The Final for 2008

It’s hard to believe another year has crept on by. 2008 was a blur. 2009 will mark 10 years of these Aquabumps daily updates. What started out as a photo email flicked to a few of my mates has grown to 30,000 loyal subscribers all over the globe. Who would have thought…Some subscribers have been […]

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Silly Season

It’s that time of year again where Bondi is under a siege with drunken travellers. Monday mornings are always interesting early..the bushes in the south end are rustling, stark white geezers wrestle amongst the shore break in their undies, whilst a lone soccer-jersey wearing fella is out-cold-face down in the sand – not even twitchin’ […]

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Insomniac

Roaming around early today to catch a spectacular sunrise. At 5am the waves were around 1-2 foot and looking weak. This new southerly swell had picked up around 8am (consistent 2 foot) and looks like it will get bigger as the day progresses. I’d say by night fall it will be 3 foot +. Unfortunately […]

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Intermittent corner bumps

That predicted southerly hit last night cooling down temps and flattening the swell. Well what was left of it. Waves have dropped to 1 foot-ankle-biters…but if you waited long enough in the southern corner…say 15 mintues, a decent mini wave (may) appear. Regulars Andrej and ‘The Professor’ clocked up their morning quotas (The Professor lectures […]

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Low tide hacks

Yesterday was a spectacular day of surfing. Sydney was on fire and it was a salubrious beach day. Thousands hit Bondi’s shores whilst working on the base tan for summer, not much working going done in the city. The SSE swell has dropped overnight leaving 2-3 foot down at Bondi. The 6:20am low tide exposed […]

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Slab

Yesterday’s booming swells have relaxed into well formed 4-5 foot, clean, highly surfable waves. The winds are now a favourable NW swinging NE later. The swell is still from the SSE. The midday high tide at 1.93 metres (huge) is going to hide most of the goodness for a while. Always telling when there is […]

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Rogue Burgers

The amazing thing about living in Sydney is how close you can actually get to big waves. Today the swell is up, waves at Bondi thundering across the bay around 8 foot…mean while you can sit poolside and have a coffee at Crabbe hole (Icebergs) just metres away and check the sets. Last night Bondi […]

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Hooowwwl

This ain’t summer… Hasn’t stopped raining all morning. At least the car is getting all the salt washed off it. Mini waves in Sydney today – 1 foot, Bondi was pretty much flat as it’s a NE swell (missing the south facing Bondi). Good day to get some work done. Here are some images from […]

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Aquatica

The rain is bucketing down this morning and the beach is deserted. Scrappy 2 foot mush on offer down at Bondi – not really worth a surf. Raining tomorrow as well. Didn’t get any decent shots this morning so I dug through the archives from recent trip to Fiji – where the skies are blue, […]

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early change

At 6am there were small waves at Bondi, 1-2 foot, clean. At 7am the south change hit smashing the delicate NE swell which had been building overnight. By 8am it was a onshore mess so the early risers scored the best waves of the day. The swell was NE so Bondi isn’t your best bet […]

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bakin’

Cracker summer’s morning with tiny 1-2 footers. Even if small waves aren’t your thing, a spectacular morning to be down the beach. The Bondi shoreline was a hive of activity whilst the surf was pretty disappointing. Might be a good idea to get used to it – cause there isn’t much swell inbound. For the […]

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subside

We finish the week on a flat note. Waves are 1 foot and a beginners dream run. Swell looks to be from the east, winds from the north, balmy 29 degrees forecasted. The forecast for the next 7 days is do your Christmas shopping. There are no waves on the radar. The talk of the […]

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mixed bag

These violent south changes are quite special. Last night if you were down the beach around 7pm it transformed for a dreamy glassy summers day into a rage of southerly fury. This change produced swell for this morning (2-3 footers), but the ocean hasn’t recovered from recent agitation – so it’s very messy. Amongst the […]

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fade

The memories of those Monday piping joys are fading to this flatness. Today the waves are tiny. I’m talkin’ too small for even the smallest of groms. Of course there is still a crew of people out enjoying a stunning morning of stillness and unusual cloud formations. Checking the swell charts brings little relief. Thursday […]

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Shows Over

Oh my, yesterday was a phenomenal day of surfing @ Bondi. On dark, before the violent south change, Bondi was puttin’ on its best. Milky glass pipes entertained an eager crew. Unfortunately the shows over as today fades into near flatness – rapidly. This morning there was the odd set wave around 3 foot but […]

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Tunnel Vision

It’s not often we get barrels down at Bondi. If we do its more of a head dip into a ball of froth. I see heaps of dudes claiming ’em. Today there were barrels. Good ones. Real ones. Meaty ones. Barrells that kind looked like they were from somewhere else. The south swell that arrived […]

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dozer dribbles

It’s a bit like checking your shares…disappointing. That swell we had yesterday has been knocked around by the howling northerlies, leaving dribbles this morning. Bondi had micro 1-2 footers with absolutely no push. Pack of hungry mal riders in the middle having some fun. That dreaded ‘Dozer is back on the beach straightening the beach […]

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busy

It a very busy time of year for most people. Christmas is coming and everybody wants everything finished before Christmas. But there is one thing you should try and squeeze into your busy today… that’s some time down the beach. Not only is it a stunning beach day, sunny and 24 degrees, but there are […]

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Supply

A fresh supply of sou-easterly swell is consistently pumping into Sydney’s beaches today. Waves at Bondi were a decent 4-5 foot, but the flanking ESE onshore was making its presence felt. Bondi had the odd random wave but the banks weren’t really handling the size. I’d suggested a protected reef break…maybe something out of town…it […]

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Cross-shore-chunks

Plenty of swell around… but the annoying sou-sou-easterly was disrupting our chances of decent waves. Bondi was blown out and of no use. Bronte had a small wave in the corner 3-4 foot, being slightly protected, I but didn’t really rate it either. Manly perhaps? That’s if the south swell isn’t marching right past their […]

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Volatile

The weather has been so volatile lately, you just don’t know what to expect. The weekend’s easterly swell has dissipated and now we have a brand spankin’ new south swell – with plenty of grunt. At sunrise it was only 4-5 foot, the last time I checked it around lunch it was 6 foot plus. […]

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fools gold

With all this swell around somewhere has got to be going off. A brief drive thru the eastern suburbs beaches proved fruitless – fools gold. This decent NE swell is completely missing Bondi and streaming into Bronte and Tama – but the high tide is killing it – fatness everywhere and many closing out. Didn’t […]

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dark

You should really think about surfing today. At sunrise (well, I think there was a sunrise behind all that cloud), the waves were bumpy but 4-5 foot. Since then the waves have cleaned right up and with NW predicted this afternoon, it looks…good. Hit a NE exposed spot (not Bondi). SDS opening last night SDS […]

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the wet northerlies

The start of a new NE swell has arrived. And so has the rain. Bondi had a wonky waist high wave, not really doing much. The wintery weather was quite off-puttin’ – barely anyone out. Other beaches looked average as well. Swell is due to increase today, hittin’ the 3-4 foot heavens at exposed NE […]

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corner peaks

There is a little wave in the southern corner of Bondi this morning (2 foot, odd one slightly larger). The south swell has dropped after a pretty decent session on dark last night. Winds have started to blow 15 knots from the NE and the clouds will increase their presence. Tomorrow a new NE swell […]

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stab wounds

Onshore-Overcast Bondi can be a good escape from the very crowded sunny days. Crumbly 3 footers were surfable this morning. Quality was lacking but you’d still find the odd wall worth sliding. Swell is from the SE, Low tide 5:30am, high tide midday This week is shaping up to a great week for surfing. The […]

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Windswell blues

This ENE windswell has knocked up some 3 footers at exposed beaches (e.g. The Bra). Its a windswell, very weak and flat – not ideal. Bondi was much smaller, 1-2 foot being hidden from this swell direction. The 9:26am high tide wasn’t helping things…fatness everywhere. The current NE winds will blow hard 25 knots later […]

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Pancakes

Amazing day. Sun is blaring. But just no waves. This mini east swell is only trickling 1-2 footers on the middle bank of Bondi. High tide is killing it. Other beaches in the eastern suburbs share the same fate. Maybe the Bra may have a shorey…but really it’s a swim day. Maybe a dribble wave […]

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ENE

A little ENE swell is lurking around Sydney. Anything facing that way would have a rideable 2-3 foot wave this morning. The early morning high tide was creating some serious fatness around the place… South facing Bondi was neglecting the swell, where as Manly, Freshie, The Bra would all have a better wave. Strong NE […]

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The Hive

Not much surfing going on this morning (again). Even though the beach is now a hive of morning exercisers losing winter excess baggage, the oceans have failed to provide a rideable wave. A distinct peak in the middle had every mal in Bondi out. Good day for beginners or just a swim. Nice warm day […]

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mondee

Not much happening around Sydney in regards to surfing. A weak windswell dribbled into the beaches producing 1-2 foot bumps. The charts are promising an east swell later this week. Saturday and Sunday should be the biggest days (8 secs, 3 foot – E swell, Northerly winds). Until then, enjoy the good weather, 24 today, […]

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agitation

In stark contrast to yesterday the conditions have deteriorated considerably overnight. The south change hit late and Sydney’s oceans are still agitated from it. The waves have halved to 3 footers and were very messy early… should improve as the day progresses as the grooming northerly winds kick in. But how good was yesterday…Sydney was […]

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Overload

What a morning… To kick it off at 5:15am the morning sun cooked a thin cloud hanging over Ben Buckler. The colours were exceptional. Combine that with clear skies, a summery maximum of 28 degrees and a fortunate north wind/south swell mix – and we’re having one of the best days in a long time. […]

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Late transmission

Sorry about the late update. Good waves today. A good for me way to gauge if there are good waves is that my daily shots only take 20 minutes – instead of waiting 2 hrs for a freak set. Peaks all over the place today…4 foot this morning and at 2pm (when I last checked […]

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Giddyup

Big day for the punters…good ole’ Melbourne cup, Giddyup. A crazy day in Australia where later on tonight you’ll see drunken young lasses running around in frocks minus a shoe, where the TABs see more money changing hands than a recent stock market crash, and a day that nobody seems to do any work. Mad […]

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glass addition

2pm yesterday we received a spike in swell bringing joy to the weekend warriors. Bondi had a fun (fat) 2 footer on offer until night fall. Unfortunately the swell has dissipated overnight, its now breaking around 1-2 feet and very close to shore. Still marginally surfable but today is probably the smallest day of this […]

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Psycho

It’s going to be an interesting day weatherwise… Started off cool and overcast, currently 28 degrees. Then later today it will cook to 36 degrees. Thirty sixer. Tonight a south change will rip through dropping the temps back to 22 for tomorrow. All over the place. Psycho weather. Good for a swim after work though. […]

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submerge

Today is not a surf day full stop. Onshore mush, grey and rainy with no swell. Sunday afternoon and Monday are looking like the next promising days. Until then perhaps watch the stock market spasms, de-wax boards ready for warmer water or watch the new taylor steele surf flick (stranger than fiction) Today’s shots are […]

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mini

Mighty fine morning down the beach today. Spectacular cloud formations as we heat up to a perfect 28 degrees. The firing swell from Friday to Sunday has evaporated and a tiny NE wind swell is evident at our beaches. Bondi was close to flat, best head down to The Bra or go for a swim […]

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waves

Well that’s something we haven’t seen in a while – waves. Good ones. Bondi was a playful 3-4 foot this morning and the rain has even stopped. Good time to go for a paddle seeing it’s blowing offshore and the crowds are low. In fact all weekend should be pretty decent so I would head […]

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