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The IOPCC birthday surf weekend started at 07:30 hours on
Friday morning with the obligatory drive down to Launceston
and Tesco for breakfast. For the first time in history four
of us - Teresa, Pete, Gary and I managed to meet at Tesco
without any of us getting lost. To our shock, our little
restaurant has now gone, converted into a Costa. However
every cloud has a silver lining, a transport cafe was found
just up the road. Watered and fed, we headed straight to
Penhalt Farm to erect Gary's one man tent and to await the
arrival of Geoff, Buddy and Debs, Tony, Tim and Chris with
his group of around 20 people.
Unfortunately Buddy, Debs, Chris and crew were delayed en
route. The rest of us hit Blackrock for an afternoon of
surf: a good four foot every five to seven seconds was on
offer. After the initial blowing away of cobwebs and a few
swims (Pete after just ten seconds) confidence began to grow
and some good waves were caught. Towards the end of the
session I decided to paddle out back to catch one last wave,
only to find that I wasn’t on my own, as the rest of the
group had followed close behind. At one point all six of us
were heading towards the beach in some sort of fashion. It
is good to see how well the club surf section is coming on.
After a good three hour session and with wave and tide
dropping we had had enough. Kayak section off the water,
time for the board section of Buddy and Harry fryer to take
over. Mrs Budd decided not to go out as the waves were too
far away and stayed in with Kylie to read Horse and Hound!
Friday Evening
Very heavy rain all night. Thanks to Gary, we retreated to
his tent for wine, take-away and more wine. Some of us did
regret the more wine.
Saturday Morning
All up by 0700 hrs, no rain but a lovely bright morning. One
big pot of porridge and off back down to Blackrock. Two foot
every seven seconds was on offer. Teresa, Gary, Geoff, Pete,
Tony, Tim and I were first on the water closely followed by
Chris. Debs, Buddy and Harry were on their surfboards. After
a good morning session most of us returned to camp to tidy
up and dry out tents from Friday night’s deluge. A little
sleep later and we were all ready to go for surf on the
incoming tide. Another great afternoon of surfing and
sunshine.
Saturday Evening
As a birthday treat Chris had hired the house at Penhalt
Farm (now that he is fifty, he needs a few home comforts).
With his guests arriving there was soon a hive of activity
around the campsite, a very enjoyable evening was had by
all.
Sunday Morning
Some of us were up by 0730 hrs to a fantastic morning sky.
Unfortunately a few of us had over-indulged at Chris’ party
and weren’t 100%. Gary had forgotten to zip up his tent and
had slept in a draught all night and woke up with a stiff
neck. Pete locked himself in his van and wouldn’t come out.
The numbers for the morning paddle were dropping. Porridge
eaten and everything packed up we headed off to Blackrock.
Perfect two to three foot waves every couple of minutes on
the incoming tide. After two hours of the advance party
surfing, the remainder of the gang turned up. The waves were
still good and Buddy in a rare outing in his boat showed us
all that he hadn’t lost his boating skills. Apart from the
torrential rain on Friday night, all in all a great weekend.
Quotes of the weekend
Buddy: That surf was really pumping today
Geoff: I think I drank too much last night (Saturday and
Sunday mornings!)
Pete: Did you hear those pigeons (Geese) flying over?
Gary: Would you mind removing your shoes before coming into
my tent?
Debs: Where do I plug my hair dryer in?
Pete: I’m never drinking again (after drinking a whole
bottle of JD)
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| The crew at Blackrock |
Chris the birthday
boy |
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| Debbie ventures out |
Tony |
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| Teresa at speed |
Buddy, Debbie and
Kylie |
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| Tony...serious |
Breakfast time |
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| Camping essentials |
IOPCC surf gods! |
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