Nigel is a ratbag. There are only two places where I am likely to run into Nigel - the beach or the soccer ground where he goes to see his daughter play. The rumour is that Nigel is a hard-working, successful businessman who travels extensively between his home in Byron Bay and his office in Melbourne. I am not convinced. I think he just surfs and watches soccer. Whether the … [Read more...]
Teen’s toes attacked at Tallows Beach
Jack is a tremendous young bloke. The just out of teens, tall, blond, lean, good looking lad, quite unremarkably for a tall, blond, lean, good-looking kid from his hometown of Byron Bay, is a fanatical surfer. Byron Bay kids just love the ocean and surfing. His passion and talent for surfing may not be particularly unusual in “the Bay” but there is nothing unremarkable about … [Read more...]
The little surf that nearly ruined a promising career…
It’s tough when you grow up in a place where hanging out at the surf is a way of life then, suddenly, work takes you to a place that is land locked and the ocean and waves become things that you can only dream about. I know. It happened to me. Years back I moved from beautiful Queenscliff Beach in Sydney to dreary old London to progress my career and, for the first six months … [Read more...]
Battle of Palm Beach – the day the surfers stood their ground
These days surf life savers and surf board riders happily co-exist on Australia's beaches. In fact, many surfers are now serving members of their local surf life saving clubs. It wasn't always so. There was a time when the two tribes hated each other... and occasionally even came to blows. This fictitious yarn about a bad day at the beach is based on real events that happened … [Read more...]
Nothing ruins a good surf like a couple of blokes with automatic assault rifles…
A bad day in the surf normally means a nasty wipeout, a broken board, an argument with a thug, an injury (like a cut or a broken bone) or a selfish drop-in. In all your worst nightmares could you imagine a bad day in the surf involving blokes with automatic weapons turning up, just when the waves are good, to drag you away or worse? In this addition to the WAVES OF PAIN series … [Read more...]