She’s tamed ‘Chopes, Jaws and Nazare…now she’s in Bondi to dominate our straight-handing one footers. Can she do it? Big Wave Legend Keala Kennelly (KK) surprised the One Wave Crew and came out for a paddle this morning. No tow, no vest…she dominated our Fluro Friday line up. Water is amazing, warm and 21. Weather is incredible, but a […]

That sensational run of south swell has finally come to an end. Waves are now limping in around uno to due piede! Nothing was breaking well, shallow straight banks still plague Bondi beach. After last night’s rain, we’ve got a partly cloudy day with a top of 23. The swell will remain small for a […]

If you were a surf tourist and rocked into Sydney this week you’d think you’ve reached Utopia. You’d think…wow, this joint has 4ft waves all day long, with little wind and warm water/weather even in Autumn. Conditions are not always this good. It’s quite an exceptional run… The banks aren’t great though. I’m sure if […]

At first glance, it looks like Bondi is pumping. When you watch the sets unfold you’ll realise it’s not really surfable due to extreme straightness. I swam out the back this morning amongst four footers…sticking my head in and out of hollow spaces, in search of some gold curvy moments. It was nice and warm […]

I’m back from my little West Oz sabbatical and straight down the beach to check the surf. We have waves! Heaps! But there’s absolutely no banks. Such a waste. We need a reef. Frustrating! I tried to surf it but you can barely get to your feet before the wave collapses. The conditions are sweet […]

We’ve timed our arrival into Esperance perfectly with Bodhi’s 50-year storm (OK slight exaggeration). It hasn’t stopped raining here today. I can’t complain as we’ve had an incredible run of weather and waves since we landed in Western Australia. So all those Instagram photos you see of Esperance’s iridescent blue water, friendly beach kangaroos and epic […]

Western Australia is a HUGE place. It’s half the size of Europe! W.A. boasts 12,500 kilometres of coastline and due to its sheer size has so much diversity. Every town we’ve visited in our WA jaunt has been unique. Today we’re in Denmark, 4 hours drive from Margaret River. It’s a wild place – literally. […]

Cape Naturaliste to Cape Leeuwin is 132 kilometres of coastline in Western Australia’s South-West that’s littered with surf breaks. Some are well known; others are hidden down long winding, unmarked 4wd tracks. If you know where to go at the right time – scoring waves without crowds isn’t too hard. Recently retired pro surfer Taj Burrow […]

My family and I have arrived in the Margaret River region of Western Australia’s South-west and the surf is lighting up. It’s been pretty big. I grew up in Perth and learnt to surf ‘Down South’. I haven’t been back in years so it brings back a lotta memories. It’s a wild place…so raw. I forgot just […]

Just another day in W.A… Ningaloo Reef is 300 kilometres long and fringes the coast of the Cape Range National Park. You can stay in the park at one of the many campsites (very few hotels), or step it up at the Sal Salis…an eco-retreat with sixteen ‘Glamping’ tents, right on the beach. It’s a […]

Our West Oz tour continues in the North West. The Jinigudera Aboriginal tribe are the traditional landowners of the Ningaloo region. They’ve lived in this region for at least thirty thousand years – probably longer. I can see why, beautiful weather (rains only two days a year)…the ocean is also ultra warm, and the lagoons inside Ningaloo Reef […]

G’day from WA! I’ve traversed the country in search of the famous giant spotted fish – The Whale Shark. Ningaloo is a 300 kilometre stretch of world-heritage listed reef that hugs North-Western corner of Australia. Whale Sharks frequent this area as food is plentiful. Today we swam with them! Around 5 of the big units. Tick. […]

Today the Usana Surfaid Cup is on at Bondi. Collectively we raised $100k for this great cause – how good is that! Our amazing Aquabumps readers, you, raised nearly $15,000 of that (the highest total of all 14 teams). Pat on the back, thank you so much. Greatly appreciate your generous support. The surf isn’t […]

After twenty years of punching out this daily email thing, I felt the template needed a little bit of a shakedown…ya know, some design tweaks to keep it fresh. Go on, have a look around. Same morning shots just stepping it up a little. Scroll to the bottom and you’ll find new features like “This […]

Dang! Fantastic start to the day. A feast of colour above Bondi…wow! After 20 years of getting up early, stalking sunrises…today’s show ranks pretty highly. It always blows me away how short lived it was – seconds really. Surf – not great, limping 1-2 footers with a large crowd out. If winter puts a smile on your […]

There’s plenty of south swell around but absolutely NO banks for them to break on. Oh my, it’s straight az. I’m talking the world’s greatest closeouts – you’d barely get a chance to get to your feet before it shuts down on you. Shame, as it was offshore and head high on sets – good […]

Have you been missing something in your day? Is life not complete? I know, I know….it’s been far too long since you’ve received your salty fix from Aquabumps. Too long indeed. It’s me…not you. For two weeks I unplugged from all things Aquabumps and spent plenty of time in the ocean, well away from Bondi. […]

It was a very plain kinda morning…nothing really to note. The skies were filled with morning cloud, Fluro Fridays were huddling in the corner, and the early low tide provided no joy for surfers. 1-2 footers broke inadequately on shallow, straight banks. I noticed around 9 am it was getting bigger with a higher tide. […]

My journey into photography began in black and white (film). Digi wasn’t dreamt up back then… I was a kid tinkering in a makeshift home darkroom (A.K.A Mum’s laundry). Ma was stoked when I hung my prints on her line, dripping fixer chemicals all over the families clothes. When I was 15, I found the underutilised darkroom […]

After a 30 knot evening, we still have plenty of onshore flow. Bondi is junkie but rideable. Good for your aerials! (especially after watching Italo at the Quiky pro). There is plenty of chunk in the bump – I saw some sets in the 5-foot range – boom! Winds will slightly ease into tonight. Tomorrow and […]

LOW TIDE 4:47 AM (0.5m), not ‘nuf water for surfers this morning. Shame…’cause conditions were excellent. Yesterday was a cracker. It was the sort of day we could replay over and over and not be bored. Today is similar; only the swell has dropped out. A windy southerly is about to hit, possibly bringing rain […]

The extended morning sessions are back! Yesterday the clocks reverted -1 hour as daylight savings ends. There’s a lot more light in your mornings to get the beach rituals done. This morning was a cracker. Crispy, clean autumn light, gentle offshore winds, head high waves and plenty of warmth in and out of the water. I’ve […]

It’s rare for me not to shoot the beaches in the morning. It’s been my daily ritual for over 20 years now…but today I was feeling a little under the weather and opted for some deep sleep to sort it out – all better now thanks! Seeing it’s Friday, I thought I’d do a little recap […]

It may only be 2 foot, but the rip at the south end is like a wild rapid in the mountains. I could barely swim against the rip with my camera to get into position for shooting… For one hour, I was on loop. Sucked out, swim back in near 2nd ramp, drift to the […]

Good morning! There are a few surfable waves today. A 7:05 am high tide proved fruitful with our current straight-bank situation. Bondi had clean head high waves, predominantly lefts. Really not many crew out (for a sunny morning). Air temps have dropped into Autumn standards yet the warm water prevails. Winds will kick around to the NE […]

Bronte Reef (AKA Bunnies) had a few sloppy head high waves this morning. A couple of adventurous souls out in the darkness, hunting, waiting optimistically. Winds are ESE 11 knots (onshore basically everywhere)…it’s not really a beach day! Sit back, relax, grab a cuppa, maybe watch a few of my mini films from better times. Check […]

Oh SNAP! Just like that the Summer dream ends and the Autumn cooling cycle kicks in. On Saturday it was 31 degrees around lunchtime, then by dinner time, it plummeted to 14. Fortunately, the water temperatures remain decent. Autumn time is good for surfing around here. Typically Autumn brings plenty of SW offshores and rogue southern […]

Ah Autumn mornings, they’re the best! I reckon it’s the water temperature that gets everyone down the beach. It’s just so inviting… A few little waves with a huge (hungry) morning crowd. Be careful out there. It’s kinda like driving down the road, but everyone is running the red lights. Nice looking weekend ahead. Small NE […]

Really, REALLY nice morning. Kind of had it all… Decent little colourful sunrise, head high waves, warm water and a massive morning crowd both in the water and on the beach. Bondi was in sunrise hyperdrive. Sweaty lycra, Instagrammers, hungry surfers, morning dippers…such a hive of activity. The funny thing is, it’s just for an […]

It was onshore early but looks cleaner now. I think the winds are switching. The forecasted swell has arrived and waves are in the 2-sort-of-3 foot. It’s surfable, contestable, semi-enjoyable. Definitely not pumping. Maybe if this wind continues to drift to the North it will get cleaner and have more potential. I need your help. […]

Today is a celebration of the immaculate conditions underneath the waves. Super warm water. Impeccable water clarity. Blaring morning sunshine. Today is not a celebration of incredible waves! It’s tiny, but swell coming tonight. Hang in there. :: uge

Well, that was one helluva beach weekend — one of the year’s most beautiful. With crystal clear warm water and a few small waves, I am pretty sure you’re happy with how your weekend went down. Today – not so great. One foot, offshore, and lots and lots of rain. I wasn’t feeling inspired to […]

A lot was going on down at Bondi this morning. In fact that’ an understatement. It was a crazy combination of some of the best waves we’ve had all week, Friday (so everyone comes down), warm bath-like water, decent sunrise and One Wave (Fluro Fridays) 6th Birthday – busy! Good to see a little kick […]

It may be dark and occasionally rainy, but there was a left-hander worthy of a paddle at sunrise. Emphasis on the ‘was’ part. My 10:35 am surf check reveals the show is all over, for now. The SE swell from yesterday has dissipated. Do some work. KS in Sydney I can remember shooting Kelly Slater surf a Maroubra QS […]

Oh man, it’s so dark out there. Sydney is blanketed with thick cloud so you can’t tell if it’s night or day. It’s raining off and on again. Bondi was surfable. Waist to chest high waves, clean…fat with the early morning high tide. Long period swell is in town, 13 seconds (what tha? A 1 […]

The forecast was for 90% rain this morning. I turned my dawn alarm off, thinking of a sleep in (rare for me). At 7 am, I opened the blinds expecting darkness and it was the complete opposite. A full sky of brilliant hues, clean, high head waves. Paradise! Super nice morning, a tad onshore and […]

A lotta happy campers are rolling around Bondi at the moment. Grins ear to ear. Why? Yesterday arvo the wind blew offshore, and there were waves to be had… I couldn’t believe how quickly the ocean when from a manky mess to groomed lines, 4-5 footers. Yeeeha! Today, it’s dropped gears and the early morning […]

At sunrise this morning there was a small gap in the wild storms. I even experienced a moment of sunshine. It was nice and neat, glassy this morning, but since then the SE is blowing, quite strong too. It’s all junked up. Heavy rain is due for the weekend! :: uge

I don’t want to hear any complaints about the current weather sitch. You’ve had more than your fair share of beaming summer’s days kids! Now it’s time to wash the salt off and knuckle down to some work. It’s raining, today, tomorrow, the weekend and into next week. Waves – small 1-2 footers at Bondi […]

Yesterday was quite a rare, windless, ultra-aquamarine, waveless, glamourous beach day. Today, its 3-4 foot, onshore, raining. Looks like the grey weather is forecast for quite a few days now. A great day to get stuff done. Crank it. :: uge