let up, in the distance we could see the shoreline and knew that were on the right track. The wind was still howling as we make our way around the island to the side where the swell was hitting and as we came around the corner we could just barely see through our bloodshot eyes what appeared to be waves peeling off in the distance.

continued in part two tomorrow . . .

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Josh Kerr and Asher Pacey grabbed the ski and took turns pulling into barrels in the big stormy conditions. Without a ski the current would send you miles up the beach in just a few minutes. Here’s a shot from the newspaper of Asher setting up for a big dark barrel with Kerrzy in the foreground watching the action and waiting for his turn.

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During our stay, the Tweed-Byron and Gold coasts experienced the stormiest period in more than 20 years. The most severe of the storms occurred from 19-25 May 2009, causing extensive costal erosion and flooding along the entire Tweed-Byron and Gold coasts among others. A maximum significant wave height of 5.6 m was recorded on 21 May 2009 and significant wave heights remained above 4 m for 4 days. This makes it the longest duration severe storm recorded in at least 14 years for the east facing beaches which were fully exposed to the storm waves. The combined effects of huge waves, coastal flooding, spring tides and pre-eroded conditions of the beaches during the May 2009 storm led to the worst erosion seen on the Tweed-Byron and Gold coasts in many years, including some significant changes to the sand that makes snapper rocks and neighboring points break so good. (storm info by TRESBP)

The swell that came with this storm was large and in charge but fairly disorganized and lumpy for the first few days. Once the winds changed and the swell had time to clean up, the task was to find a sandbar that was still in tact. While the entire surfing population headed north to Noosa for its several famed right points, we planned a different approach and would head offshore to place that rarely breaks but might provide perfect empty barrels. stay tuned for the full story and video of our expedition. . .

You can also follow the making of the movie on facebook to stay in tune every time a post is updated. Become a fan and spread the word. For every thousand fans we get we will do a contest for some goods ( T’s, Sandals, Original Art, Music Downloads and more )

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This is some of the art that we designed for Asher Pacey’s board during the filming of the movie.  Click one of the links below to download this desktop wallpaper. enjoy-

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below are some photos of the creative process

getting the idea down on paper first is key, then it’s on to the board.

Just laying on a few minimal colors to keep it simple.

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We are busy editing the next few posts about the storm that hit during our stay on the gold coast, so here is some eye candy to feast on for the time being. COLORS ON THE CRAFT is a short film featuring time lapse photography of art coming to life on Asher’s board. Stay tuned for footage and photos of the storm that rocked the Gold Coast and Northern NSW last May, proving to be one of the biggest storms of the decade flooding much of Northern NSW and carrying meters of beach out to sea and up the coast. We will also be sharing video of our adventure miles out to sea in search of perfect empty barrels in very sharky waters.

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Sand is of the up most importance to the many world class points on the Gold Coast and during the summer and fall months the sand bars can take quite a beating and change drastically. We witnessed such a change when one of the biggest storms to hit the region in decades came ashore and demolished the sand bars. We were lucky enough to get a few days before the sand was displaced and the wave know as Snapper Rocks disappeared completely only to turn into a mushy close out for months before the sand would regroup. Although this wasn’t classic Snapper, it was the one of the last days it would resemble anything of its normal shape for the months to come. Asher Pacey, Mick Fanning, Dean Morrison and friends took full advantage of the dark barrels before the storm hit and the sand disappeared.

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