Long, gentle, green and glassy waves were breaking along the golden sands at Coolangatta this morning. The sky was pure blue and the temperature 'just right'. There was no question about whether to get in or not... Mr Penumbra (my flower covered 6'0 surfboard), got a lot of love from one of the old guys at the beach. "Nice style board you got there son - and proper graphics too". Clearly a connoisseur. After an optimistic session that landed me a few rides, I decided that to get the most out of the conditions, today really ought be a longboard day.
A short walk along the promenade after lunch soon found us at the quicksilver board store, where I opted for a 8'2 plank for the afternoon. There was a 9'4 on offer as well, which might have been fun but looked a bit too much to handle!
You'll need to really zoom in on the photos, but the change of board was instantly revealed as a good choice. Paddling out was fast and required much less effort, and my wave count sky rocketed. With only a few others in the water and the surreal city skyline behind, I felt very happy.
It's the best feeling when the wave picks you up; you wait a second, pop to you feet, feel in control and you're off... Behind you the waves is curling over and breaking, but up ahead stretches and builds a green ramp of water for you to glide along, racing it as it tries to get ahead of you.
They might not have been the biggest waves, but they sure were good fun.
It was getting late and my arms could paddle no longer. After a pretty spectacular tumble, involving me 'going over the falls' and ending with some painful contact between the fin and my knee. (Thankfully my wetsuit softened the blow), I staggered my way back to the glistening sands of dry land- utterly shattered.
We are both well and truly surfed out, and very happy about the feeling.
Coffee and cake from a beachside bar helped to give us the engery to get back to camp...
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