The week that was...

Twiggy on a 2ft day at Jaws...OK, make that 20ft!

Hawaii went off it's 'nana. PE? Not so much. Twiggy hooked some monster sets despite "only" ending up with a 5th. Watch the highlights. It's worth it.

In the trend of Saffa's going big this past week, JBay's Steven Sawyer won the Longboard World Champs in Taiwan. Proof that nice guys can win! And that #localislekker!

Coupla ou's who are more familiar with turning for a quick single than bottom turning rented some boards form Surf Centre this week. Faf du Plessis, Ryan McLaren, Chris Morris and Heino Kuhn were in town for the cricket during the week. I reckon there were more guys in the line-up at Pipe than there were watching the game unfortunately. Giants vs the Rocks? Back in the day St George's used to get packed out for the Benson & Hedges night games.

© Gavin Rother

On the other hand, someone who knows a whole lot more about whipping tail than whipping the willow is Rickey Bassett. See anyone flying down the line at Seals and doing crazy stuff? Most likely Rickey. Worth taking a seat on the fence and watching the show.

Ricky Bobby © Gumboot Camera

If you spotted a fancy-ass looking cruise liner in the bay it was the MS Europa paying us a short visit. The German owned ship has been voted Best Cruise Ship in the World. 

© Luc Hosten

Least they missed the usual howling east followed by howling west cycle that this time of year is known for. It does mean if you're watching the wind like a hawk and can time the wind switch perfectly you at least have a chance at snagging a few bowls before they're blown flat.

© Luc Hosten

Hawaii also got pomped by the wind (the wind chop at the Jaws event was bigger than a good day at Pipe). The guys at the Van's World Cup at Sunset Beach have also been scoring some kegs, and JBay's Matt McGillivray is in the 4th round.

Matt © WSL

Skollie alert again. Last week a surfers car was diefed from Pipe car park. Nothing worse than coming back from your surf and staring at an empty parking bay. As usual the "car guards" where nowhere to be seen. Not too sure what options one has these days for trying to keep your cabbie safe whilst you getting a wave. Battery operated pythons on the dashboard maybe? 
Cos face it, you'd also cry buckets if your car got nicked.

SAVE YA TAIL!  A noteworthy head's up from shaping guru Dennis Ellis from The Boardroom SA. Deno pointed out that todays boards have leash plugs sitting much closer to the tail. Meaning most leash strings are now too long, and will thus chomp a hole through your tail if your board yanks too hard in a wipeout. Reason for this is the advent of future fins. The longer fin box meant that the leash plug was forced further back (cos both the fin box and leash plug extend quite far down into the deck of the board so can't be over each other). Fin placement is standardised so the leash plugs were just shifted back on all boards. So. Now you know! Save your tail and shorten that leash string up, and make sure the leash rail saver actually touches the rail - and isn't off the back!

The red tide is still pretty thick out towards JBay and St Francis, Whilst looking siff during the day it shows off at night. St Francis photag Clive Wright got a lekkerphotograph of a photographer taking a photograph of the bioluminescence in Cape St Francis Bay. Quite a light show.

© Clive Wright

For those lighties keen to take their surfing up a notch or two, there will be a high performance clinic at Seals during the hols. Chad du Toit (who has coached Jordy Smith amongst others) will be teaching the groms how to improve their technique and other tricks of the trade.

Always great to see old pics of the beachfront. First thing I always check for is if there was a wave - and in this case looked like Millers had a good one! Once the surf check is complete then one can suss out the rest of the shot. No Shark Rock pier yet. Taken some time in the 60's or 70's.

Not too much on the forecast this week. But pretty sure everyone should still be able to have a bit of a paddle. Luckily PE surfers have pretty realistic standards about what's gonna be on offer in the bay during the summer and adjust their expectations accordingly! Paddle out with the mind-set that you'll be stoked if you get a wave. Then be double as stoked when you get two!

@aydy_smith