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