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Barrel Thursday at Seals

The crazy season draws to a close. The glut of public holidays is behind us at last. The crowds that have over-run JBay, Seals and SFB for the last 2 weeks at last pack their cars (and their SUP's) and head off back to wherever they came from. Good riddance we say! 

Seals had some super ridiculously over-crowded days, almost worse that the December crowds actually. Things got a bit heated in the water at times, plenty hussling and the odd burn, but everyone still got there waves. The guys that braved the gale-force days still reckon they scored some good waves in amongst the wind ravaged creases. Gotto be committed to paddle out when it's blowing like that. Those are the days when your board comes back at you at a thousand miles an hour and pings you between the eyes. Did see the odd bleeding pip wondering about forlornly.

Towards the end of last week the banks at Seals decided to light up, after being dormant for much of the holidays. An insane left threw up gaping barrels down towards Lookout. The type that were so big that ou's like Simon Fish and Donovan Zoetmulder where standing straight up with their arms outstretched and getting locked in for the ride of their lives.

Kody McGregor was out there doing his best against the crazy rip to try get some shots of the ou's from the water. I had it far easier standing on the verge and shooting straight into the barrel. There was an equally ridiculous right peeling off from the rocks in the corner. Heart in your mouth drops followed by a super fast, but makeable, barrel. The Hill brothers, Shaun Payne & Simon Paton were amongst the happy punters trading shacks.

Everything comes at a price though. The ocean gives waves, but demands fiberglass in return. If your name ended in "o" you were going to pay. Jonno had his nose eaten at the right, Dono walked back from the left with just his tail. 

Saturday heralded the last day of west, and the last of the waves. Bruces had some inconsistent, but fun, sets. Hullets left dished up 1.5 overhead walls and Seals did it's thing most of the day - complete with 45 peeps vying for waves.

Yesterday arvie at Huletts there were a few SUP's infesting the line-up as usual, but one ou took the cake. Actually he took the whole bakery, bugger the cake. Let's admit that there is absolutely nothing cool about SUP'ing. Most ou's look like complete dorks wobbling on outsized boards sticking their asses in the air whilst trying catch a wave (and mow down everyone in the line-up in the process). 

This ou decided to take uncool to a whole new level though. Out he came with his Gath helmet with full face black visor!...at Huletts! Darth Vader on a SUP!!

You have more chance of dinging your pip out by falling on the slipway before you paddle out, so why on earth you need a Gath out there is beyond understanding, and then add to that a full face visor. Dork alert!!! Maybe he thought his paddle doubled as a light saber too? Anyway, he spent his session falling off the thing, so maybe that's what it was for - so he didn't hurt his head when he fell onto his own board....

Only Laird Hamilton can SUP with any semblence of cool - cos he's out there charging 10ft cloudbreaks, not 2ft peelers in amongst 20 other surfers. Horses for courses. Does anyone out there putt with a driver.....?

(With apologies to Craig Cuff who can actually stylishly maneuver a SUP - one of very, very few people round here who can).