Hello Friends, I’m sitting in our you-beaut RealSurf-Surfrider tent on Manly beach front, watching the passing parade, so I figured I oughta blog from here through the day.

It’s a lovely day and getti9ng lovelier, although we could do with better surfing conditions it has to be said. Nevermind, the wind has been steadily pushing up the energy level and we’re now starting to see some chest high plus sets. Good for trying out boards from the different folks down here with trial models to check out.

It was a pity we didn’t have a video crew down here to watch Shari and I puzzling over how to set up our outsize tent. Woulda made good reality tv as we struggled with flapping canvas and a sort of orgami in poles frame. Happily our good mate Kev from Surfrider turned up and with his very able assistance we got it all happening.

the view from RealSurf-Surfrider's tent

We’ve got a stack of RealSurf t-shirts from fundraisers past and since they weren’t doing anyone any good, we decided to bring them along and sell ‘em for $10 each. Nice heavy, Aussie made of Aussie cotton too.

And how does a set of $145 FCS fins for an investment of $2 sound? All you have to do is guess how many ‘orrible ciggie butts are in the Surfrider jar of shame, give us the 2 bucks and your details, and the FCS Goods-1 fins (similar to the G5s) could be yours.

How many butts in the jar? $2 guess could win you $145 set of FCS fins

Okay, that’s a start on this blogging caper. I might grab the camera and look for some more pics and tales from the beach for ya…so check back soon!

1400: update
Well, having a grand time chatting with folks stopping by the tent. I’d meant to do more blogging, but you know how it is…

The windswell seems to have perked up a wee bit so it’s giving the various contests running today a little scope for action.

I’m getting a scratchy throat talking to folk but gee it’s been great. Hoping maybe to go for a wave later. But I’m probably dreaming…

Got another couple piccies to share…

Whipping one in the slop but getting some acceleration.

Ducked down the esplanade toward Manly SLSC to see how the crew from Disabled Surfers Assoc. were doing. These folks are quite amazing, so it was good to hear that they were tracking along well fgort the day. DSA are totally volunteer powered and now have 14 branches in five states. A great accomplishment by any measure. Check out their website here.

The good people at Disabled Surfers Assoc raising a little awareness.

When I came down to the paddle out for the Festival on Thursday, I was intrigued to see a photo booth (for want of a better term) on the beach. It turns out that it’s the heart of an interesting photographic art exercise. Billy and Mike are the cats behind the plummer/kennedy conspiracy, a sort of guerilla portraiture project. Their head-on portraits from the festival are apparently on display around Manly. Nice work it is too.

Mike from the conspiracy covering his work at Manly!

Hello Friends,

Wind is out of the east at 10-15 kts and the windswell is a gutless (7 sec period) 1.5 metres from the same direction. To be frank, it’s not the kind of thing you get up early for. At least it’s not quite as grey and misty as the last few mornings, and there is a slight possibility that as the day goes along, we may see a little improvement to the swell size. This is a prospect because the forecast is for the easterly onshores to increase into the 15-20kt range later.

Your best hope for a wave will be to lower your expectations into the very modest range, prepare yourself to surf onshore conditions (hey, the wave faces are smooth at least) and then find yourself a beach with good exposure to the primary swell direction (and that’s most of them in Sydney).

I’ll be back again in an hour or two with live updates from the Manly Festival of Surfing. Shari and I will be in the dual purpose RealSurf-Surfrider tent right on the beach front at the end of the Corso. We’re there from 0800 to 1700, so there’ll be lots of time to say hi to any of you good folk who are in Manly to check out the Festival.

More later!

Tide: H @1109, L @1805
Forecast for Saturday
Cloudy periods, with a few showers, mostly in the morning. Moderate
easterly winds.

Sydney Coastal Waters, Broken Bay to Port Hacking and 60nm seawards:
Saturday until midnight: Wind: E/NE 10/15 knots reaching 15/20 knots at times.Sea: 1 to 1.5 metres.Swell: E 1.5 to 2 metres.
Sunday: Wind: E/NE 10/15 knots reaching 15/20 knots at times.Sea: 1 to 1.5 metres. Swell: E about 1.5 metres.
Monday: Wind: NE 10/20 knots.