SURF! Forget the snow, its all gone.

[damian 0]

It is summer. Screw snow, love surfing. I think Snow Japan should become Snow and Surf Japan.

 

Anyone getting any good waves on?

 

fiji 1

 

fiji 2

 

fiji 3

 

fiji 4

 

fiji 5

 

FIJI!!!

[Dims 0]

Getting a few as you know my man. Good luck in Fiji, you will have a ball.......maybe even two balls. That first video of restaurants is great!

[Yuki's Passion 1]

For you Ozzies on here, Ill be in Brisbane and have a weekend off where i can go to Gold Coast. Has anybody been surfing there in August? How are the waves? Do I need a wet-suit?

 

Any help appreciated!!

[markramina 0]

why is surf stuff so expensive in japan

 

i saw shirts there for about 40 usd that sell here for 20 or less usd

 

and surfboards there costing more than a little over 100,000 yen ?!?!!?

really good boards in the US run about 500 bucks

[indosnm 0]

 Quote:

Originally posted by a guy that likes to snowboard:
why is surf stuff so expensive in japan

i saw shirts there for about 40 usd that sell here for 20 or less usd

and surfboards there costing more than a little over 100,000 yen ?!?!!?
really good boards in the US run about 500 bucks

Because shops buy it from the dealers who have to make their cut, rather than dealing directly with the makers. Board prices have dropped in recent years but still exy.. and most are imports..

[damian 0]

 Quote:

Originally posted by Yamakashi:
For you Ozzies on here, Ill be in Brisbane and have a weekend off where i can go to Gold Coast. Has anybody been surfing there in August? How are the waves? Do I need a wet-suit?

Any help appreciated!!

Make sure you do in fact go to the Gold Coast, not the vulgar Surfers Paradise, which is not in fact a surfers paradise at all... well, the surf at SP isn't that bad but the further south you go the better it gets. Head south to Coolangatta, check out Greenmount and Rainbow bay and if it is on, watch (don't surf) kirra point.

You will need a wetsuit at that time as it can be pretty cold: less than 20C air temp at water probably about 18C. On a breezy day it gets cold in the water but you can probably get by with only a springsuit (I wouldnt, but I hate cold water). August is only an ok time for surf, not nearly the peak which is Feb - June for cyclones.

Don't swim in a river or a canal or a shark will eat your leg.

check the map for spots:
http://www.wannasurf.com/spot/Australia_Pacific/Australia_QLD/Gold_Coast/map/map.gifp

[Thunderpants 0]

British Potato Council,

How can a surfer survive in Rondon?

My wife and i are both surfers, and we want to get out of Japan, but we are scared about the prospects of no surf, what do you do?

[damian 0]

 Quote:

Originally posted by Thunderpants:
British Potato Council,
How can a surfer survive in Rondon?
My wife and i are both surfers, and we want to get out of Japan, but we are scared about the prospects of no surf, what do you do?

Well, I am not really a surfer anymore, I am a munter. So what do I do? I complain about beer that is designed to be served cold yet they serve it warm... along with the general lack of cold refrigerators in places that sell drinks, my local bottle shop sells some great imported beer.... directly off the summer room temperature shelf. Their only fridge struggles to stay below 7C and is actually small than mine at home.

Seriously, you are right, it is tough. England has no good surf (there is a little, but not worth the 4 hour drive and freezing water for inconsistent beach break with massive tidal changes) ....and it has no snow. Even though the countryside and 400 year old buildings in are stunning, it is not my kind of land. Denmark isn't any better in that regard, but at least you have excellent pickled things like herrings.

Seeing as you are a national from the EU, I suggest that you take your wife and go live in Portugal or Spain. Infact, the right parts of Spain have:

- access to reasonably good snow,
- exceptional food and a daily culture that is heavily influenced by the enjoyment of good food,
- great surf

Portugal has no snow, but the people are superb and so is the surf and the food.

Of all the cities in the world, Tokyo is surprisingly the best placed for excellent food, good people, a big city career (if you want it), access to surf and access to awesome snow. The only downside is you live like an ant and can go 12 months without walking bare foot on grass. Tokyo is also mega-convientient and good value. I am trying to get a 3-board surfboard bag to Heathrow airport. You think I can find a takyubin equivalent? Not a chance.

[indosnm 0]

 Quote:

Originally posted by British Potato Council:
Tokyo is surprisingly the best placed for excellent food, good people, a big city career (if you want it), access to surf and access to awesome snow.

Access to surf, but nothing that special... But living in London I guess you would say that Japan's surf is good!
I managed to get a few bazzas on sunday. Funny how most J surfers have NO Idea where that part of the wave is!...

Enjoy Fiji! (take some wasabi & soy!)

[damian 0]

Sure, the Tokyo accessible surf was not good at all, but at least 3 hours drive from Tokyo you could get fully exposed Pacific ocean surf. The set ups (long flat beaches) were not so good and the tetra pod structures almost caused me to cry every time I saw them.... but at least it was good Pacific swell in warm water.

 

You'll never see a J surfer in the bazz!! How can they expect to be seen perfecting the perfect down the line s-turns if they are always inside . I remember surfing some low tide Chiba ledge off the side of a tetrapod structure. It was an honest hollow sucking wave and I got hammered quite a few times on the jack up. I also had every pit to myself. It was a pit with a shoulder and never closed down on you so it was an easy out once you got inside... but still no one else wanted a bar of it. No complaints from me!! Except some guys in the water looked at me like I was walking on tatami in army boots.

[damian 0]

Today's contribution to S&SJ:

 

You wont see me pulling anything like this, I'm too old and stiff, otherwise... eeeeeasy. Yeah, right.. Besides, BOTH my rotor cuffs are screwed. Raising a beer to my mouth causes a small wince of pain, no matter which arm I use.

 

try this on a moving half pipe

[Yuki's Passion 1]

Thanks for the info BPC. Ill be sure to check out Coolangatta too.

 

You wouldnt happen to remember if surf shops in Oz do rental boards and wetsuits would you, or anybody else?

 

Cheers again!

 

Headin ta Kyushu in a week to get some surfin

[damian 0]

There will be board rental places all over the coast, I am sure there is one at Cool. Not sure about wetsuits though.

 

Make sure you rent a car, it will be tough without one.

[spook 0]

If the gold coast is flat or small – paddle across to south stadbroke island (it’s just north of Sea World) this place draws a bit more swell than everywhere else, and has miles and miles of endless beachies. Quality spot.

The paddle across is a bit gnarly though, if you freak about sharks there’s also a ferry you can take.

An alternative to the Gold Coast is the Sunshine Coast, a bit north of Brisbane. Lots of fun waves and miles of empty beachies just south of Noosa. Or if there’s bulk swell you could try Noosa and all the points in the National Park. Alexandra Bay usually has a wave if everywhere else in Noosa is flat, and it has the added advantage of being a nude beach, if you want to surf with your tackle out.

[fjef 0]

 Quote:

Originally posted by British Potato Council:
Sure, the Tokyo accessible surf was not good at all, but at least 3 hours drive from Tokyo you could get fully exposed Pacific ocean surf. The set ups (long flat beaches) were not so good and the tetra pod structures almost caused me to cry every time I saw them.... but at least it was good Pacific swell in warm water.

3 hours from Tokyo? The area you describe sounds like where I live - if you know the roads and when to travel, the surf is only about an hour and 10 from downtown Tokyo...

[damian 0]

fjef - I was talking around the Ibaragi/Chiba boarder. We would travel at moderately bad times, perhaps it wasn't three hours... can't clearly remember. The guy certainly knew the roads though.

 

Either way, 1hr10m is good travel time for some waves from a city like Tokyo.

 

Spook - "The paddle across is a bit gnarly though, if you freak about sharks there’s also a ferry you can take".

 

Take the ferry!! That paddle across to Strady is horrible! A shark haven. Great surf once you get there though. Good call on the Sunshine Caost as well. Better water and weather and surroundings than the Gold Coast.

[fjef 0]

 Quote:

Originally posted by British Potato Council:
fjef - I was talking around the Ibaragi/Chiba boarder. We would travel at moderately bad times, perhaps it wasn't three hours... can't clearly remember. The guy certainly knew the roads though.

Either way, 1hr10m is good travel time for some waves from a city like Tokyo.

Thats's a bit north of here - I'm in the Ichinomiya area and with a Typhoon way out there, the waves should be good this weekend..

[slow 0]

 Quote:

Originally posted by British Potato Council:
fjef - I was talking around the Ibaragi/Chiba boarder. We would travel at moderately bad times, perhaps it wasn't three hours... can't clearly remember. The guy certainly knew the roads though.

That sounds like Kashima where the people in my office usually go.

[Yuki's Passion 1]

 Quote:

Originally posted by spook:
The paddle across is a bit gnarly though, if you freak about sharks there’s also a ferry you can take.

I grew up surfing in Hawaii up through some of high school and one of my worst experiences was seeing a guy get a chunk taken outta his leg at Waikiki in the summer. OMG, he had a huge chunk of his thigh eatin like it was a chicken wing. I still cringe to this day when I think about that. I actually like sharks, at least the buggers who dont think youre an afternoon snack. Some of the pics and vids on the net about shark attacks are just shocking

Im pretty sure that Australian sharks are only partial to Ozzie peeps

[slow 0]

I'm pretty sure that they can't tell if you are an Oz or not.

 

Surfing in OZ sounds nice. I'd love to see surfers attacking big waves!

[damian 0]

 Quote:

Originally posted by slow:
I'm pretty sure that they can't tell if you are an Oz or not.

Slow of course a shark can tell if we are Oz men or not: we look better, taste better and are far more fun and easy going that our uptight Anglo Saxon brothers from around the globe. It would appear though that sharks prefer a leg of Seppo more than a leg of Oz, judging by the frequency of attacks in Florida. No one ever gets eaten in England, but that is because there are no sharks there. Sharks know better than to hang around parts where the food is not so good . There are a few attacks in NZ, another Anglo stronghold, but most NZ sharks move to Sydney and dine there (with a grudging chip on their gills and a monotopic rugby mind). I can't comment of Canadian Anglo shark food, Canadians don't count anyway. Sharks don't eat stupid people.

Man, that was fun!!

 Quote:

Originally posted by slow:
Surfing in OZ sounds nice. I'd love to see surfers attacking big waves!

Surfing in Oz is fun, it is one of the few fledgling cultural aspects of our way of life that has developed in the last 130 years or so. There are many wonderful old black and white pictures of new Australians discovering 'life on the coast'. Surfing and the surfing ideal took off not long after that in Australia. But if you want to see men attacking big waves then Hawaii, the home of surfing, is the only spot to go.

[indosnm 0]

Spuds, you may hav been off with 3 hours but in my book an hour to travel for good surf is too farking long, let alone the crap we get here!

You boys wanna se some real sharks? Come to Sth. Oz. I saw one of the boys (during a break in a surf comp) have his leg chomped off and be mauled by a great white. One of his mates fought the thing off but he bled to death as it was just too far out to stop the bleeding.

 

I miss the danger of surfing, things you take for granted at home like ... stuff the jump off the rocks and get smashed, miss time the paddle out and get smashed, Paddle out with more than one mate and get smashed by angry locals, fark the take off and get smashed on the reef... get my drift?

The only thing to get smashed by surfing in Japan is by getting smashed in the head by some KOOK who has NO place being in the ocean in the first place.

 

I need some good surf!!!!!!!!!!!

 

When ya going to fiji spud?

[damian 0]

Indo got pissed last night

 

When do I go? I start my 2 leg via LA 25 hour flight in almost exactly 2 weeks from now.

 

I found a 7'2" that looks to do the job. Pretty decent second hand price as well... no buyers for them here, the guy has been trying to sell it for months.

 

I'm taking a 7'2" a 6'10" and my 6'1" that made one session at kirra live in my head forever. If it can handle that speed then I reckon it will be ok in Fiji on a small day (or perhaps I will leave the 6’1” and take my 6'3"... but it is super thin and I reckon I will snap it easy on a four footer). To be hoinest, I hope I don't need the 7’2 all that often, I don’t have the fitness for those conditions.

 

Been pushing out up to 2 hours of laps most nights in a rather crowded London pool (poor London, it is most certainly NOT known for its swimming pools, 3 lanes and 30m long is considered big, and there is one such pool for every 250,000 people...sniger and scoff, no wonder everyone is so flabby and sick-looking ). I can do a clean 30m underwater on one breath, but I don't think long hold downs are going to be an issue, more so reef bounces. I've never surfed over live coral before. I may be in for a serious noodle body arse kicking, which will serve me bloody well right for wasting so much life sitting behind a desk.

 

Some more Fiji footage. I have been warned.

[indosnm 0]

Spud,

 

Pissed yes! But which one!

Mainly pissed that this day last year I was going to Indo and this year I will be starved for waves. Get so bored with the easy paddle out, no consequences if you stuff up etc etc. At least we can get waves sometimes though.

 

With that swimming training you should be OK over there.

Where ya going again? Nagigia?

[damian 0]

I reckon you were pissed both ways

 

At least you get to surf!

 

So I took a look at the 7’2 gun and she's a beaut!! Just a simple Balin, but the shape is good, almost too thin which is ok for me. Narrow but solid. Its done 2 Indo trips and also spent some weeks at Mundaca in Spain. Who would ever have thought there would be a board like that for sale in the centre of London. Anyway, the South African guy I bought it off was a top guy, he even threw it in his car and followed me on my bicycle back to my house. This was pretty cool cause I wasn’t too excited about the idea of asking a black cab driver if he would mind having an Indo gun hanging out his taxi window and following me through the busy streets on my bike.

 

Now I am getting annoyed that I didn’t arrange the trip more to my needs. I am spending the first week around Cloudbreak.... But not staying there so cant surf it. Same for Namoto lefts. There are plenty of breaks that I can surf there, but will miss out of the best. This is because I let a mate of mine take charge or surf planning. The second week is with only one other person (J, female, never surfed) in Nagigia.... where I doubt very much if I will need the 7’2, but I am hoping to still need the 6’10.