Planting begins...

I started a plantation of Palowna trees this morning. It may sound a little odd but it was an enjoyable way to get over the boxing day hangover...give it a few years and hopefully i'll be able to make something beautiful out of them!

The Fish-Fish prt 2

The latest developments from the beach cottage shaping bay... Dale's been working away at the rails over the past few afternoons and has got it down to this. Bit more sanding and cleaning up of the edges and he should be able to start glassing! Looking pretty nice fishy, can't wait to see her in the water!

PH

The Golden Saturday

Did anyone else see how amazing the sunset was in Newcastle last Saturday? I woke from my afternoon snooze to this eerie orange hue. Lucky I managed to get down to the beach just in time to capture the last of it. The pics came out a little under exposed in places but I'm glad I got down there before it got too dark. I find it strangely ironic that the beautiful orange light is most probably caused by pollution but never the less, it was a pretty special  end to the day!

PH

Late Lunch

Joe and I had some tasty salad sandwiches for a late lunch today. Full of goodness, including freshly picked lettuce from the garden. Hopefully they will give us a boost.

T-bird

The Fish-Fish prt1

Well Fishy went and did it! We have been talking about shaping a board for over a year and Dale finally did something about and bought himself a blank. He's working on a nice little 5'6'' twin keel fish. So far so good, next step will be the rails, stay posted for further developments!

PH

One mans trash is a Beach Cottage treasure!

Last week I had to drive back home for an interview in Coffs Harbour. I was having a terrible day, my car had broke down on the highway, I was four hours late leaving Newcastle and things weren't going my way. I was just about home and in a foul mood when I spotted this little gem on the side of the road left out for the council pickup. It's amazing how one little thing can change your day. She's early 70's, single fin, about 7 foot and fits nicely into the Beach Cottage quiver. Looks like an early gun so I'm not too sure how it's going to perform but I couldn't leave her there to rot. Hopefully have a few snaps of her in action in future posts!

PH

Anyone for a roll?

PENNY AUSTRALIA from Penny Australia on Vimeo.

Sweet little promo.

T-bird

Thanks Huey...

Last night Tom and I said a little prayer to Huey to deliever and what do you know he came up with the goods! The first offshore we've seen in Newcastle in about a month, a nice clean two foot of swell, what better way to kick off your Friday? Ok so it wasn't as nice as Noosa but hey, you can't be too fussy if you live in Newy. Oh and I got my first ten over on the stepdeck so I'd nearly go as far as putting this mornings sessions on the 'all time session' list, happy days!

PH

Point Breaks

National Park, Noosa

I would like some more of these please Huey.

T-bird

Control?

Yet another reason why I want to move to California... why are there no roads like this in Australia? Or is there? If so fill a brother in!
Ph
PH

Ghost Sliders

Pistol and I watching over our new craft.
Pistol is rolling a 9'7 Thomas step-deck, and i just got a 5'4 Valla twin keel vibe...dreams

T-bird

Under construction...

Life has been busy at the beach cottage in the past few weeks. It is usually at this time of year we go searching for projects that can keep us occupied through those long bouts of onshore wind. Dale's almost finished building a wardrobe, T-Bird's working on some pretty snazzy boardies and a surfboard bag for his new fish and I've been touching up some dings on the old faithfuls.Thinking back over the past few years its interesting to note how we've gone from project to project, always finding new things to keep us entertained. Hmmmm, perhaps we should try shaping our own surfboards.....

Finding the tip...

So my new log arrived yesterday afternoon (photo's coming soon). I had a little play on it this afternoon in some pretty average surf and it feel really really nice! This is a clip of the dude who shaped it, Thomas Bexon. If anyones in the market for a dream nose rider, he's the man you need to talk to!

Old Times

This is a photo dragged from the depths... Beach Cottage boys Pistola and T Bird circa 2004? Juvinial maddogs in the making!

PH

Addictive Lifestyle

  "Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it".

Marx

                                                                                           

Fish Out of Water

Its hard watching one of your mates who loves surfing miss out on some good waves. Dale, or 'Fishy' as his known around these parts has been out for nine weeks with soft tissue damage in his shoulder. After a brief attempt at paddling today he realised he still has some way to come before he can start surfing. This post is for you dude. I hope these shots bring back some nice memories, stay positive man!

PH

Shred the pavment...

Those of you who live in Newcastle may have noticed the construction of the new skate park at Empire Park in Merewether. Even though I'm not the greatest skater in the world I'm looking forward to when its all finished and we all have something else to do when the surf is crap. After watching this I'm questioning why people need a skatepark, these guys shred. I'd love to see some groms busting these moves!

PH

Slides and Snaps

I have spent a considerable amount of time in the last few posts boasting about how open and free my life has been in recent weeks. I apologise to those who are locked into full time work and have to read about my little adventures. If you fit into this category I suggest you ignore this post as it may make you hate me even more....

On Wednesday afternoon I handed in my last ever Uni assessment. I could think of no better way to celebrate than a pilgrimage to the land of the long right point break, so on Thursday morning I loaded up Stan and we headed off.

First stop was Cresent Head for some serious logging. I was blessed with perfect lines peeling through from the south and being a Thursday, I pretty much had it to myself. I thought I should probably call it a day when my feet and hands turned into prunes but I couldn't leave without getting a few snaps of the local groms tearing it to shreds.

Day two and it was off to Scotts Head, the old faithful. Unfortunately the banks are still in need of some attention but I managed to find a little something down the beach that dished up some nice slides and a couple of five overs. That afternoon I went for a walk around the old homestead and made the most of fading afternoon light.

On the third and final day I decided I would drop back into Cresent on my way back to Newcastle. I was met with a fresh four foot southerly pulse and offshore winds. After about an hour I decided I should probably keep travelling. It's  really hard driving away from such beautiful waves and the peaceful surrounding of the Mid North Coast of New South Wales. The only thing that could have possibly made it better was if I could share it with all my friends.... maybe nextime.

PH

Something for summer...

A new project is on the horizon at the beach cottage. My attempt at a bike, 'Bianca', left me emasculated and somewhat embarrassed. Rather than going down that path I think it's time I moved off in a different direction.
A brief conversation with a fellow logger this morning gave me an idea and after this I'm pretty much stinging to get myself a lump of Palownia!
PH

Just another super sunday...

Novocastrian's once again were blessed with a warm and wonderful weekend. There were plenty of waves to be had if you looked in the right places and the warm spring sunshine was a welcome relief from last Sunday's howling southerly. It concluded with a bang last night when this beautiful storm rolled through. Expertly captured by TBird, it was a nice view from the front veranda of the Beach Cottage and a nearby lookout! PH.

Fond Memories

I often find myself daydreaming about the five days the beach cottage crew spent in Noosa earlier in the year. The other day I was lying in bed thinking about that first magical day and it occurred to me that Tom Wegener and his apprentice were filming for the greater part of our last session. After nearly an hour of searching I found the footage. While none of us are actually surfing in the clip, its beautiful to watch as a reminder of how perfect it was. Enjoy PH

Weekend Escape

...A few weeks ago we assembled an all star team and got out of Newcastle for the day. The logs got a serious workout for an hour or two followed by some carpark soccer and photography...

Walking the morning plank

Envy is something I experienced first hand when I was on my internship. Driving past the beach on the way to work every morning and watching clean lines peeling through made it really difficult to motivate myself for a productive day. Fortunately that is behind me for the moment and I have had the freedom to spend every morning for the past three days in the water. A small part of me feels for unfortunate souls who I watch ramble past with long faces on their way to work. A larger part perhaps to my mates who have to put up with me gloating about how good the surf has been in the mornings. But for the moment I'm going to ignore my bleeding heart and enjoy the uncrowded tranquil conditions.

Yellow Fever!

A word of warning for those planning starting up a tropical fish tank. The beach cottage has been inundated with babies in the last couple of month and while I admit the little guys are pretty they need to go. The novelty has well and truly worn off so if anyone wants some little fishies let us know!

We're rolling...

Talking tactics, above the blue line???

Big Z, a very happy boy

Rob put the old 'duck bill' to work

Exiting times at the beach cottage as some little projects finally come together. Weekends spent out in the shed and many trips to the strange and wonderful 'bike man' have paid off and some lovely, fixed gear bliss is ahead. To celebrate Zubu and I met up with JZ , El, Rob and Kwaku for a test run at the velodrome...

T-bird

The wait is over!

After almost a fortnight of onshore winds and lumpy swell, Newcastle finally dished up something nice for the board riders. When you sneak in two surfs before lunch you know your having a good day. The fact that the school holidays are over just added to beauty of the day. Stoked!
PH

Newcastle Loggers

JZ with 5 over!

Nice view!

 JZ looking very pleased with himself.

 

T Bird perched with 5 over!

Novocastrians are somewhat limited for choice when it comes to good waves for longboarding. The beach breaks are inconsistent, there are no decent point breaks within range and when it is good things get very competitive. So how do we manage to sustain any sanity in this god forsaken place? A high tide, decent period, some local know-how and a little place we call the 'Cowrie Hole'.

PH.

New boards the order of the day...

...the beach cottage will be expanding its quiver in the coming months. T-Bird placed an order today for his new Valla fish that I'm sure he will elaborate on in later posts'. I've got a deposit down on a new log and Dale, who recently injured his shoulder and cannot surf for another few weeks, is finalising designs for an Outer Island thruster. It's really shaping up (excuse the pun) to be an exciting summer in the water! And this is why we love it.
PH

Another long wait...

Frustration is starting to set in at the Beach Cottage. A week of onshore rubbish leaves you with three option:
a). Travel-Unfortunately everywhere else within range is suffering the same fate.
b). Sit it out- Not a real option.
c). Hit the pavement...

Beach Cottage Boys in tree barrels and BBCP

Spaghetti Pete

Sidewinder Fishburn

Tight Trim T-Bird