Me Greenmount back when it was a real point break on a twin fin,took a while catching whitewash but I still remember the day I snagged my first green waveThe place has changed so much over the years,there was this little shop across the road from where the surf club is with a flat above it,it sold the best foot long hotdogs around.So it was a long day,surf eat surf burn burnt,hot chicks in knitted bikinis coconut oil filled the air.I surfed Greenie on the weekend and memories came flooding back,like the time my mate landed on his rail and never returned to surfing againTwinnies,Surf Aid legropes,Surf Aid canvas board covers,Stawberry Fields Wax.Stubbies boardies tight and short those were the days.Oh yeh still learning something new each surf

Elouera Beach in front of the logs and North Cronulla in front of the wall.

9'1" log that was patched together. Tried and tried everyday of the school holidays till I got it right. I was 14 and that was 1968, floral board shorts and blue builders singlets were the garb of choice. No such thing as a surf shop, just board shops that sold one or two pairs of board shorts but mainly sold custom boards.

Gordon and Smith, Peter Clarke, Jackson and of course Graham King were the local icons. Some of them are still there and still going strong. After school I would walk up to Kingy,s and ask him if I could sweep the floors or do anything just so I could say I worked in a board factory.

And girls, girls, girls. Didn't know what to do or say. When I did say something it was lame and I stuffed it up so I gave up and just looked. That was fun because there was plenty to look at. Eventually sort of worked it out, but it is still mostly a mystery.

Good thread Mac, thanks for posting.

ET.

burleigh and currumbin alley. funny thing is i move on pretty quickly to d bar and hated surfing the alley. over 30 years only surfed it like 10 times or so and it had to be be pumping.

that all changed when i got into 666 ing.


i still think short boarding the alley is a waste of time unless its pumping or there is sand right on the point.

when someone on a shortie starts mouthing off i pull out something like mac's line- why are you short boarding here- shouldn't you be down at 13,15, or 25 ave palmy getting into some meatie beachies instead of surfing fat burgers here!!!!!

Geraldton back beach...its mostly a close out but it cops a ton of swell and we had been body boarding for a few years and my Uncle left his 7'a4 diamond tail Len Dibben at our house for me to use...I was only 10 or 11 and I had to walk about a K down the road to surf in front of the clubbies if I was by myself...first surf out I didn't realise you need wax and couldn't work out why I kept slipping off!!

Must be a lot of guys still learning from the response

never stop learning

Trigg beach Perth.

Back in the day when 1) the Point broke consistently and was the place to go for a quality wave in the metro area and 2) when there was a pecking order and you had to earn your position up the ladder. Took me about 3-4 years to earn my spot out the back with the regular pack.

Now the point does not work except on rare days and there's that many people the ettiquet and pecking order have gone to sh!t. That and the surf schools and clubbies that crowd out the area.

I now surf 500m down the beach or another beachie 10km north (or another 90km further north).

Maroochydore beachbreaks.
Hey, you guys, stop naming spots!
Lol!

Cronulla

i learnt to surf at the alley cronulla on a emerald twinnie. some great times and some shocking grom abuse was part of the day. would love to do it all again

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62mac said..

Me Greenmount back when it was a real point break on a twin fin,took a while catching whitewash but I still remember the day I snagged my first green waveThe place has changed so much over the years,there was this little shop across the road from where the surf club is with a flat above it,it sold the best foot long hotdogs around.So it was a long day,surf eat surf burn burnt,hot chicks in knitted bikinis coconut oil filled the air.I surfed Greenie on the weekend and memories came flooding back,like the time my mate landed on his rail and never returned to surfing againTwinnies,Surf Aid legropes,Surf Aid canvas board covers,Stawberry Fields Wax.Stubbies boardies tight and short those were the days.Oh yeh still learning something new each surf

I remember all those accessories Mac bar the boardies. We had nylon Trackers or Platts. I even got a pair of Billabongs in the early 70's . Got them in Bondi when I was staying at my aunties place. Urethane leggies were a godsend after those rubber/cord leggies. Honey wax and Survival were pretty dominant brands from memory but Sex wax was not far behind.

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chrispy said..

i learnt to surf at the alley cronulla on a emerald twinnie. some great times and some shocking grom abuse was part of the day. would love to do it all again

The alley used to get a bit crowded but always seemed to have a bank. We used to go up to green hills a bit or anywhere in between or the point if it wasn't too crowded. Definate pecking order there.

Grommet abuse at Cronulla, come now.

ET

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smh said..

62mac said..

Me Greenmount back when it was a real point break on a twin fin,took a while catching whitewash but I still remember the day I snagged my first green waveThe place has changed so much over the years,there was this little shop across the road from where the surf club is with a flat above it,it sold the best foot long hotdogs around.So it was a long day,surf eat surf burn burnt,hot chicks in knitted bikinis coconut oil filled the air.I surfed Greenie on the weekend and memories came flooding back,like the time my mate landed on his rail and never returned to surfing againTwinnies,Surf Aid legropes,Surf Aid canvas board covers,Stawberry Fields Wax.Stubbies boardies tight and short those were the days.Oh yeh still learning something new each surf

I remember all those accessories Mac bar the boardies. We had nylon Trackers or Platts. I even got a pair of Billabongs in the early 70's . Got them in Bondi when I was staying at my aunties place. Urethane leggies were a godsend after those rubber/cord leggies. Honey wax and Survival were pretty dominant brands from memory but Sex wax was not far behind.

that's right - survival ruled

Near point Leo in the 70,s , seems like yesterday !!!

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62mac said..

Must be a lot of guys still learning from the response

Me i learnt in the water Mostly with waves

Did Chrispy just say he wanted to be abused again?
Or does he want to be the one doing the abusing?
Strange days indeed.

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Cuttlefish said..

Did Chrispy just say he wanted to be abused again?
Or does he want to be the one doing the abusing?
Strange days indeed.

its all the same too him

I was taught by a Lama hight atop a Tibetan mountain peak.

Sadly, he was forced to abandon me as a pupil during the phase of my studies where I was required to learn the meaning of life because I would not stop saying "bullsh!t" after everything he said

But he did teach me one invaluable lesson regarding how to achieve everlasting life "refrain from dying" was his advice.

Ah, the wisdom of Sodoman, exchuse me, I meant Solomon

I didn't oh alright PB & Leighton just south of where the arto reef is now ... had a good sand wedge jutting out once

Started on a body board at Ocean Grove - Vicco when I was about 12 - 13 yo. Rode it for about 6 months then swapped my Redline BMX for a second hand 6'4" Strapper in good nik. I had been riding a skatie from about the age of 10 so surfing came to me pretty quickly.
Was hooked from there. Coped a fair bit of gromie abuse along the way.
Then a year or so later started riding my pushie the 5 k's or so to the better waves over at 13 th beach. and then started getting even more gromie abuse when I started trying to split a peak with some of the older crew.
But when I was about 15 some of the older crew moved in right next door and most of my gromie abuse stopped. and they kinda took me under there wing.
Free lifts over to 13 th, billie sesions, the odd trip down south or over to bells when it was on fire. I would even get dragged along to the odd party. I think so the older crew could score points with chicks. As if to show that they could be responsible looking after me?? PPFFTTT.
The best part was I stopped getting all the gromie beats, and I got to watch all my mates still cop beatings when there was no swell and the older crew got bored.

Some of the best days of my life.

Around North Beach, West Oz, early 80's...started on a foamie I got to take part in Trigg Island Surf Club activities over summer for 3 years (8yo-11yo). Foamie used to have heaps of toe nail cuts from me kneeboarding it on short summer beach lappers, might have stood up too but don't remember. Started standing regulary on a single fin fibreglass board I bought off a mate for $25 in 1984, discovered Mettams Pool, wetsuits & winter swells about this time...with fat waves perfect for learning. I still remember the day I actually rode along a wave face there, rather than going straight & getting pushed along by white water. We used to sleep in our board bags, tore up the dunes for firewood & lit camp fires on the beach without a worry. Kids would get there ass kicked if they did that today.... good memories, thanks for sparking them

nth cronulla and currarong

First wave at Dee Why on a surfo that my Dad hired when I must have been about 5. Still remember the thrill of the sand passing so quickly under me. At Macmasters (Central Coast) progressed to a "short" board - a design that I think was in "People/Pix" magazine. (Looked like a "splinter" cut in half - and performed as one would expect). Finally at the age of 13 had a real board - 10 ft balsa. One of the first - after Bobby Meagher - to ride the rocks (the point) after watching one of the early Bruce Brown movies showing where they surfed in US. This was pre legropes so dings (and ding repairs) were inevitable. Also taught one to be able to swim a long way to self rescue (ie. Forresters). Still get the thrill of my experience as a 5 year old when I catch a wave using whatever equipment - that's why I am still out nearly every day. Aioni

At this place

Started on a surfmat in the shorebreak out the front of our beach house at Moore River, progressed to the Groyne when it used to actually work and then to City groyne on a sponge. Finally got a secondhand Lazor Zap in about 83 and progressed to the rivermouth at Moore River. Had my arse handed to me for months on end trying to take off into dredging pits there before I succumbed and tried my older brothers kneelo. Took off got my first proper pit and have been a cripple ever since. Can honestly say I've never really had the urge to ride anything else since, they really are just the perfect tube machine. And for me, that's what it's all about.

Secret Harbour - Winter of 2005.

Got a 7'2 NSP for birthday and surfed every day I could after work - never even checked the weather and got waves most days - also got my ass handed to me on more than one occasion but stuck at it and loved everything about it.

By the time Summer came around I was wishing winter would come back ha ha

Just sussed it out myself as was the only one in my group that really surfed.