Katani

01.06.10 - Katani Autumn Surf Report

The first 2 weeks of May were some of the best conditions we've seen on both East and West Victorian coasts for some time. The quality and consistency of swells was ridiculous and made sure that everyone got more than their fill of waves.

The Katani team riders (Simon "Arab" Hall, Danny "Balls" Walstab, James "Weighty" Weight, Shauny "sheep-horse" Davies, Andrew "Bronzie" Bronzvoort) were not going to miss an opportunity like this and made sure they were amongst the action with many pre dawn, after work, "sick days" and weekend sessions to remember.

The surf coast was firing! Bells was pumping for a 2 weeks straight, which meant so was everywhere else. On May 10th, Bells was a solid 8-10ft (see photos 1 & 2) and 13th Beach was doing a pretty good impersonation of Pipe/Backdoor (photos 3 & 4). Shauny and Balls decided to beat the crowds and missioned to a semi secret beachie in the area scoring 4-5ft perfect A-frames with only a handful of lucky others. A day that would see multiple surfs at different spots and a body that felt like a 95 year olds for the days following.

Further West and some big wave spots were lighting up with Luna Park putting on a show that all the kids loved. Tassie photog Matt Tildesley put in a solid 8 hours at Shippies the day before, jumped on a plane and was out shooting big Luna's for another 6 hours the following day. An effort that earned him a few shots in this months Australian Surfing Life (Issue 262 for those playing at home).

Towards the end of May the West coast began to settle down and everyone thought that tired bodies could finally be rested and some work could get done, just as the East coast sparked up. The swell that pounded the Surf Coast for 2 weeks in early May must have done something right for the Mornington Peninsula because banks have started appearing across the whole Peninsula from Gunnamatta to Portsea... and have been cranking! Only problem being that despite dropping water temperatures and some near freezing mornings, word has got around quicker than a pub giving away free beer and the crowds are loving it.

Today is officially the first day of Winter and will hopefully mark the continuance of more epic swells and sand-dredging banks for the coming months. If you're beginning to pull out your 4x3 and realise the old girl aint what she used to be, get down to Katani or grab a new one online to keep you toasty this Winter.

Photos 1&2: Simon Lynch
Photos 3&4: Shaun Davies

Posted by: Katani Retail

Category: Surfing