Fine, dry and mild on the Central Coast this Thursday morning. The swell is smooth at 2 – 3 feet from the southeast.  There is a light to moderate west southwest breeze.  High tide at 0530 and low tide around 1100. Local barometer is 1017 Kpa it is 9 degrees and 73% humidity.  Have a good one.

A Little Bit More, In Byron Bay Today.

It’s still small, but with the strong southerly blow we started to see just a little more swell, in Byron Bay today. Not much though, just a tad more. Fact is it was almost indistinguishable from yesterday’s conditions. But if you’re patient, and we were, there were moments to be had, in the bay today. What swell there was very southerly and the vast majority of it just kept on motoring up the coast. Yet every now and again Huey handed out a slideable form that would wrap around the cape and put a big smile on the faces of the few crew who waited patiently, In Byron Bay Today.

Extra second of period…

Rainy, thundery morning

Arvo Update

OK, something’s happened,. and I think we have waves now (see photos)

Dee Why: Cold, rainy, small.

This shot is not indicative of what’s going on at the moment. A bit of a fluke wave I’d have to say.  Mostly, it’s rather flat.

Rainstorms continue to hover over the Sydney coast, coming ashore every hour or so. Not the prettiest of days out there, but you could get a wave if you’re keen and don’t mind changing in the pouring rain.

Heavy showers and mild on the Central Coast this Wednesday morning. The swell is semi-smooth at 2 – 3 feet from the southeast.  There is a light south southwest breeze forecast to lessen later.  High tide at 0420 and low tide around 1005. Local barometer is 1018 Kpa it is 9 degrees and 98% humidity.  Have a good one.

Visual Feast, In Byron Bay Today.

I suppose it all depends on how you look at things; at first glance it seemed a cold, windy and grey day with zero swell, in Byron Bay today. One could leave it at that, and call it quits. Or the alternative is to hang around and see what other cards Huey might play in the bay. We decided to hang, after all there’s not much point driving around looking for waves when you know there are none. Well not none exactly, there were a few lumpy twisty cold and uninspiring bits on the open side. On a warmer day they may have tempted this salty old dog, but not today. Today it was a game of just wait and see, what may appear, so wait we did. Good thing too, otherwise we would have missed the visual feast that was freely on offer for the patient amongst us, In Byron Bay Today.

Little waves to be had if you’re keen

Jordy Smith Takes Maiden Win and ASP Lead at Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay

JEFFREYS BAY, South Africa (Sunday, July 18, 2010) – Jordy Smith (ZAF), 22, has claimed his maiden ASP elite victory, taking out the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay over Adam Melling (AUS), 25, in front of a capacity hometown crowd.
 
Event No. 4 of 10 on the 2010 ASP World Tour, the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay was nothing but blaring Vuvuzelas and roars from the bluff as these two titans went tit-for-tat in an incredible Final exchange. The young South African proved the victor, dominating from the outset and securing an emotional first win.
 
“This is the best day of my life,” Smith said. “The crowd on the beach has been supporting me the last few days and hearing the cheers and the Vuvuzelas just gets me fired up to perform. It feels like they’re pushing me along. I couldn’t have done it without them.”
 
The most experienced surfer at Jeffreys Bay, Smith left very little to chance in the Final against Melling, opening his account with a blazing 8.90 before backing it up with some scintillating forehand surfing for a 9.03. The combination of scores (17.93 out of a possible 20) proved insurmountable for Melling.
 
“I knew the swell was dying and I had to take advantage of every wave that came through,” Smith said. “Adam (Melling) is such a dangerous surfer. He’s been in form all day and I knew that if he got the waves, he would get the scores. I went out there knowing I had to open up strong.”
 
After taking the ratings’ lead over former nine-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater (USA), 38, yesterday, Smith solidified his position as the ASP World No. 1 with today’s emphatic victory.
 
“It definitely is a different feeling,” Smith said. “To be chasing the lead and defending the lead are two different things. It’s a long year ahead and you can’t count anyone out until it’s over. I’m going to enjoy this feeling for now.”
 
Smith’s Final’s berth almost never was, as the big South African was comboed by lethal Australian Bede Durbidge (AUS), 27, with four minutes remaining in their Semifinal clash. Catching two waves in under a minute, Smith unloaded a barrage of aerials and forehand blasts to claw his way back into the lead.
 
“I’m still not too sure what happened – it’s all a blur,” Smith said. “I got that first one where I did the little grab air that I didn’t think was good, but the judges scored the whole wave pretty well. Then I backed it up and put everything I had into it.”
 
Melling’s “Cinderella” climb to the Finals was nothing short of sensational. Rated a lowly 41st on the ASP World Title Race rankings heading into Jeffreys Bay, the 2010 ASP Dream Tour rookie powered his way through five rounds of competition before coming short in the Final. His Runner-Up finish sees him bumped up to ASP World No. 19, well inside the safety zone for the dreaded mid-year field reduction.
 
“The ocean didn’t cooperate with me in the Final so that’s a shame but I couldn’t be happier,” Melling said. “We had amazing waves and to get the best result of my career is huge. I came into Jeffreys with a long road ahead if I were to make the mid-year cut-off, and now that I’m 19th, I feel like I have a bit of a buffer heading into Tahiti. I worked really hard to get here and I want to stay here.”
 
Durbidge suffered one of the hardest losses of the event, having defeat snatched from the jaws of victory by a last-minute crusade by Smith. Despite the bitter loss, Durbidge’s Equal 3rd vaults him from 10th to 7th on the ASP World Title Race rankings heading into the fifth event of the year.
 
“I had him comboed with only four minutes to go,” Durbidge said. “He took off on that one-footer and pulled that ‘Superman’ air and finished off well, then came out and got another one. I think he got two waves in a minute or something. It’s a hard way to lose, but Semifinals is my best result of the year and it’s something to build on. The focus is on Tahiti now.”
 
Taj Burrow (AUS), 32, consistently wowed audiences with his performance from Round 1 onwards, collecting the event’s highest heat total in yesterday’s Round 4. Despite today’s Semifinal loss at the hands of Melling, the Western Australian moves up to ASP World No. 2 heading into Tahiti.
 

Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Final Results:
1 – Jordy Smith (ZAF) 17.93
2 – Adam Melling (AUS) 10.00

Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Semifinal Results:
SF 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 14.83 def. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 14.40
SF 2: Adam Melling (AUS) 14.00 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 10.67

Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Quarterfinal Results:
QF 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 16.43 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 9.20
QF 2: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 12.17 def. Sean Holmes (ZAF) 11.83
QF 3: Taj Burrow (AUS) 11.00 def. Dane Reynolds (USA) 3.66
QF 4: Adam Melling (AUS) 16.43 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 5.67

Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Remaining Round 4 Results:
Heat 8: Adam Melling (AUS) 17.07 def. Dusty Payne (HAW) 11.50

Current ASP World Title Race Top 5 (after South Africa):
1. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 28500 pts
2. Taj Burrow (AUS) 24750 pts
3. Kelly Slater (USA) 23500 pts
4. Dane Reynolds (USA) 20000 pts
5. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 19500 pts
6. Mick Fanning (AUS) 19250 pts
7. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 18750 pts
8. Bobby Martinez (USA) 16500 pts
9. Jadson Andre (BRA) 16000 pts
10. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 14750 pts