Surf anyone?

Whoda thought - a southerly swell, cardigans on (Yes, real surfers wear cardigans!) in the middle of December, and nice big waves rolling in at the Reef. Isn't that a Winter weather pattern? Shall we blame Climate Change...or just paddle on and enjoy the ride? Took a nice picture of Champagnekate - thats her below*.


The MOB met on this awesome morning to soak up some good company and a surf before Christmas. (We missed you if you weren't there - you know who you are!) Champagnekate scooped 'wave of the day' leaving the best till last - and making sure we all saw as we stood on the beach and cheered. "Wave of the day?" she queried when she got out, "Which one? They were all good." Ever the smart arse!

Shall we do it again today girls? See you there.

SM
*This not actually Champgnekate, but some guy down at The Bend near The 12 Apostles when we were there in October. The waves Champagnekate were on were that big, I just didn't have a camera..!

Benny and the Jets (Ben Kennedy of course!)

What a night we had at the Jets!! There's nothing like a night out with the MOB - they shamelessly create laughter that follows them around like the lingering looks from the gentlemen in the next box. (Was that our newest recruit caught adjusting her cleavage on camera before she got up close to them?!)

ABC radio Newcastle put on a splendid night for us (Thank you Theresa, Kip, and Aaron), my lovely Husband drove the bus, and the MOB had the standard quota of champagne - all in the name of fun of course!

A few memorable mysteries:

Who was the mild mannered MOB member caught raiding the fridge at the Jets corporate box? Who managed to cheerfully spill their drink over the railing, refreshing the spectators below in a champagne shower? Who nearly caused a corporate box punchup over a dropped passionfruit? Hmmm, two of these answers are the same person...

I would like some MOB feedback on this - any other interesting tidbits to contribute? Comment please.

On another note - Batgirl and I had a lovely surf in the slick smooth water this morning. It was the perfect Sunday, gorgeous conditions, no wind and surfers spread out all along Diamond Beach. When you sit on that tranquil ocean and the MOB friendly waves just keep rolling in, it really is special.

Meditative even.

SM

We won! We won!

Can you believe it? Actually, I can. How could they go past a fun loving bunch of women surfers - and all mothers too? We are winners! The corporate box and a Jets games is all well and good, but we are really winners because we are strong women who essentially know how to have fun.

Thats all surfing is - fun. Importantly, I think its also about doing what you want to do. What do you do in your spare time? When time is free and you are not obligated to anyone else, what do you do? You give to yourself. And what does the MOB do when its playtime? We go surfing: good for the body, the mind, and pure play is good for the soul.

Stay tuned for photos of a rocking good time! (...its a bus trip involving champagne!!) ;)
See you at 4pm my friends.

SM
PS. Don't forget to ask Champagnekate about the photos of her sisters wedding!

10 Unique Friends

As you know girls, I have entered us into the Newcastle Jets corporate box competition - mostly because I don't think we get nearly enough opportunities to have and laugh and drink champagne (especially when someone else is paying!)

Saw a humpback leap entirely out of the water today. You know how they normally breach and flop? Well, this one fully cleared the water - dolphin style. No small effort considering the average humpback weighs 30-40 tonnes. The things you see surfing...

SM

Love your life

Annie and I tested out the new waterproof camera this morning. After the fateful tangle-up debacle we had a play and came up with some neat snapshots. The poor camera was covered in wax by the time we finished - I could hardly see through the screen! Still, we had fun, the water was delightful...as was the company.

It took me all last week to recover from our 17 road trip, but what a time we had! Suffice to say the south eastern corner of the continent has been investigated and also, yes, the dirt in the desert around Broken Hill is orange - just like in all the pictures!

The great ocean road lived up to its name and there was plenty of swell the day we drove to Apollo Bay (I have some photos somewhere...they are on new video camera which has not yet made it to the computer...) There were clean, unoccupied right handers all the way along the coast but dang it, I had opted for children rather than board (@#$%!!?). Never mind, it was rather chilly anyway (it was bloody freezing!)


Its a long way to go but the southern coast featuring the 12 (7!) Apostles is awesome! Spectacular to see the real thing. This big, bold country certainly has some unique features. Go see them before they wash away.


We also saw the famous Bells Beach in all its wind blown, freezing glory. No one surfing, but despite the wind the waves had good shape and plenty of size. Such a vast and treacherous piece of ocean - I can see why it's considered the ultimate in surfing trophies.


The kids didn't really appreciate all the getting-in-and-getting-out of the car (don't know why) but I managed to wrangle a smile out of Middle Child for the photo of us in front of what once was London Bridge. Remember that back in the nineties? The connecting sandstone "bridge" fell down and left tourists stranded on the newly formed island?
















Anyway, back in the real world the washing still piles up, the bathroom still gets dirty and children still have an unreasonable desire to be fed. But the verdict is that we live in a damn good part of the world where a couple of surfing gals can get out in the water on a Thursday morn and have all the waves to themselves.

Feels good.

SM

crazy parents embark on 16 day road trip

Ambitious or stupid? that is the uestion (the letter after P in the alphabet isn't working...) we have been asking ourselves in the lead up to this BIG ROAD TRIP. so far Matthew Reilly has helped out with a wild escape, a graphic shooting, a priceless "firestone", and the beginning of an impressive adventure. Ned has loved this talking book, and the dvd player also helps (an enormous amount indeed!!!) - thanks acturv.

Just been for a walk down to coogee beach where eldest bet her father $5 that he would see someone he knows - she won of course. derr! also, children wanted me to announce to you all (!!) that we saw todd carney (he nodded at me but I didn't know who those tattooed biceps belonged to until my 10 year old informed me - hee hee I love being a dopey mum) and also braith anasta (ho hum... no offence braith). spose I should start to get excited about the footy cause we are off to the big semi final between dragons and tigers tonight...

back to more important matters, champagnekate and i had our first surf at blackhead point yesterday!!!! ck dragged me out there - I thought it was too big but she wouldn't take no for an answer. anyway, we ripped. Imagine the photo above but with a 6 foot green monster behind her. she howled, she hooted and she flew down the face and carved her way in to the beach. It was fun, i got a few too. I recomend it girls! can't wait to do it again.

No surf for me for a while. Not unless theres waves at apollo bay and we can hire boards. will cross fingers.

children are happy and Husband is watching footy. so far so good.
sm
(Only one shift button is working, hence some inappropriate lower case. :)

Feels like Spring is here

We said goodbye to Lefty (the southern right mumma whale) a few weeks ago - she promised she, or one of the sisters would return in a year or two. Speaking of wildlife, Franbaby found a fairypenguin playing in the waves on Blackhead beach recently. A little bit off course but nice of it to visit.

Meanwhile, all the surfermums I know have been busy doing more and more of that thing that we do that gets in the way of surfing... work! And that other thing that our children do that takes away weekend surfing time... sport! But we can now see the light at the end of the tunnel - some mums were lucky enough to have their kids bomb out in the semi's as the season came to a delightfully crashing end.

Champagnekate performed well at a recent midweek outing when a bunch of local schoolkids (and their male teachers) were having a walk down the beach. She donned the wettie in record time, skimmed over the surface of the water, paddled through the break, went straight out to the rock and caught a cracking right hander for all to see. Nothing like a crowd to get that girl going!

Husband is taking me out for surfing and lunch tomorrow...hmm. I'm thinking lobster and champagne followed by some gooey chocolate mud. I can dream can't I?

SM

Mum and Bub

Doncha love technology? They say to make a mistake is human but to really f*** up takes a computer! My computer has had the equivalent of man flu recently - something simple and benign that could have been dealt with swiftly but it sooked so bad it had to undergo the full treatment - antivirus doodahs, countless hours at lotsa-money-an-hour and a complete reformat... for what? A stuck enter key! *@#$%!!!

Ooooommm...breathe Carla, breathe...

On a brighter note: Have you surfed with the whale lately? Husband and I had to shoo the old girl and her calf outa the way this morn - there were plenty of other places to mooch around but only one deep hole to surf into! Tough love, huh?


We are pretty sure they are a couple of Southern Right Whales, probably the mummy that has been sighted here frequently over recent years. You can tell a SR whale by the v shaped spout it makes when it comes to the surface. Also, it looks flatter on the surface of the water, unlike the hump of the Humpback whale. Husband taught me all this. In his former life as a Beach Inspector he was a renowned whale watcher and was referred to as 'Pod Boy'. He took this photo at Diamond this morning.


I know Batgirl and Franbaby had a splash with her on the weekend, and will confirm she is the size of an underwater semi trailer (??!!). They average about 15 metres and come to these sheltered backwaters (literally) to give birth. This miraculous underwater event happened on Saturday afternoon...at least thats what the local whale watching rumour mill says. I wanted to know how they knew, but the rumour mill wouldn't go into detail...

Meanwhile I have had 2 surfs in between netball and full time (did I mention that?!) work. Champagnekate and I ducked out for the surf of the week after netball one Saturday. We had a small window of opportunity involving no husbands and no children. So we took it. Brilliant! She is caught up on planet netball at the moment (State age championships) and won't get off for another week or so. Look forward to seeing you at your local rock, Ck!

And we are off to Red Rock this weekend. Never been before but will be hoping for some surf. If not, it'll be great to catch up with the motley crew from the north. Remember Ben and Ali? They haven't changed - still drink like Southern Rights!
SM

PS. Eldest Surfling named the mummy whale Lefty... she's a Southern Right, geddit?

MOB member moved to write...

My friend and I swapped boards when I could see hers was narrow and difficult to control and mine was wide and stable. Check out the dedication that follows -

A tribute to a surfboard called Bessie

Through Bessie I have overcome my fears and gained the belief and the confidence to know that I may just be able to do this thing called 'surfing'.

You see, I have been the slow one of the bunch, but Bessie has helped me in so many ways. She is always there when I need her and I love the times we spend together.

She is buoyant and keeps me afloat when I need support.

She is a little thicker through the middle than most, but she is colourful and pretty to look at.

She is always there when I need her and holds me afloat when I am out of my comfort zone or I feel a little bit wobbly.

When I show up overburdened with lifes demands, I spend time with her and my spirit is once again uplifted.

She encourages me to never give up and shows patience, staying with me wave after wave, responding only when I am good and ready.

Bessie doesn't hesitate to take on the white water for me and deliver me safely to the other side.

Now it is clear to me why Bessie is so special; she represents the collective attributes of the MOB - the girls I share the beauty and power of the ocean with. The ones I share the experience and the exhilaration of overcoming self imposed limitations through surfing. Bessie has given me something amazing, allowing me to do what I never imagined possible.

I have been blessed to know many a Bessie throughout different stages of my life, so I know that good friends really are something to be celebrated and cherished.

So here's to you Bessie - thank you!

Belinda Johnson.

And thank you Belinda. Everyone needs a Bessie ;)

Since I have finished study for the semester I have let my hair down, done a few jobs that needed doing and taken Husband to see Rickie Lee Jones at the Opera House in Sydney. She has been playing in the background of my adult life and it was great to see her live. Nice to be in a room full of other RLJ fans too (Husband was shaking his head in disbelief). The Opera House was in full colour and many other architectural landmarks were lit up along Macquarie St but the only thing that had enough light for me to photograph was this lovely lighthouse. Cute, huh?

While I was in Sydney I read that people only go out to restaurants these days to write about it in their blog so I feel obliged to mention that we had dinner in one of those all night restaurants at the Quay where the burgers are tolerable because its late at night and you are starving, and the chardonnay tastes like it came out of some smelly gumboot emptied over the kitchen sink straight into my wine glass. Well, it was raining that night.

Now, what can I dream up for this weekend...?

SM

Greetings from the desk

Hey, hey! Have you seen the latest edition of Pacific Longboarder Magazine? Jules the amazing photographer who can spot a surfing superhero at 20 paces gets her name in print and Batgirl makes an appearance in all her bat glory. I think its worth posting her up here again with the beautiful Cellito water behind her, don't you?

I have been so busy lately, I have hardly had time to scratch, but I did duck down the beach last weekend when the swell was pumping in around the Headland and snap some surfing shots. I heard Batgirl was out there (in her civvies this time) and I'm thinking thats her paddling onto that huge wave in the main photo just beneath the spray coming off that wave on the right... Look carefully, can you see her? Hmmm




Check out this photo one of the MOB sent my way - a young grommie carving 'em up. See the MOB gene pool showing through...? Go get 'em N.J! (Photo by proud mum Bel)


Anyway, I also heard that Acturv is ripping at the moment on her new board - if anyone snaps some nice pics, send them my way. That girl is all set for the main photo.



End of semester is coming up (Yahoo! Yippee! I might get my life back) and I'm thinking I might need some MOB time. I'm going to reclaim the weekend! Seize the day! Get me some me time! After coaching netball and watching my two other children play soccer and doing all the weekend housework that is...hmmm. Anyway, the surfing will be fun and it will be MINE!




Lifes good. ;)



SM

Ladies Hours at the Reef

This full-time biz is not what its cracked up to be. Sure, having actual money in the bank account is good, but you can't buy time out in the surf with the MOB. While I am sweating it out in the workplace(!), some MOB members have been patiently putting kids on buses and sauntering down to the reef at the sensible time of quarter to nine. Who needs stressful screaming mornings when you can keep Ladies Hours?

The MOB will be gathering tomorrow for a morning surf on this holyiest of days - Mothers (on Boards) Day. I can see it now: Mums on the water, perfect MOB waves rolling in, courtesy all round ("You go" "No, you" "After you" "No, I insist"), and Dads minding little angels who play delightfully on the beach.

I wish you all a Happy Mothers (on Boards) Day and I hope to see you in the water.

SM
P.S. I am dreaming of Term 3 when I can saunter with you; board under arm and sun on face.

Neighbours go Wild!

Damn, there is wildlife everywhere here! Neighbour gave a frightened yelp today when he discovered my friendly common tree snake in his outside toilet (cistern). I reffered him to my last blog post about identifying snakes and he eventually calmed down. ;)

Meanwhile on the other side, my neighbours found a possum that had trapped itself under the bird bath it had disloged, and was near death with a baby in its pouch. We rushed her to the possum doctor up the road (Shazza) and are waiting for results...

UPDATE: Poor baby died but Mummy Ring Tail was returned safely to the bush after spending a night at Hotel le Shaz. I was quick with the camera (in the dark!) and got her parting goodbye.

There were some surfing animals out at the reef this morning too - native surfers of the MOB variety. A couple of surflings were finding their surfing feet too - watched carefully by their Mothers On Boards. Had a moment of panic when I couldn't see my youngest on the sand though - turned out she was having a rest, poor thing. I know what its like to be whacked out from all that fun at the beach!

Good to see a couple of husband-wife combinations mooching around the rock this morning too. Some of these delightful parents were looking after/surfing with other people's children which I think is commendable, altruistic and damn handy when I'm trying to get a surf in and look after three kids at the same time! They say it takes a village to raise a child (Thanks L+W, F+M).

Warm water, sou'west wind and good friends to catch a wave with...Today was a gift. A Monday gift given to us by the ANZACS. We humbly thank all those men who fought and died for our country. And we remember those families who lost their fathers, sons and brothers. Lest we forget.
SM

Snake strikes fear into suburban couple

Husband gave a frightened yelp this afternoon and called out for me to come and help. I raced up the stairs to find a brown snake on the windowsill!

"Its alright, darling" I said, "its on the outside of the window!"

Ok, maybe it wasn't a yelp, and yes, he knew it was outside of the house, but I swear he looked a bit peaky when I found the two of them eyeballing each other through the glass. We bravely watched as the beautiful creature wound its way downstairs and eventually out into a tree. On the way it weaved through my boardies hanging out to dry. Thats the biggest snake I have had in my pants for ages! (boom, boom, tish!)

Oh, and when I said it was a brown snake - it was brown and it was a snake, but when I looked closely, it was actually a lovely yellow colour underneath and it had faint green flecks on its back -plus it climbed a tree, so the verdict is that is was a common tree snake.

Now heres a tip for all you Surfermums who need to know a snake from a snake: if its on the ground, RUN! (its most likely a dangerous brown snake, blake snake etc). If its up a tree/deck/pole, etc, its probably harmless (a climbing python, green tree snake etc)...Thank you FAWNA training.

My other tip for the week is: surf in cossies if there is no wind - its AWESOME! The water is so warm right now, lets enjoy it while we can. Thats what the surfermums were doing in the main photo Monday at the rock at about 4 o'clock in the afternoon - enjoying it very much! Check out the ear to ear grin on the right! That surfermum was loving it, and, yes - she did stand up, and the pair of them surfed all the way into shore and into their dreams that night...
SM

Sweet and Sucky

What a great Easter we have had at the rock - smooth and sucky, just how we like it. The MOB were out there Easter Monday carving their magic and weaving their way between rocks, children and the odd lump of testosterone. Speaking of such; Husband and I had a late surf yesterday - no wettie, no sunscreen, no hat - cossies only! It was brilliant, (although might need a new cossie...everytime I punched through a wave my top went sideways and bottoms went south!)

Keep your eye out for Batgirl in Pacific Longboarder magazine sometime soon. That kinda style just cannot be contained to this amazing blog alone. Much like the photo above - that girl's got talent, huh? ;)

This wacky guy I know put together this amazing marble run on youtube. I know you sensible people would never have bothered to look at any of the complicated marble runs out there on the net. I know you will find it hard to believe that people actually have the time to create a convoluted path for a lone marble to travel and then watch it over and over again, but they do. To get into the mood, have a look at this hopeless one.

Now take a post modern look at this work of art - it'll give him a thrill :

SM

Superhero spotted at Celito

I paddled out behind Batgirl in the surf on the weekend. It was so funny I nearly fell off my board and drowned laughing. There she was, calm as day stroking out to the break like it was the most natural thing in the world. Her black cape flapped out behind her and her bat ears were pricked alert. Her sleek black bodysuit shone with the slippery sheen of a surfer. Board riders parted as she paddled up between them like the Red Sea parted for Moses. Kids looked confused, dads were speechless...and I was having a hiccuping, laughing fit face down on my board, arms flailing uselessly. All you could hear for miles around was the crash of the ocean as it peaked nearby, and my hysterical giggling.


The MOB had a weekend gathering (two nights - count 'em!) of surfing and laughing unemcumbered by children and husbands. On these 'girls weekends' we could recharge our batteries with laughter alone (its been done before), but on this occasion Celito treated us with exceptional MOB conditions and we surfed all weekend long.

On friday ChampagneKate and I had 2 surfs!! She spent most of the time smacking the lip (literally) and carving up a storm on beautiful turquoise A-frames while I just watched in awe. Saturday we took a packed lunch and settled in for the long haul with 5 of our buddies. The Surferwitch scooped some gnarly waves, blue hair hangdoggin' in the breeze! By early afternoon we had worn down all the recreational surfers -they had packed it in and gone home! Only the hard core surfers were left in the water... We had it all to ourselves. ;)

Beebee, Franbaby, Cat, Lor and Jules were all out there pumping the big ones, skimming round the inside of barrels and flying off the lip before paddling over to the peak and doing it all again.

Aah, there ain't nothin like having a laugh with the girls. They will do anything for a giggle.

Surfermums help get the dragon past the line

Surfing seems to have gone temporarily out the window. Today, some surfermums and I were involved in Dragon Boat racing! The beautiful Manning River was host to what looked like an interesting array of water dragons and also some lazy caterpillas demonstrating how ridiculous 20 adults can look when they don't follow the 'Stroke'! Fortunately, we were more of the dragon kind and managed to bring home the dragon sized trophy. Yes, Redhead Roar (once referred to over the PA system as Red whore in a Freudian slip) were the victors on the day just edging out MCW (sorry Jules) in a photo finish. Aah the sweet smell of success... our victory will be one for the ages. For tonight anyway.

Many thanks to Petr, our spunky Czech drummer at the front of the boat who kept our eyes up and our minds wandering... oh yes, and to all those other chaps that helped us out. Good job.

Apparently we missed some nice waves while we were inland. I hate when that happens.

Nevertheless, local surfermums will be looking forward to the coming weekend where we will be letting our hair down and escaping the family for two whole nights! Wine, cheese, chocolate and plenty of laughs are the usual order of proceedings, followed by more of the laughing the next morning when we realise we have been so long out of the water, we have forgotten how to surf. One poor wreck of a surfermum informed me recently she had not had a surf since Australia Day!! Nevermind. Not being very good at surfing has never stopped us from having a damn good (if funny looking) try. We have no shame. Its the only way to live.

SM

P.S. Good on my lovely neighbours for having the vision to assemble the splendid and victorious dragon boat crew. Go the ROAR!

Surfermum gets a dose of culture (dahling!)

Glad to be back on the coast after our kid-free, whirlwind tour to Canberra. Lined up for an hour just to get in the door at the National Art Gallery and see the Masterpieces of Paris but it was well worth it. (Two days later the line up was 3 hours!) "Starry Night" is so much better in real life than on paper. If you have seen it you will know what I am talking about. How did Vincent make it twinkle like that over a hundred years later? That is the question!


Canberra is a strange place - lots of square office buildings but without the shops and the hustle and bustle going on beneath them. Just the odd suited public servant scampering about. Very easy to get lost (as Husband demonstrated), but managed to find a decent pub and Indian restaurant in which to settle down. Live music leaves a bit to be desired though. The same guy and his guitar played at the Irish pub (where the beer was hideously expensive) and then at the cheapskates pub (where we settled in later). There's an opening for anyone who can twang an instrument and take that guy on!


Back on home turf, the girls are getting pumped for the big, surfing, mums only, weekend away. Only 11 sleeps to go surfermums! Watch this space...

SM

Welcome to Autumn

You ain't missing nothing folks! What a miserable day - onshore winds, grey chopped up ocean and suddenly I'm wearing a cardi! My foot is functioning again and I am ready and rearing to go surfing... if only the weather would co-operate. :(

Husband is on holidays for a month and is starting to get underfoot. If the surf dont pick up the garden will be hacked to within an inch of its life and I may find myself being driven up the wall...

Luckily, we are off to Canberra on Thursday to see the 'Masterpieces from Paris' exhibition. (That should keep him occupied for a few days.) Its a long way to go to see some paintings hanging on a wall but apparently these artworks by van Gogh, Gauguin, Cezanne etc haven't left France before, so since they have come all this way, we thought we'd make the effort and go see them. Plus, its mighty far away from the kids, I don't think we will hear them fighting from Canberra...but you never know.

In the mean time, I hope the weather does the right thing and delivers on the weekend.

Tsunami day

Have woken with a clear(ish) head this morning after a girls night out at the local bowlo. (Hows your head ChampagneKate?). When I got in last night Husband was sleeping in the spare bed in my son's room (reverting back to childhood perhaps?) so I stayed up and watched the late news. A tsunami was expected this morning on the east coast of Australia as a result of an earthquake in Chile. Did anyone see a tsunami down there? I think it might have been a bit of early warning overkill - either that or no-one bothered to tell the folks in the local caravan park!

Husband and I had a quick surf yesterday, I was testing out my sore foot (it failed) while the kids sulked on the beach. Damn those kids were crabby! Are we the only family where the parents have to beg (then scream) at the kids to go to the beach?

Anyway, I was a one-wave-wonder which nobody saw, dammit! Of course it was a massive wave, I was carving up and down the wall walking the plank etc for about 100 metres before I did a double somersault over the crest of the wave, turned into a perfect pike position and hardly broke the water on my re-entry. Then I banged my foot on the way out.

So today is rest day. Maybe I'll take the camera down and see if any of the MOB can catch the perfect tsunami.
SM

Do you Woo-hoo?

Sick of minding the kids on the beach while hubby sits behind the break pretending not to see you frantically waving in sign language that you want to go home? Have you envied him the one blissful task of of searching the horizon for a wave, while you're at home prising siblings apart and trying to solve the mystery of "who started it?"

That was me until 2 years ago when I decided to find out what I was missing out on. My youngest was old enough to sit on the beach and watch while a bunch of like minded women we call the MOB (Mothers on Boards) paddled into the foam.

When its just the MOB, its bliss. No testosterone to paddle through, no egos breaking on our heads, just some good ole girls who want to have a laugh and maybe learn to surf. We help each other out with suggestions and helpful hints and everyone knows that nothing is too stupid. After all, its playtime!

And, of course, we WOO-HOO!

We have progressed (a little) since those early days and on any given morning there will be text messages zapping around to see who is up for a surf. This morning Annie and I had a look at a local spot known (to us) as Bill's track. Unfortunately there was plenty of swell but it just didn't look MOB user friendly - inconsistent break and plenty of potential to get mightily dumped. Plus I am nursing a foot injury (how on earth can you bang your foot on the sand bank so hard as you are exiting the surf that it feels like toes are broken??) so I am happy to wait another day.

Injuries? I would love to hear about your surfing injuries! I already have a Harry Potter like scar on my forehead that required 10 stitches! (The doctor who stitched me up suggested I send a photo of it into a surf mag but I didnt' think "Gash of the month" was a title I could be proud of.) I wish I could say I was riding a 6 foot wave above a gnarly reef when it happened ... it was more like 1/2 foot stupid piddler! The scar is much more impressive than the story - will post a photo of it. I can see a gallery of bruises, bumps, scars and stitches coming up...hopefully not mine.
SM