Yesterday was another beautiful winters day and I thought I would do some research for our Phillip Island crossing paddle..and also try and catch a few waves.

The new East link Freeway has just opened and it goes right near where I live. It will make trips down the east coast much quicker for me..Here's a pic.



My first stop was Stony Point..This is the pier where the Phillip Island ferry starts from.



The sign said you have to buy your ticket from the shop.



Here's the shop.



This is the car park.



The lady in the shop said that we do not have to pay for parking if the guy is not there in his box. She said he's only there on week ends.



I could not see the seal but there was a big pelican.



He was a beauty..and was so tame I could have almost touched him..Normaly you can't get very close to them.



Just mucking around.



I decided to head off and go to Point Leo because it's not far from here..I thought what a perfect day..I hope our crossing day is just like it.



I was driving out of Stony Point and went exploring to see if I could find the little river or inlet that flows in from the ocean and found this little cemetery.

It was for an army or navy base that was nearby.



I parked in the little car port that was just the right size for my new little car.



I checked out some of the tomb stones..They was very interesting.





I saw a gardener and asked him about it and he said did you notice the odd tombstone and I said no and looked again and said 'Oh yeah'..There's one that's not facing the same way as all the others.."What's the story there"..He said that he liked the view better facing that way.



I have another lot of pictures that I took at Point Leo where I caught up with an old mate..Phil Trigger..from Trigger brother surf boards but I'm just about to head off to work..I'm doing an early for a change so I'll post the others later today.

DJ

Dj i reckon if you went fast enough with that big naish on the roof of that small car you would almost take off and fly like a chitty chitty bang bang

Ha!. Yeah my small car does make my Naish board look big doesn't it..

I know the 11'6" Naish is big and floaty but I think I'd need at least two of them to float my Swift..

Hey Brooko..I wonder if I mounted the board the right way up and then went as fast as I can it might take off..

Champ..We have had some good days..It was very glassy wasn't it...It was almost oily..

This is the road to Point Leo..It has a very slow speed limit..



Here we are.



Phil was standing out the front of his new shop talking to some lady.



I've known Phil and Paul Trigger for yonks..and I haven't seen him for ages..I've had some epic day with him in the past out on the point...

He's a very good surfer..and a great windsurfer in his day.

It was great to see him and he said come and check out my new SUP that he made himself..It's right there in the window.

Seeing that surfboard cut into the still standing tree out the front made me think of Surf's Up..The penguin movie..



Here's Phil's latest SUP...It's 10' x 28"..He's using sugar deck for grip..The old time windsurfers would remember that..He said it works well.







Here's some of Phil's trophy's.



I noticed all the old surfboards all over the walls and roof..He said yeah we're putting a surf museum together and logging all the info about all the old boards.

He has asked all the shops that make boards to give them all the info about their past..This is Triggers history.. ..Check out how many boards he's made.



He started telling me about some of the boards...It was so interesting.







He said see that blue and red board with the number two on it.

It was made for a Melbourne football club player and all the other guys in the team put in money for it to be made for him..It was for his birthday..(his 21st I think)



Phil said check this one out..It's one of the very first leggies..It had knots tied in the rope for pulling the board back to you..and even had the original dog collar on it.



Phil said that their first board made had Trigger Bros sign written on the boards by hand by a sign writter...This is one of them.



They have some SUP boards there and he agrees with me..It's gunna be HUGE!!



We talked about paddles and he showed me what he uses and he then came out and checked out my Kialoa paddle..He liked it..

I asked if he could come for a SUP with me and he said There's no swell..and I said Bugger!..and that I'll go down and check it out anyway..even if it's only one foot.

I said bye to Phil and said I'd catch up with him soon for a SUP session at the point...I can't wait..I'm looking forward to trying his new 10'er.





A stone throw from his shop is the entry for the point..In summer you have to pay a few bucks entry.



I drove straight to the point lookout and found that's it's changed a bit..You can't park real close anymore and watch from you car..Bummer!

I also noticed something on one of the post.



Well I guess it's better than leaving used condoms on the ground..



The point looked ok for a quick SUP session.



Looking close it looked at least 2'.



I parked at the place that I've parked at hundreds of times over the years..Nothing's changed here.



It's a bit of a hike down the steps at the point and the tide looked a bit low..But still good enough..I couldn't wait to get wet.





I paddled out through the little gap in the rocks that I knew so well..and didn't take my camera because I didn't want to carry my bum-bag.

Sorry about no pics..I did look for someone who could snap a few for me but there was no one about.

I caught a few waves but it was getting very shallow and suck rocks were starting to show so my sesh was short..besides I had to leave and get to work..Bugger.

Next time I'll get some pics in the waves...Hope you like my pics.

DJ

As usual, a fantastic picture story DJ. It's been years since I've been to Point Leo.
I hope you didn't touch those knickers with your bare hands!

Enjoy your photo essays. Very pleasant. I hope you continue with them

Great pics and story DJ, as usual. I remember the old rope and dog collar leggies. I can recall being pulled backwards over the falls of an 8' face at Windang Island by one of those monsters. Nearly pulled my leg out of the socket! They didn't snap had no give and were bloody dangerous in big surf.

champcrow said...

Cool story once agai DJ, i feel like i've been all over the bottom of victoria without actually being there

The Trigger Brother's shop looks awesome, i love the surfboard cieling there's so much history there. The Melbourne footy club surfboard is cool, i have a mate who play's for Melbourne his name is Mark Jamar he's a local lad from Port Pirie who i played a little bit of footy with before he got picked up.

A trip down your way is definately on the card's, just have to wait for the missus to pop out our second little one and start planning

We got all high tech and used a length of Mum's old stockings to make stretchy leashes that were soft on your leg. There was some experimenting with surgical rubber tubing but then John Wilson started Balin and you could buy leg proper ropes.

DavidJohn said...

We got all high tech and used a length of Mum's old stockings to make stretchy leashes that were soft on your leg. There was some experimenting with surgical rubber tubing but then John Wilson started Balin and you could buy leg proper ropes.

Tat's cool..

I have windsurfed with John.

I remember a story about him knocking himself unconscious windsurfing Big Left at Flinders and getting washed ashore laying in his rig...How lucky is that..

I'm no expert about all this but did we (us Aussies) invent the leach?

I know Balin have been doing them longer than anyone..but were they the first..ever?

DJ

Don't know who invented the leash but the guy who made all the money invented the deck plug (Yank I think), because he put a patent on it. Before the plug we used to drill a hole through our fin and tie the rope to it. Real prehistoric stuff to you young guys I imagine. BTW the deck plug design has never changed.

DavidJohn said...

.. No..I used a stick..and No I didn't sniff them..

DJ

haha i bet you did