Stand Up Paddle Surfing to be included in Surfing Australia’s Australian National Titles

One of Australia’s best, Queensland’s James Weston (Burleigh Heads), a likely contender at the first ever Stand Up Paddle Australian Surfmasters.

Surfing Australia Head Office Casuarina Precinct NSW —  For Immediate Release: Australian Titles will this year be decided for the first time in the rapidly growing and now well established discipline of Stand Up Paddle (SUP) Surfing.

Surfing Australia announced the inclusion of the Open SUP division into the Country Energy Australian Surfmasters to be run at Port Macquarie during August.

Globally, Stand Up Paddle Surfing has grown in popularity incredibly over the past three years with an abundance of surfers, longboard and shortboard surfers, including a stand up paddleboard in their essential quivers and many dedicating themselves 100% to this discipline.

“The quality of Stand Up Paddle surfers emerging throughout Australia and the world is exciting and there’s many past and present champions of the sport of surfing now very competent and devoted Stand Up Paddle surfers” said Surfing Australia Chief Executive Officer Andrew Stark.

“Take the two finalists at the recent Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach, Joel Parkinson and Adam Robertson, both often seen in the line up riding waves on Stand Up Paddleboards, and then look at past champions like Luke Egan, Tom Carroll and Simon Anderson, all keen riders” added Stark.

“Stand Up Paddle Surfing has established itself in our sport and we are delighted to incorporate it into our Australian Surfmasters this year – the inaugural champion will take a special place in surfing’s history!”

Judging criteria for the Stand Up Paddle surfers have been formulated by the International Surfing Association with an emphasis on use of paddle in performance surfing and radical manoeuvres. The criteria will shortly be available via www.surfingaustralia.com

Twelve surfers will make up the division this year, three from host state NSW, two from Qld, Vic, SA and WA and one from Tasmania.

The Country Energy Australian Surfing Festival, which incorporates the Australian Longboard Titles along with the Australian Surfmasters will run from August  16 through to August 29 as a mobile event through the surf rich region surrounding Port Macquarie.

One family’s global surfing Odyssey

Dorian Paskowitz and eight of his nine surfing children: David, Jonathan, Abraham, Izzy, Moses, Adam, Salvador and Navah.

This incredible tale appeared in the Telegraph UK a couple of days ago and I had to share it with you. Incredible story.

Fifty years ago, Dr Dorian Paskowitz dropped out of society and embarked on a 14-year global surfing safari, raising nine children in a 24ft camper van, and catching every wave he could. He dreamt that they could all live untainted by money, school and fatty foods, and never imagined the wipeout that followed.

Click her to read the full story.

Top o’ the day,

Shari

Showery maybe, but clean early

One bowls up rather attractively for this lucky pup at around 0730.

Another one rolls through between the showers.

Looked pretty small, then this turned up...

Hello Friends,

Another day of grey skies punctuated by rain showers along the coast – but the wind this morning is a much more favourable westerly. Sets at Dee Why are into the head high plus range on the bomb take-offs. The MHL buoy is showing a useful 2 metre SE swell at about 9 seconds apart.

Wind should remain light and variable through the morning, before getting around to the NE this afternoon.

Outlook is for the swell to fade away as we get toward the end of the working week. With luck we’ll only have a few days of near flatness (Fri-Sun doesn’t look great) before Huey gives us another little pulse to play with in the Sydney region.

Our next tide is a low at just before 1000 this morning.

I’d like to thank everyone who sent our family messages of support yesterday. It marked the 5th year since our boy Jack died in his sleep at age 12. We miss him every hour of every day.

Sydney Coastal Waters, Broken Bay to Port Hacking and 60nm seawards:
Tuesday until midnight: Wind: Variable around 5 knots early, becoming E/NE 10/15 knots by afternoon.Sea: to 1 metre.Swell: SE 1.5 to 2 metres.
Wednesday: Wind: N/NW 5/10 knots early, becoming N/NE 10/15 knots in the afternoon.Sea: to 1 metre, rising to 1 to 1.5 metres. Swell: SE 1 to 1.5 metres.
Thursday: Wind: NW/NE 5/10 knots.

C C

Overcast, ‘dry’ and mild on the Central Coast this Tuesday morning.  The swell is smooth at 2 – 3 feet  from the east.  There is light northwest breeze forecast to east northeast later.  Low tide 1000 and high tide around 1630.  Have a good one.

Byron Bay June 1st Winter 09