Dance Off Your Face

Dance off. Alisha vs Screech. from Cahill on Vimeo.

Between Two Coors

Check this interview I did with team MOBORUSH on another slow Hawaiian evening. Nic wrote the questions and Adam couldn't see them until he asked me. If you get over it skip to end to see an amazing bonus section.

Todays guest: Cahill Bell-Warren

US vs THEM

Vote for LAURA, OWEN or GARRET in the Surfing Magazine US vs THEM poll.

Surfing Magazine have tried an interesting concept, putting three of the top juniors from both the USA and Australia on a boat, film it and bring it to their readers to decide which country is in control of junior surfing.

The surfers they selected are...

Australia: Owen Wright, Garret Parkes and Laura Enever.

America: Nat Young, Kolohe Andino and Alana Blanchard.

Their audience is strongly American based and we need to do what we can to support our Australian representatives.

Follow the link below and vote for Australia.

http://blogs.surfingmagazine.com/video/us-vs-them-voting-begins/

Surfline Clip

Dropped a wave in a FOX clip on surfline.com. Check it out it has a heap of waves from Jarrad Sullivan and Eric Geiselman. The waves have been shithouse but we have managed to get some keepers.

http://www.surfline.com/video/featured-clips/north-shore-a-week-in-november_38826

Moborush Quiver

I know it has been a while since I have posted anything, since the Philippines I went to the Goldcoast for a few (wave starved) days. I am now in Hawaii and instead of going to the effort of producing something post worthy, I am stealing content from www.MOBORUSH.com. Check it out if you want to see my Hawaiian quiver, honestly it is missing a 6'1 and a 7'2 but it does the job.

Evening Smiles

Another evening in the Philippines. Noah, Ibis, Adam.

Noah Lane, man behind the San Miguel Light.

Ibis, showing his best side.

Ty and myself, enjoying another night at 101 for dinner.

A few of the locals wanted us to sign their shirts, then along came a girl who wasn't wearing a whole lot so we ended up singing her skin. Funny shit.

Local Kids

I was walking to dinner with the Watson brothers and we got swarmed by 1000 local kids...

Waveless In Paradise.

Walking out the front gate of our hotel.

On the boardwalk the local groms tell me its pumping. Everyday is pumping in their eyes.

At the end of the tower I am greeted with a dismal sight. Another waveless day in paradise.

The view looking across the lagoon back to land. Much more attractive than the lineup.

Next stop, Bones' Sports Pub. Its a sweet little bar on the beach.

Choosing which seat to sit in could save your life, around the tables are Palm Trees laden with coconuts that could drop at anytime and end your life prematurely.

Bones and his assistant Smiley keep guests hydrated.

Happy hour has 50 cent beers, Philippine Dreaming.

Philippine Motorbike Fun

First we had to get some Petrol...

When Ibis worked out the manual gears we hit mach 10,

and the cops were stoked to see us ride by.

We found a crazy abandoned church,

and met some super cool local kids.

Noah made a new best friend,

and we saw some animal cruelty,

Then we headed home to tell the world our story....

Philippine Dreaming

Long Haul Laughs

Who said long haul flights weren’t interesting? My flight from Melbourne to Singapore was a somewhat entertaining.

Sitting to my right was an Indian man, who was more than capitalising on the free alcohol. When one attendant refused to serve him, he would attract the attention of another and when all avenues were exhausted, I would order a beverage for him. He must have had a bladder of steel and managed to last around four hours before his first piss. It was only when he lifted himself to his feet that I got a true indication of his drunken state. He swayed as though the aircraft was going through intense turbulence and had some serious trouble dealing with the latch on the lavatory door. He tried to strike up conversation with me on more than one occasion, however his thick Indian accent and Johnnie Walker induced slur rendered my brain totally unable to comprehend him. I did manage to work out he was going to India for a year, I reckon I would be pretty legless if I found myself facing the same predicament.

Seated in the row in front of me was a middle aged Asian woman, who looked as though she was battling the same “turbulence” as my Indian friend. She repeatedly ran to the toilet, her hands covering her bloated cheeks and mouth. Each time she returned to her seat even more colour had drained out of her already pale face.

Then there was my experience. Not wanting to let my Indian friend drink by himself, I enjoyed a few plastic cups of Beam and coke. I had a solid giggle watching the Hangover, a movie I was yet to watch in its entirety. It was Dakota Fanning’s performance in the movie “Man On Fire” that really got me going. It was old school Dakota, her deep blue eyes drawing me deep into the film. Basically the movie was about her being kidnapped in Mexico City, despite the best efforts of Samuel L Jackson to saver her. He ends up trading her life for his in a climax that drew tears to my eyes. I didn’t even have time to dry my cheeks before we landed in Singapore. Making that flight one of the fastest 7 hour journeys I have experienced.

As I write this I am somewhere between Singapore and Manilla, every key stroke meaning one less moment I will be on the plane.

New Weaponary

Picked up some new rafts from CORY today. Amongst the pile in the image below is a 6'1, 6'2, 6'3 and a 6'6. I have an 8'6, 7'6, 6'9 and another 6'6 and 6'1 on the way. Looking forward to doing a quiver shot when all those boards arrive in my possession.

Below is a some art my good friend Myles did on the 6'2. He is the man behind the sweet brand mylestone, check him out more at www.mylestoneapparel.com

64 Sparklers

TBC Website

I have been captured in a few images that have been run on the Torquay Boardriders Club website. You can keep up to date with contest results and scheduled event dates at www.torquayboardriders.com.

adambennetts.tv

Check this site out, one of my good buddies Adam Bennetts is a pro surfer / filmer / DJ and all round good bloke. He has an interesting story to tell and you can download some of his epic music altering work at www.adambennetts.tv

Perth Bells Clip

Check this clip of Perth Standlick from the Billabong Pro Junior at Bells a few weeks ago. Clip by empireave.com

Perth Standlick // Bells Beach Billabong Pro Junior 2009 Winner from EmpireAve on Vimeo.

Moborush

It happened a while back, but I got a run on MOBORUSH.com. Check the site out for an interesting look into the lives of Adam Robertson and Nic Muscroft.

First Love

First Love Sponsor Preview from First Love on Vimeo.

First Love is a feature length surf movie that takes an in depth look into the lives of three passionate young girls from Phillip Island en route to making a career out of surfing.
The film documents the everyday lives of Nikki van Dijk, India Payne and Jess Laing, the trials and tribulations of training, competitions and injury. The camera follows them to Hawaii for their first crack at the heavy North Shore waves, where we gain and insight into the world and lifestyle of Hawaiian female surfers.
It highlights the recent rise in standard of womens surfing and touches on the attitude surrounding female surfers at a grass roots level, in an inspiring (and not overbearing) way.
The cinematography will highlight the raw beauty of the Victorian coastline, with a specific focus on Phillip Island. This footage will create a great juxtaposition against the scenery captured in Hawaii, comparing two completely different climates and cultures which are so central to surfing.
Most importantly this film will emphasise surfings positive effect on ones life, as well as the universal feeling that surfing leaves with all those who fall in love with it.
With magic footage and stellar photography this movie will surprise, entertain and inspire a generation of female surfers.

Bin Night

The worst thing about living in the scrub is bin nights. My driveway is over 250m and there is nothing worse than having to take the bins out on every second Tuesday night. I always forget to do it during daylight hours, leaving me to do the run at the mercy of the local werewolves and axe murders. Fortunately I have some mates at mine for the Billabong Pro Junior, meaning that there are extra hands to help. I drove while Perth held on to both the recycle and general waste bins with the boot open. He was struggling to keep them upright, I suppose that me lining up the pot holes did not help, I was loosing it laughing.

In The Studio

Recording voice overs for the "Next Wave" TV show. Check out the show on Channel 10 on Sundays at 1pm.

Manly Pro Junior

Click the photo to see how shit the surf actually was.

Teams Titles 2009

In what could genuinely be the greatest comeback in Teams Titles history, the Torquay Boardriders Club took the Victorian Teams Titles Title out in small fun waves at Jan Juc.

Going into the tag team heats, Torquay trailed Phillip Island, meaning we had to win both of the tag heats to take victory. A stacked Phillip Island team comfortably took victory in the first tag, with Torquay taking second, Penninsuala third and 13th Beach in fourth.

Morale in the TBC camp was down and arrangements were being made for what appeared to be an impending bus trip to Phillip Island in 2010. With nothing to loose, TBC took to the final tag heat with confidence. Harry Mann led the troops, nailing a risky reverse on the inside section on his first wave and executing a series of cracks on his second. One surfer in and we were in the lead. Torquay stalwart Tim Hawken hit the water second, no stranger to teams events Tim took no time to lock down two solid scores. I tagged with Tim and motored out to the lineup. Sitting with Phillip Island's second surfer, Eli Curry, I took my time to select my opening ride. After what seemed to me to be eternity I stroked into my first wave, throwing down a series of turns to the beach. I looked to the Torquay camp positioned on the beach and received the signal to claim the wave, the double whammy score. Up went my two arms, followed by a tension releasing fist pump as the boys on the hill went mad, it was a 7.43 which would add 14.86 to the team total. My second score was a around a 6 and I tagged TBC president Dave "Disco" Matthews on the shore. Upon returning to the cliff top, where the club was positioned, I was informed of the heat situation. We were way out in front, with Penninsula, 13th that Phillip Island battling it out for second.

Club legend Stewy Hawken had done the maths:

If we were to win the second tag and the Island finish second, PI would win the teams titles.

If we won and PI finished third, it would come down to a surf off.

And finally if we were to win and PI finish 4th, we would take the victory.

The tension in the TBC tent atop the Jan Juc cliffs was registering at an all time high, it wasn't a case of us wanting PI to fall, more a situation where we needed 13th and Penninsula to lift their performance level. Our final surfer was current U/13 Womens ratings leader Zoe Clarke. Zoe nailed two great waves and made her way to the beach with time to spare.

All we could do is wait.

Beers were cracked, ready for the presentation.

As Surfing Victoria Operations manager Pete Murphy read the results, we could sense victory.

"Taking out the Victorian Teams Title for 2009, Torquay Boardriders Club"

Check the photos below for what happened soon after....

Intense Wave - Jordin Watson

If you are on the internet, you will most likely know that the Fantastic Noodles Intense Wave Invitational went down on Thursday last week. It was the first junior tow contest ever, and the single greatest winners prize money ever.

I went down to Kiwi Sam Hawke who took the lead from me in the last few minutes of the heat with the first 10 point ride of the event.

The day had an incredible number of highlights that I will write about over the coming days. The first of these was 17 year old Jordin Watson's performance. The apprentice plumber had never tow surfed a wave over 3ft and was in the event as a replacement for QS campaigner Owen Wright. Jordi drew local Josiah Schmucker in the third heat of the day and definitely had his work cut out. It would have been easy for Jordi to shoulder hop a few and let Josiah do his thing at his local, but Jozal went beserk, pulling into closeouts and riding some of the biggest waves of the day.

Have a look at these shots I borrowed from on swellnet.com.au.

There is also an interview with young Jeezy at

http://www.swellnet.com.au/sessions.php?session=Jordi_Watson_Big_Impact_010909.php

Someone really needs to sponsor the kid soon, he is a talent worth supporting.

Fantastic Wait

After a long month of tripping over my boards on the floor of my bedroom, the Fantastic Noodles Intense Wave Invitational is finally going to be run. Ben Matson from Swellnet.com.au has been closely watching the conditions for the South Australian coastline and decided that this coming Thursday is THE day. You can watch it live at http://www.intensewave.com.au/. Stay tuned to the Token Victorian for more updates on the event.

Its Elementary My Dear...

All the hours slaving over the keyboard for the Token Victorian blog have payed off. The legendary lads at Tracks Magazine have published a piece I wrote on the Red Bull Junior Surfmasters at Werri Beach. You can see it in the October 2009 Issue. A massive thanks has to go to Luke Kennedy for giving me the opportunity.

The Chocolate Factory

After a dinner with some of my good mates at the Beach Hotel in Jan Juc, I decided to have a crack at the Chocolate Factory machine. Simply, the Chocolate Factory is a skill tester style machine, where you direct a metal claw over a pile of chocolates with the intention of picking some confectionary up. When you get enough items built up on the collector, some will drop down into tray at the base of the machine where you can claim your prize.

Tonight I was in some serious form, netting my own personal record number of chocolates. I even managed to nab a stuffed yellow frog, who was definately the odd amphibian out.

Check these shots to see our winnings after inserting $4 into the machine.

Even More Waves In Victoria.

More footage from Glen Hurst at Pool Room Productions. 

Its been a good week here in Victoria.

Winki from coastalwatch on Vimeo.

Waves In Victoria?

Video proof of the conditions we have had over the last couple of weeks. Video by Glen Hurst at Pool Room Productions.

Victoria from coastalwatch on Vimeo.

The Lure Of The Closeout

Bells Bowl. Friday 31st July. Images from Pool Room Productions.