Never sailed south south @ Special valley. Heard so much good news about it over the years. Somehow I was not working, huge wave forecast, ok wind forecast and can go! Wave forecast was a bit scary at 12 - 18 foot @ 16 seconds++ Anyhow it's meant to have a channel and a bom section so who cares! Sooo re-arrange many domestic commitments and head off @ 8am for the 6 hr drive.

We. Eat dog food for lunch, HJS, and check in at cheap cv park early afternoon in Mt Gambier.Then off we go. My colleague is full of anticipation and excitement but I am so far unusually chilled. We arrive to mast to two swell with a light cross offshore wind! It then becomes very clear to us that we do not know what we are doing.

We have no idea where to launch in this reef infested landscape. This damn channel is as everywhere closing out! What do we do? Get bogged in the uncertainty. Relity on the beach! I distinkly recall a few foul words as I dug my car out while the cranking left handlers moved past 1km out to sea in 20+ knots with glassy conditions in the distance.

A well meaning local turned up and we got out of the boggy mess with low tyres, lots of digging and curses and plenty of sand in the car! Soo then Bondy rigged up - and do did I slowly! Bobby went out (footage pending)... BIG AND SCARY.. Footage will be posted.

He survived just and I went out in what was clearly survival conditions at our megre level. Footage will be posted.

Then - OMG! Footage will be posted!

Hospital was involved

Time to rig up. Weds 10.30am

Sooo, firstly big Tuesday. I was warned about reefs. They have a habit of sticking out randomly. I was downwind of an inshore one and Bondy commented to watch out for it. Well, I found it, flat out on the way in. Well fin killer also meant I ripped a couple of foot straps out of the board! Anyway will post footage of the mast and a half conditions once I recover from my injuries. More coming when recover...

The Knights that say Nene ?

Soo the Tuesday was huge (as expected with 12 - 18 feet with 16 second period). Random shot below to provide an idea. I WILL edit this footage.

Bondy went out first and after several chicken jibes he got 'out the back', 'through the channel'. These are in quotes as the 'back' did not really seem to exist (5 minutes planing and there were still breaking waves in front) and 'the channel' was more a concept than a reality. I went out and we tried to learn where the reefs weren't. As per prior post, I found it! There were big waves and lots of sideward water movement.

There were also what I would call 'whale weed'. These areas of weed were legitimately the size of a whale and significanrtly affected the path out and in. There was also 'bunting weed'. Streams of a single line of weed that went for 20 metres or so. I have some frustratingly close footage of these items for a future post once the edit it done enough to find a good shot of it.

The run out was a real heart starter! These waves had plenty of meat and wrong place would mean end of gear and challenging swim in. To add to the experience it was a bit light initially. First half an hour was just riding on waves rather than riding the wave. It was on a run back to shore to chat to Bondy and Pilly about how enormous it was that I found a small knob of reef only a foot or so in diameter in the middle of my fin. Bugger.

Pilly got out there too as the wind started to pick up and go a bit more cross shore. We started to get some decent airs on the inside and waverides on the main reef break. This got quite good fun for while. The time went super fast, mainly because a single run out the back and return was 10 minute experience. It was almost 7pm when we finished and we went back to the caravan park in a bit of a rush to get some curry and beers into us.

Then it happened. Rushing about finding a place to hang out the gear in the dark, I tripped on a log and stuck my knee into what I now know is a 'star dropper'. Down to the hospital and Bondy had some tea alone and bought me a takeaway while I did the waiting room thing for 3 1/2 hours. Treatment was good and after a good sewing job I hobbled back to the cabin for a few medicinal drinks.

Then came big Wednesday, in next post tmoz...

Photos from big Wednesday...

Good work, good pics. I would farken drown if I went out there.

Select to expand quote

jn1 said..
Good work, good pics. I would farken drown if I went out there.

That was on my mind both days Jay, I knew I had to be prepared for a serious swim if something went wrong out the back. At one stage on Weds I sailed about a km and a half out to see and there were still waves breaking further out. When I gybed I couldn't see the beach till it appeared and but then disappeared again in the swells and I couldn't see the cars on the beach. Tuesday afternoon was much bigger again and was the biggest seas I have ever sailed in. There were genuine mast and a half high waves breaking everywhere and many chicken gybes were used when you were confronted by massive waves about to break in front of you. As Geoff said, you also had to dodge the floating kelp. Its an interesting experience going down a mast high wave with weed stuck on your fin. Both days were sails that I wont forget in a long time. I cant' wait to sail there again one day with the swell a bit smaller and more lined up.

Excuse the pun, but them's the breaks for sailing 20 k from the shelf . Good on you. I can't wait to see Geoff's footage.

BTW: was it high tide or low tide when there was no "out the back" ?

Wednesday started slowly. We were both worn out and my medicinal drinks only kept the pain away for a while (not to mention the pain of lost pride)! We wombled down to the beach and went further down wind to a waveriding spot. Although the waves were bigger the day before, it was still huge. Couple shots of Wed morn just before this post. Bit more offshore. Due to slow start we missed the peak (I couldn't have sailed anyway) and Bondy / Pilly just got a working for 1/2 hour. Went and had a look at Pebbles which was scary and then went to lunch before the afternoon session.

Seemed still when we headed back to Nene but once we got close it looked windy. Sure enough! Bondy went out on 4.7 with Go Pro on and I filmed from shore. No messing around, straight out the back this time! Although smaller Bondy was going a bit harder this time, also with the benefit of seeing how the reef was laid out at lower tide in the morning.

Like the day before, runs were long and affected by whale seeweed. Then Bondy got a great run with a huge back loop followed by a forward both on same run. Plenty of footage of over mast high stuff on the way! Both he and Pilly got nailed well (yes, have this all on film) and that seemed to finish them off.

Off to 'The Barn' in Mt Gambier for some mega steaks that night and the 5 hour drive home next day. For both of us seemed like a great place to sail and unfinished business. Just hope to get back down there soon without injuries! Wed arvo...

Wed morning..

Jay - it was high tide when there was no end to the waves breaking on Tuesday arvo. BOM had the swell at 5-8 metres which was reflected on the KI buoy.
Geoff - the blue sail is my 4.2.

That's the Southern Ocean and those thing's are called waves.
Alot more to it than reading charts/ maps

Footage Geoff?
Want to see pilly getting nailed!!
I reckon my biggest beating for the summer.
Did get a pumping droping in / party wave on a solid curl at pebs tho with TAA

I should be able to start editing next week...