The claws of winter are starting to dig in. The beach mornings are very, very quiet. A 7-degree start today has deterred most away from their morning swims and surfs. Once you’re in, it’s all good. Getting in, well make it quick. Looking at the swell radar – it looks small for days and days. […]

Today’s one of those days where you can’t quite make out what’s going to happen. It’s volatile. I’ve visited the beach a few times, and it has always been something different. This morning, I sat around in the darkness, waiting for some light to shoot. There were waves, but even the ocean looks confused between a […]

Today’s initial surf forecast was for 2 footers and a declining swell. It’s totally wrong with 4 footers and holding swell. Combine that tricky forecast with rain – and you’ve scored yourself an empty line up – BONUS! Today began sunny, but the rain has moved in – and looks like it’s here to stay. […]

Felt very cold this morning. Much colder than other June mornings. My phone was calling it 7 degrees, but sitting on a wet rock, shooting, before sunrise it felt much colder. Fingers went numb. It was good to see the swell is hanging around. I saw 3-4 footers this morning, clean too! Gotta love this […]

Yeah, it’s real cold today. Well for Sydney that is. Whenever I write that line, I get emails from readers in Alaska, Iceland and Dunedin calling me a winter wuss. Winter is much more exciting for swell though. We have a brand-spanking’ new south swell in town today, and there is sets breaking over head high. […]

The moment you’ve all been waiting for has come. After a long week of wild stormy weather, finally, the winds are offshore, the rain has dissipated, the swell remains. Yeah! It’s looking pretty sweet out there for surfers. No, not pumping, just fun. The banks seem a bit all over the shop. It’s the best […]

I didn’t get a chance to shoot this morning for a variety of (boring) reasons. I will spare you. Luckily I have a server with 20 terabytes to house all my images. Here are a few shots from favourite locations that you haven’t seen. I did a beach fly by and witnessed much cleaner conditions, […]

10:05pm, Thursday night…THAT’s when the wind will subside. That’s when the surf will clean up and you’ll be busting out of the gates to get a week’s worth of waves. Be patient.  If you’re frothing I suggest driving over to Manly, that will be outta the wind and clean. Friday will be a good surf […]

Today’s a hybrid, a mixed bag between Bondi, Curly and Mentawais. There’s no correlation between these locations, they’re just some JPGs lying around on my desktop from recent shoots. A rainy, cold, junkie day is a great opportunity to show a mixed bag. I’d expect to see waves above 4 foot today at Bondi, but it’s going […]

Hurro. It’s cool, calm and waveless. AKA Lake Bondi. Good for a (brief) swim, a walk, a few photos…then something productive. (AKA work) Pretty quiet in the swell department for this time of year. Tiny all week long. There’s a big south storm brewing for Monday. Looks very windy. Maybe that will bring a few waves […]

Cracker of a day outside. Cool morning, the sand was frosty, but the water warm and inviting. Swam for 1 hour with my camera. Very invigorating! Minimal crew out, high tide fat 2 footers, clean offshore…sunshine blaring and a top of 18. Not bad for winter. Pretty much tiny surf conditions until Monday when a […]

Whilst the wave department has failed this morning the sunrise department has stepped up a gear. Amazing skies. I’m having a good run of these colourful skies following me around the globe at the moment. A cool day ahead on land with a maximum of 18 degrees. The water is still pretty warm, I am […]

I’ve returned from my little fling with the Indonesian islands. I can still feel the motion of the boat whilst standing firmly on dry land. Had a blast over there, not too shabby around here either. 2-3 footers, perfect sunshine, offshores and barely anyone down the beach this morning. Bingo. Good times. Get out there. My […]

After surfing 26 surf breaks in 12 days we’re now heading home. We’re done. Cooked. Spaghetti arms. I haven’t worn shoes or touched dry land since May. And barely any mobile reception – it feels good to get off the grid. Today I’ve switched on my computer and have dozens of messages saying they wanna holiday […]

May, June, July are usually the best months to come to the Mentawais for surfing. It’s when all the winter storms down near the roaring 40s, 50s and 60s kick in, dispersing swell in this direction. I won’t lie, this trip we’ve had a consistent run of 3-5 foot days and beautiful weather – nothing […]

Fact: The best waves in Indonesia are usually lefts. It’s due to the physical orientation of Indonesia and how it relates to the South Westerly swell source. On a boat charter, there is a constant divide between the natural footers and goofys – we’ve got a 50-50 split this year and the wolf pack go […]

6 things you may not know about the Mentawais (where I am right now): In 1983 the archipelago of Mentawai was discovered as a surfing destination by salvage diver, west Aussie, Martin Daly. The first wave he surfed was Debuts, at the most southern tip of the islands (coincidently where we just slept the night). […]

I’ve been out to the Mentawais 17 times now on these boats. Why? The surf is amazing. Full stop. For consistency and diversity of waves, I can’t think of another destination that compares. Admittedly, it’s not for every surfer, most waves are breaking on sharp shallow reefs and offer dreamy tubes…but it can get dangerous […]