As I am typing this, my whole body feels a little tired, my tummy is full of soup concocted by my lovely wife and I am glancing over the laptop's screen to some epic photos being downloaded onto my editing computer. My hair and body is still a little crusty from the salt and I have that warm fuzzy feeling all over me.

Today started with some strong winds during the night and morning, with MSW and Wavescape both giving very optimistic forecasts for our region. That was evident because people pulled in from everywhere and even at Tubes there were about 20 bobbing heads. From what I gathered, the vibe was very positive despite the crowds.

I watched Blue Crush with my family this morning, after we woke up too late to even try and make it for church. I did not bother going to do an early morning surf check because I was pretty sceptical about the super positive forecast. Just after 14:00 I made my way to Supertubes and setup my camera rig on the boardwork. The surf was still small, but there were a couple of 4ft sets that came through and there was no short supply in takers.

As usual, lots of people had stuff to say about the lens and camera and a couple of people asked me the usual questions which I gladly answered. One of the standout moments were when Deon Lategan pulled in on a set wave and had a double barrel. I actually thought he's not gonna get out of the last one, but he popped out of the foam and claimed it while we all hooted. By 15:30 I had enough of watching the other guys getting slotted and grabbed my board and paddled out at Tubes, thinking I could surf as late as possible and make a quick exit through the channel when done. I kept a keen eye on the forecast and saw that the swell height will peak at 18:00. Starting from 17:00 there were some monster sets that came through. I'm talking solid 6ft and sometimes a little bigger. (Well, maybe we just got soft during summer?!) The sets were all 3 big waves and then a bit of a lull to catch your breath. I surfed two sessions on Saturday and my energy levels were not all that great which made grabbing a wave at Tubes a little difficult. Eventually I had a couple of good ones and before long after one bomb, I found myself in the dark at Point with only John Day. We sat for about 20 minutes. I caught a bomb, but then it faded and I kicked out. John had a go after me, but bailed. Eventually I hooked a big one and rode it almost to the beach. I was pretty stoked and next thing I heard John hooting past me. I could only see his white eyes and teeth reflecting and the white wake behind him as he raced past me. He proceeded to do a text book foam ride after the wave broke and was on dry ground as I was still making my way over a particularly slippery part of the reef. We were both super stoked and he remarked that he can't wait for winter.

Neither can I John, neither can I. It's going to be an amazing winter. Bring it on!

(Photos and thumb vid will be uploaded as soon as I'm done editing.)