Quick Vic Road Trip

All photos by Andy Smyth.

With work squared away and a week-long opening in his diary, Andy Smyth cast his attention west, across the gulf from his Fleurieu Peninsula home.

"I usually go west of Adelaide, to Yorkes or the Eyre Peninsula," said Andy. Yet bad winds put the kibosh on a mission toward the setting sun and his mind started drifting towards the odd jobs that needed to be done around the house.

Fortunately he was spared from that drudgery by the contents of Craig's written notes for the coming week in Victoria. To wit, "this Thursday through the weekend will see 4-6 feet of swell with moderate westerly winds."

In the time it takes to say 'towball', Andy had the Jayco hitched and completed an about-face, now pointing his chariot east along the A8.

Much has been written and said about the unexpected Sudden Stratospheric Warming that occurred in August. However, it's not only the weather watchers who are in a fizz, as many a Victorian surfer is benefiting big time from that semi-mysterious event.

The places best served are reefs open to south-west swell and which are offshore in a westerly. Marquee reefs around Torquay are the slam dunk options, however they're not the only ones. Midday on the way to TQ.

Black rubber, white board, and eyes focussed on a hundred metres of feathering lip.

Ethan Ewing caught in a lovely moment of unweighting - a high-performance version of the high line glide, replete with speed release rail spray.

For days the sky remained cloudless blue, yet at times the water turned a dull ochre as clouds of sediment moved with the current. The source, from all reports, was the cliff collapse just down the coast at Point Addis.

The slip occurred on August 25th following an earthquake on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula. Yet another mysterious event with results rippling outwards.

The '84 Jayco in its happy place: top popped, plugged for power, and resting in the shade of the blue gums.

As much a part of the landscape as the cliffs and coastal heath. How often do we see this, Winki firing with Adam Robertson throwing his weight around - and very often on a board that rouses curiosity. Shaped by Richie Collins, this double-flyer, swallow-tail Thruster has the same colours as many of the boards Richie rode to VHS glory.

"I loved PUMP and Filthy Habits," said Robbo.

Back to a plain white blade, though there's nothing ordinary about Izzy Norling's attack. With his toes hanging off the tail, Izzy has maximum power as he counterweights his body through a radical turn.

Slipping into the shade, Ed Waters takes a cowboy stance into the next feathering section.

One moment gliding, the next moment Ethan applies maximum force to this crushing turn.

When Winki is firing the road to Lowers requires a straight shot through the guts. Cody Robinson like a bullet down the barrel.

Another one from beyond the 3228 reefs. Under air-brushed conditions, good reefs became great and even bog ordinary rock shelves became waves you'd travel for.

Last day sunrise, and on a dropping swell too.