A southerly arrived early and laid waste to most surf options on Monday, but the east swell still had some legs and there were waves to be had at the Bower and Collaroy. So, I grabbed the camera and spent some time shooting folks having fun. Links below to the complete galleries. As usual, all pics are available for purchase.

Fairy Bower 0800-0845

Collaroy 0900-0945

Hello Friends,

Just back from a shooting session at Dee Why. Light was pretty ordinary, but I shot a lot anyway because it was so big. You’ll find the pics below the Bower shots…

In the meantime, here are some snaps I got from a sesh at the Bower this morning. It was pretty setty and the light was fairly dull, but I did get a few okay pics (still having issues with the camera focus mechanism). Waves were pretty fun too. But man did those sets have some clout. I think we all got worked at one time or another…

Frank jags a sizable one on his deluxe veneered bellyboard.

Checking the lip.

The Bower was producing a few worthy ones for the biggish crew.

And here are a few snaps from Dee Why late this afternoon…

It was just nuts at the point this afternoon.

Deportment lessons with Ms. B.

That ain't no short board either.

Set looms on the horizon at Dee Why point.

The champ taking a hard line with one of the sets.

You know how it is with swell and not great conditions – you keep wondering if maybe it’s improved someplace… the pressure got to RealSurf and so late this morning made a run down to see if the Bower was cleaning up and if by some fluke there was something getting in on the north side of Long Reef. I should know better… but still, had to look.

About a dozen in the water chasing sections in 1.5x overhead sets at the Bower, but the swell was mostly going wide and the rideable bits weren’t too long. Grabbed a couple snaps that make it look better than it probably was…

Long Reef was relatively clean inside, but the quality was strictly so-so…

Ready to duckdive boys?

He was briefly airborne, got a turn and then it faded out.

Long Reef was rideable on the inside.

Just big and stupid still at whiterock

Bower having a moment of clarity.

Wind getting into even the most protected bits of the coast.

Hello Friends,

Even on a dull day, there are always folks on the beach at Manly.

Here’s a question: when the local SLSC broadcasts warnings to surfers to get out of the flagged area, they always do it in English. So what happens if an international visitor is the offender? I’ve heard them going off at an apparently recalcitrant surfer and wondered to myself if maybe the object of the ire was blissfully unaware of their transgression.

The Bower was definitely cleaner and bigger yesterday when I checked it. This morning it just looked shocking. Really lumpy and messy out there. On the good side there were some okay size sets (see the pic below), so there is some swell around if you are super keen.

Some of 'em actually looked okay, despite the wind...

Hello Friends,

(Buncha extra pics in this post)

Not many choices around this afternoon. 20-25kts of SSE wind is doing over the 8sec, 3 metre ese swell. I spent a couple hours waiting for picture opportunities at the Bower this morning. Long wait between the good ones, and at that stage the wind was tearing up any potential that deadmans might’ve had. I came away with a few snaps for you (see below). The wind’s a touch more south now, so maybe there’ll be a few more options for the keen later. Don’t try it unless you’re reasonably experienced though. Some of the wave faces on the sets come close to the three metre mark.

On the way home, I swung into Collaroy for a squizz, but it was exceedingly ordinary. Lot of folks in the water but at around midday the sets were just mushing over out the back, reforming and then periodically sort of making a little section on the inside. Cool thing happened though. I saw the evergreen Tom Kirsop go for one of the bigger sets and I was able to get a shot of him. Tom basically founded Surfrider on the Northern Beaches and has been a tireless environmentalist for decades. Speaking of which, he’s already racked up seven decades so far. Onya Tom!!

If you knew you'd still be surfin' at Tom's age, you'd be ecstatic.

Okay, a few more piccies from today…

Nice green face standing up...

bomb set this morning at the Bower

Sliding at the Bower

Setting one up at the surge

hooking it around

made it...

Bomb set wave

one whack coming up

Lunchtime left at Collaroy

Not very big, but at least it's catchable on the inside.

After leaving Warriewood, I stopped for a quick squizz at Collaroy. The swell is getting in there, but at high tide it was not all that impressive. Only a few people in the water and they were doing a fair amount of waiting for the occasional waist to chest high slop burger sets. It might be a bit better as the tide drops and it has the great virtue of being protected from the wind.

Dropped by Robbo’s place in Dee Why to see if we could nut out an electrical issue that was keeping me from using my notebook while out and about. Watched the point for quite awhile as a consequence of our diagnostic efforts and can tell you there were some sizable sets but certainly at high tide they were not looking too terrific. The crew out there were waiting quite awhile for a makeable option to roll through.

After sorting the electrics, I ducked down to have a look at Curly and Freshy. Nothing worth a picture at either spot. From the headland at Freshwater, it looked like there were possibly some waves at the Bower. Buncha people in the water anyway… but…

…friend Max reports that the Bower’s a waste of time right now. Crowded, junky and small. Too mobbed for what it is, to quote him.

Anyway, here’s a piccie from afar

Plenty of folk, not plenty of waves...

Hello Friends,

Went for a splash with 20 or so others at Winki and the Bower this morning. Tide was coming in by the time PB and I paddled out, but there were still a few fun ones to be had. Biggest sets were around the head high mark (maybe a bit bigger right at the top of the breaking zone) and the water felt particularly cold.

It seemed to pick up while we were out, so when I got back and checked the MHL data, I wasn’t too surprised to see that it’s jumped from an average of 2 metres to 3 or so, while at the same time the direction has gone from ESE to the SSE. The average period has dropped from around 10 sec to a touch under 9. Meanwhile, the wind has moved around to the SSE and is going along at 15-20 kts as I write this in the late afternoon.

After grabbing a few pictures at South Narrabeen, I cruised down to see what the swell was doing along the Manly to Bower stretch.

Made my way down the rocks to a useful pozzy and pointed the lens at the crew playing around at Winki. It was very crowded and not very consistent though. So most people were waiting without a result. Still, as you can see, I did get a few piccies to take home. 

When I finished, the next stop was Manly where I grabbed a few more shots which I lumped together with a couple shots from Brownwater.