The crew at Tools surf products are really getting things going at the moment. We recently reviewed their legropes and wax scrapers and now they have released a brand new line of tail pads that are getting snapped up by the bucket load. They are the first ever tail pad to use carbon fibre… plenty of strength in these babies. I’ve got the black one, but they come in all sorts of funky colours and patterns.

Buy the grips online from their website http://toolssurfaustralia.com.au/online/

With teamriders Adam Melling and the recently signed Jamie O’Brien they are looking to be going places. Below is a little clip of Adam Melling testing Tools products in West Oz…

Something a bit different today… swapping aqua lips for concrete ramps. Its a total wash-out today with this east coast low causing some havoc around the place… really not ideal for photography, so we have edited up just a few of the photos we took last weekend at the Corindi bowl. A few of my surfer mates turn out to be pretty good skateboarders. After a morning of waves we headed up to this beachside skatepark and shot mostly video of these lads tearing around the bowl… here’s a few stills we shot in between (thanks goes out to Brayden who was my flash buddy for most of the arvo)

Jacob Murray going large last Sunday arv

Well after the sun went down

John Schmidenberg – tons of style in the bowl

Mark Merrikin’s air game is nearly as good out of the water as it is in

Muzza was shredding… If ya scroll bout half way down THIS GALLERY you will find a few more from the bowl session

The highlight of this morning was definitely that heavy sea fog that engulfed the lineup at sunrise. Combination of some overnight rain, no wind, a clear morning, cold air temps and super warm water all came together to give the ocean a “smoke on the water” look. The bright yellow sun was also a welcome surprise after many weather reports tipping heavy rain today. The surf is at its lowest point of the week thou. Only really suitable for Longboards or the micro groms on this mornings high tide, may improve a touch later with the dropping tide but you are probably better off waiting for a new south swell that should be rocking up sometime tomorrow and into the weekend.. it will be flanked by some strong southerlies but there should be pockets of surf-able waves in the protected areas. Enjoy the morning sunshine while it lasts! (main pic: Andrew Steed enjoying that rare sunrise through the sea mist)

Jacob Murray from “Let it Flow art & photography” getting some rad landscape shots in the mist today

wheelie

steaming ocean

Ben Donnelly

second morning shift heading out

Sammy Arvidson 

good board choice for this morning

Off to school… see a few more from this morning HERE

This morning is pretty much the Coffs Coast at its finest. It started with a blazing sunrise.. one that would stop anyone in their tracks…and then there was the surf!…. pumping barrels with light offshore winds, a south-east swell around the 3 foot mark and a mid tide. Put all these ingredients in a bowl and you will have the entire 90km of the Coffs coastline throwing up some super fun waves. I know we often ask for bigger swells, but in reality the sandbars along here all seem to work their best around the 3-5 foot mark. The options would have been so plentiful today… I really hope you all scored a little bit of magic… I hate to think of all the possible spots that would have been firing, but you can only be in one place at a time… my place was fairly happy! (main pic: pretty sure its Jai Cougle in a stunningly lit tube)

Jono Chan encased early today

That fairly radical sunrise this morning

So pretty 

view from the surface right on sun-up

Hugh Chan

so warm in the water… a little cold out

Another one of Jai Cougle’s pretty lefthander

That south swell is edging in a little more this morning, it was very shy over the weekend and never really made a big appearance on the Coffs coast. Some south-swell magnets had some fun waves on the right tides, but it was far from solid. This morning seems a little better, the open beaches were turning on some hollow little kegs in the morning offshore breeze… and that breeze was chilly!! it was 3.5 degrees at 6.30..way, way warmer in the water, such a relief in fact when you dive in. Hope your Monday is treating you well so far. seeya!

oh have you entered the free board comp yet?? click here to get your ticket (its freee!!)

3 degree air temp… 21 degree water…bit of golden sunlight and a hollow shorebreak… yep its May

offshore plumes

scruffy mutt

nice light first thing this morning

crazy sunrise colours… dude getting pitched in the lip

Jono Chan sneaking through a sick little backdoor

Us surfers must be “social beings” today was a great example. I was on a beach that stretches at least 1km long yet all 20 people that were surfing were right on top of each other. Yes there was an okay peak happening there, but I can tell you there were far better waves breaking 100-400 metres down the beach with no one interested in them. The more amusing thing is, there would have been people out there grumbling about the crowds. If you don’t like crowds, don’t complain just walk 100 metres down the beach… I see it every day, there are so many miles of sandbanks that never get surfed and they will only start getting surfed when a carpark is built in front of them.. maybe we are social or maybe just lazy… but we are so much luckier that what most give credit for in this fine country.

have yourself an amazing weekend!!

A nice little pulse of East swell was around for the early birds today

Empty barrels – and no interest from any punters this morning

This lill chick seems ultra keen…down there at dawn most days

Wilcannia kids can surf!!

22 kids from Wilcannia made a 18 hour bus trip to surf Woolgoolga beach for 2 days with the Solitary Island surf school. 95% of these kids had never seen the ocean before and when they hopped off the bus yesterday morning they were that excited!! some run straight into the waves fully clothed!! Quiksilver and Vegemite had organised Tom Carroll to come and meet these classic groms and push them into their very first waves. These kids were dead-set naturals, stomping waves right to the beach from the get go. It was amazing to watch. There will be a film clip coming out of this soon that was filmed by legend filmmaker: Bali Strickland. I will be sure to post it on the website when it hits.

Jamie and Mason saying G’day from Wilcannia town.. they are cool and now they can surf too!!

Darryn showing the kids of Wilcannia some of our beautiful coastline

I swapped dawn for dusk again yesterday to bring you todays shots. Normally its the morning shift, but a change to the evenings gives a different sort of light and normally a different crew of surfers, although the only two surfers out last night at this popular beach were Brett Caller and Matt Sibbabld.. two fellas that do the morning shift everyday as well. The guys were having a ball out there, not because the waves were pumping, but because they were riding single fin longboards.. just goofing around and surfing when most didn’t bother.. Matt’s quote – “I just can’t help but smile every time I kick out of a wave riding this thing”

Matty Sibbald swapping his “air act” for some stylish noseridering late yesterday evening

a boat

The photogenic Brett Caller

Brett taming a very old..very heavy old mal

Matt Sibbald looking for that backdoor 

Yesterdays overcast skies held tight right up until the last half hour of light. I put off picking up the camera for the whole day, but when that dusk light started to shimmer across the ocean I quickly loaded up my water housing and got my shots for todays post. Waves were only tiny, but it was enough for the arvo crew to wash off after a day of work/school. Weather is looking bang on for the next 4 days at least… stacks of sunshine and offshore winds…beach days ahead! might be some better swell arriving Sunday. (Todays main pic: Shaun Cansdell slicing the dusk glass off)

Nick Coulson golden light entry

Nice time to be in the ocean

Shaun Cansdell – tail release

“Synchronised Surfing”…. it’s the new rage

The two pics above are of Craig Freeman… A tops dude who cruises around in a van full of boards and guitars. He plays his music mostly up and down the east coast and has a EP called “any other day” I got a copy off him last night and gave it a spin on my drive back home… really cool stuff from a Coffs Coast local. Check out his website www.craigfreemanmusic.com . He is actually playing tomorrow night (Thursday 16th May) at the Hoey Moey from around 6.30pm

Jack Veale late last night – couple more shots from last night HERE

Its a John John Florence clip… and its good..

BEGIN AGAIN from John John Florence on Vimeo.

Feeling a bit flat? Not eating enough vegies? Drinking too much beer? Want to surf better and for longer? Let’s talk about spirulina.

What is it?

Spirulina is a spiral shaped algae that grows underwater. I think of spirulina as nature’s multivitamin. There are abundant amounts of a whole host of vitamins and minerals and because it’s completely natural and unrefined it absorbs well into your system.

Why I recommend it to my customers:

It helps to rid the body of acid, boosts energy and is great for vegetarians and vegans to increase iron, B12, essential fatty acids and protein. I also give it in high doses to athletes and people who are really physically active who need extra nutrients to keep their energy levels up.

Clean and green:

Spirulina is rich in chlorophyll (which gives it such an intense green colour).The chlorophyll is high in magnesium and a fantastic blood cleanser. So if you’ve been overindulging and need a gentle detox, give spirulina a try

How to use spirulina:

Look, it’s a green plant so it’s not going to taste like strawberry milkshakes. It tastes a bit grassy. So I recommend first time users to take the tablets. But if you want to try the powder add 1 tsp to your banana smoothie, fresh vegie juice or a glass of apple juice. Because it’s going to give you an energy boost, have the tablets after brekkie.

The perfect post-surf smoothie:

Whizz up in a blender:

300ml of coconut water or apple juice

1 tsp of spirulina powder

½ cup frozen berries

1 Tbsp LSA (linseed, sunflower, almond meal)

A handful of chopped pineapple

1 banana

Some ice

A handful of baby spinach

1 cup of water

Emma the Naturopath xx

Visit Emma’s awesome little health shop (Essential Health) in Coffs Harbour (The Boulevard Arcade Shop 24, Harbour Drv) (02) 6651 4533

See her first 13 posts on our website HERE

Emma Locandro   BHSc (Nutritional Medicine),  Adv Dip (Naturopathy)

Essential Health 0266 514 533

Mondays “colour dollars” were all spent in the first 10 minutes at dawn today and no expense was spared. One of the best sunrises of the year so far I reckon. Judging by the way the sunrise pics lit up my Instagram feed from way down past Sydney to the north coast I’m thinking the whole east coast got the same treatment. Nice way to start the working week indeed. After that amazing start everything went to a dull shade of grey. There were a few glassy waves around, just no one really surfing at the beaches I went to, so with the sunrise shots in the bag and no chance of getting any surf action shots to match the vibrancy I already had, I just went surfing all by myself….Jeez I’m so in love with this part of world! (main pic is a self portrait backed by some awesome morning glory)

My favourite beach at around ten past six this morning

little glassy waves with no one around

worth setting the alarm clock for

Coffs Coast magic

new surf health post from little Em

This week Emma Caller from Essential Health talks about the benefits of Spirulina. I drink two teaspoons of this gear with water every day and keeps me going like a big train and gets me up for morning sunrises like the one above no worries at all… get the good oil here