It’s not often you’ll get an Aquabumps daily report before 9am…so you can hop back on your chair now. There is a big south swell in town flanked with rain and – now – wind. Bondi only had 1 lone ranger out, Mr Eddie Scott, paddling out from the boot and picking off the rare […]

Today has it all… It kickin’ off with a fluoro sunrise as neon hues splashed above Ben Buckler…then came the 4-5 footers from a south swell…wow, not bad…then I saw a few meaty caves in the southern corner in front of Icebergs…looking back towards the pavilion there was a good health/wealth ACP event on with […]

As expected it’s howling onshore this morning with a rogue southerly swell hitting. For a brief moment there the sun actually came out before being smothered by a dark rain cloud. When is it going to stop raining? I spent 2 weeks in the rain in Mentawais and now a week of rain here – […]

The rain hasn’t stopped all morning making it difficult to shoot anything decent. Hence the flash back to last week’s Mentawai gold. If you like surfing Bondi @ 3-4 foot and with only a handful of guys, today is your day. Just excuse the drain water runoff and ugly skies. Winds will swing ESE later […]

There were good clean waves yesterday afternoon, but it’s not so great now. The rain also took the gloss off the morning. This week only improves from here on though…a new ground swell hitting tomorrow. Best days Wednesday, Thursday – Friday morning is looking real tasty. So I’d hang out until then. Rainy day Random […]

Finally the rain stopped and the onshore winds have subsided. A neat little 2-3 footer is on offer at Bondi and there’s very few in the water (god ole’ quiet Mondays). A great day to paddle out…even if it’s only small. High tide 5:30am, low tide 11am, high tide 5:30pm. Winds NW/NE. Cold out, warm […]

Hi y’all. We’re back in Bondi now and a few shades darker. After a brief visit to the beach with the camera I’ve defaulted to the safe haven of our recent Mentawai’s imagery. Why? Well…15 knot, sloppy, onshore, 1 footers weren’t my cup of tea. Oh it’s pouring with rain too! Boo! The good news […]

I am well aware that reading these photo updates for the past 2 weeks may have been frustrating whilst you’re sitting in a cubicle, trawling Facebook (especially when Sydney has rain). Well, you’ll be glad to know our Mentawaian junket is now over and the Bondi updates will resume. Yep, charter boat Tengirri returns to […]

The anticipated swell has arrived and roared in, in true indo fashion. Bank Vaults lit up for a large crowd from the local resorts. (Yep, there are now resorts and camps up here.) Heavy waves at Bank Vaults (at 6 foot) – when you’re in, you’re locked in. Bank Vaults is also as shifty as […]

Well, the waves have been consistently good and now we have a large inbound swell. BUT, the wind (“angin” in the local lang) is playing havoc. Storms are ripping through as intense lows grind along the west coast of Australia, smashing into the Mentawai Islands. Surf options are limited and we’re mainly hiding in coves […]

Hi there. We’re still in the islands. Get a lot of questions on email so I’d thought I’d do a Q+A special: How long are we in Mentawais? Back in 1 week, half way thru a 12 day charter around the islands. I like it here. Big swell hittin’ here soon. Why? Good waves – […]

Uge has taken the bold move of inviting me to write today’s update. I’m standing in the wheel house of the Tengirri after just surfing perfect 3 foot rights at “burger world” on day 4 of our boat charter. Here’s how you really know you’re on a boat trip… You’re taking more naps during the […]

Hi there. Hope the claws of winter haven’t dug deep in our absence… Over here it’s 30 degrees, glassy with 3-4 foot waves. Our boat has anchored up for the day against a remote left hander. A playful wave with a easy going take off and forgiving reef….(not like yesterday). It was a nice change […]

Another day of magic in the islands, similar to yesterday. At sunrise the right was 4 – 6 foot, ultra clean and tubing… (and dangerous). Our young gun Caleb Reid punted for the heavens wave after wave. Like a child in a candy store. One of the boys on the boat got tangled in the […]

Selmat Pagi. Welcome to the Mentawai islands. We’ve been here together quite a few times now…(our 12th trip can you believe it?) If you don’t already know, the Mentawais lie 200 kilometres from Padang, Sumatra (the port that got hit by a large earthquake last year). The Mentawais is a series of wave blessed islands […]

I had expectations of 1 footer dribbles this morning…oh how very wrong I was. The charts weren’t forecasting any energy. Bondi was 3-4 foot and consistently breaking. What a neat little surprise. The offshores are howling and chilling deep to the bone. The water, however, remains remarkably warm. Low tide 8:30am, high tide 2:40pm…I say […]

Not sure what to make of the surf this morning. It’s a concoction of Southerly and Nor-Easterly swell (as Bondi to Bronte seem to be attracting something from different angles). Really nothing special on offer though… Clean conditions… just not enough swell. Cloudy periods, NW winds and the odd shower today (Max 22 degrees). Bondi […]

Welcome to freedom town where the waves are small (knee to waist high) and every wave is a team wave. Some bumps had 8 mini mal wielding wild childs rippin’ it up. Pure chaos as loose boards flung in each direction. Be careful out there – today is more dangerous than 8 foot Bondi. My […]

After a fruitful weekend of waves in Sydney (in fact most of Australia had something decent to offer), we’ve defaulted back to 1-2 foot, overcast Bondi this morning with a recent south change rolling in. The swell origin is still south (so Bondi will be drawing the most out of this micro swell) but the […]