Blue Snapper - Surf Photography on the Northern Beaches - Gauranga

Snapshow

Gauranga 16 Jul 10

(coming at you from guest / senior editor / New Zealander - Rangi Ormond)

Wake up late. Walk into lounge. Alex in front of computer........facebooking. He looks up, "I checked it early very windy and overcast 2 foot slop."

Downstairs, 20 steps and we are at the café. Coffee? Hot chocolate? Mocha? Yes mocha... eww, I don't like mocha's.
Breakfast. Walk 40 steps to beach, quick check to make sure its shit. 2 minutes. 5 minutes. Yes its shit, and cold.
Walk the equivalent amount of steps home, maybe passing someone Al knows on the way, if so an awkward meet, then stand in silence in the cold wind while he talks, two mins maybe eight if they are lucky or more important.
Home, couch and if I have been good Al will give me the privilege of his iphone. What will ensue will be a mind numbing and sweaty stint on possibly the most addictive video game on earth, it's Angry Birds and it's addictive as all hell. Maybe the fact I didn't grow up on video games (not by my own choice) added to my problem. Cabin fever has fully set in as this routine bar a few minor changes is how we have spent the last week... or two, I can't remember. Anyway what I'm getting at is: the waves have been poor, I have severe cabin fever and angry birds will be the end of me. Oh and also somehow through the rain squalls, heavy winds and poor conditions Alex has still managed to give you another quality offering. Don't get me wrong I love the Northern Beaches but judging by the photos that are consistently run on Blue Snapper anyone from abroad would think this place is pure wave paradise, day in day out.

Now that was a pretty depressing and serious take on my last week and it really wasn't that bad so here's something to balance that out and what I'm really thinking at the moment...bissssssshhhhvrrooomephashoom...bang bang...snap snap hop hop hot cakes, blue blue black snakes, cold cold cool models... One flew east, one flew west, one flew over the cuckoo's nest. I'm from New Zealand I only eat vegies and look at me. I'm ok, wouldn't you say? This write up took a turn for the worst about four lines ago... Hold on maybe that was 20 lines ago, that's for you to decide and for me to never know.

Its better that way.

r A n G i

	Billabong Pro J-Bay: Round 1 and the first two heats of Round 2 was nuts yesterday, looks like more will fire up this arvo and over the weekend. Jump onto the website and watch it live or get over to your mates place and watch it all unfold Live on FuelTV. Dane was absolutely mental yesterday, like a joke. Seriously.
	Portrait: This week meet Rangi Ormond (it's much easier if he tells you about himself.) "Born with my arm above my head, I entered this world like some sort of fetal superman. As a child I was stubborn, contradictory and shy. I physically dominated my older brother, the middle one. I once pulled a whole handful of hair from his head, and also king hit him into a washing machine. He deserved it tho, he used to mess with my mind, I know he did. I considered stabbing him at the age of 6. I didn't. My oldest brother taught me to surf, he was the cool one. Ladies loved him so much, they used to park outside our house and wait for him to come out. Once, when I was very young, he got me to walk down the drive and say "fuck off" to them. Playeerr. I'm quite sure he stole all the chick-magnet genes from the family pool... My parents have always been into alternative living, kinda like hippies but with less drugs and hair. My name, Gauranga (rhymes with Gore Hunger), means "golden one" and is from The East. My name was shortened to Rangi sometime in my early years. Rangi is a Maori name meaning 'the god of the sky' but in New Ziland it is often used as a derogatory term. I looked it up on the urban dictionary and here's what I got "Rangi the quintessential term to describe all those who are 1. poor 2. dirty 3. smelly 4. stupid. Example "Fuck that house is in a Rangi neighbourhood." I'm a vegetarian and I'm alright and I don't even like spinach, I hate it... I live in a hot dogging coastal surf town in Zew Nealand called Whangamata (said like fonga matar). People like to surf there... we surf so much that we have four surf shops to keep our population of 4,500 people happy. That's almost a surf shop for every thousand people. We like surfing so much and are so clever in our town that our butcher is called 'Meat' at the beach and his shop adorns a picture of a surfing pig. We probably like surfing about 3x more than you."
	Toby's Take: ex-WCT surfer Toby Martin has jumped on board with Blue Snapper. Toby as you have seen above likes to talk (about anything) and likes to write too. His favourite topic is surfing and he is going to give you his insights into the goings on in the surfing world. This week Toby gives us a play by play run through of the NSW state titles held on the South Coast late last month. Have a read here.
	a product of Cabin Fever: When the surf was flat and we'd had one too many coffee's, Rangi and I did a little project. Here are the results. Here.

Has been some pretty special waves around these past few days. Myself and a few escaped the Northern Beaches crowds and did a day-trip to the Mid-North Coast on Wednesday. It was amazing.

Check the latest forecasts and watch what's going on the webcams at coastalwatch.com

See you out there on the weekend.

cheers,

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Surf Report - By Ben Horvath (COASTALWATCH)

Swell: 2 ft ENE
Rating: 3
Water Temp: 17.6

Arvo update...Light northerly blowing, try northern ends for fun little waves. Morning Report: Waves 2 ft, swell NE at 7 secs, wind WNW-NNW 5-15+ knots, Similar conditions to yesterday though a little smaller, open beaches with 2 ft sets and light winds early tending more N into the day, waves have a little wind bump in them but starting to straighten with early offshore, worth a paddle but rubber up as water temps have dropped. Check Coastalwatch swell forecast.

Weather Report

Forecast for Friday Widespread morning fog and mist. A light morning shower or two possible then a generally fine afternoon with increasing high cloud. Patchy rain developing during the evening or at night. Light to moderate north to northwest winds, fresh at times in the afternoon.

Palm Beach

Avalon

Newport

Mona Vale

Narrabeen

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