Pambula River Mouth
29 Nov 08

Conditions: Medium cross-offshore wind. Fast, chest high waves.

I’d been wanting to paddle down the beach to the river mouth all morning because it looked like there were some really good uncrowded waves coming through down there, with nobody on them. I though the PSH 9’6” All Rounder would be a good vehicle to get me there (about 1.5km). I was right. Quite a short board but it feels much bigger when you are paddling it. It’s got good stability, decent glide and it even tracks OK (don’t need to swap hands very often).

Once I approached the take off zone - I knew I was in for a good session. Out of the flat, glassy water rose this 3 foot peak which pitched and then peeled down the bank for 100 meters. It was picturesque with giant gum trees dotting the rocky shore in the distance, creating an awesome backdrop to this surfer’s paradise.

It was quite some time between sets with absolutely nothing in-between. I finally got one and it was worth the wait. Fast, very fast but the 9’6” PSH performed under the pressure. I didn’t really get a chance to demo its carving ability on these right handers but it was still fun to drive it down the line as fast as I could and do a big floater at the end. I caught a couple like this.

A big school of fish started jumping and splashing just beyond the take off zone. I reckon it was big fish chasing little fish - not big fish being chased by something bigger! I was over a kilometre away from the nearest human so that was a good conclusion to draw - in my books.

I went left on the next wave and it was a lot slower. Still a pitching lip on the take off (with the river running out and pulling the bottom out of the wave) but then filling up so you could get in some turns. The 9’6” was great. Long, carving arcs that you could really lean into and it held speed through them really well. The left keep shutting down, then filling up, then sectioning off again. You could ride them for ages, doing cutbacks, little reos, drop-knee turns and getting little nose rides. Super fun.

After only about half an hour the offshore picked up and the rip from the river intensified which made paddling onto them harder and harder. I finally succumbed and paddled back to the main beach - well worth it for the few I did get though.

Overall: Another great all rounder with good performance and versatility.

Highs:
- Great drive through turns
- Can camp on the nose pretty easily
- Good stability and paddling ability
- Good down the line speed

Lows:
- Not many in Australia yet
- Not the cheapest board around