After hanging with Dick Van, we pushed North towards Noosa Heads. Hours later, we stepped out of the van in Noosa and were greeted by 95-degree humid air and hordes of cashed-up tourists. Sweaty and unashamed, we made sure every beach goer vaguely resembling a surfer got a flyer for the night's show. After whoring ourselves out for a few hours, we grabbed a cold schooner of coopers and I sent out "uts updates 2&3."
The evening began at surf journalist extraordinaire Phil Jarratt's surf shop "Back beach" for some more beer and snacks. Phil and his wife, Tom Wegener, The Band of Frequencies' lead singer Shannon Sol Carroll, shaper Peter White, and longboard champ Josh Constable were among the crew enjoying a lovely summer evening. Moving across the street, the show was packed to standing room only. The Band of Freq's and Oka rocked rounding out another beautiful night.
Noosa's got an interesting mix of cultures- sort of a Byron Bay rural and Gold Coast metro vibe in one spot. Streets chalked with fat wallets and glitzy shops coexist with eucalyptus lined beaches and simple surfers. Despite the increased traffic on land and in the lineup, everyone appeared to get along and stuck to the lives they'd grown accustomed to.
The man leading the lifestyle I've grown accustomed to is Mr. Tom Wegener. I was fortunate enough to hang out with he and his fam for a couple days and soak up knowledge from the lawyer, turned surf-bum, turned eco surfboard guru who's shunned the So Cal consumer life in search of a more holistic existence.
With magpies chirping in the background, I woke up to the sound of a planner echoing through the rafters of his adjacent shaping barn. Climbing the rickety stairs I found Tom mowing away on a new alaia for yours truly. Needless to say I was stoked.
The waves were bumpy that afternoon but we were frothing to get wet- Tom got a few epic rides from a cloudbreak boil all the way through to shore and I got a few nice left slides on my new stick. The new outline of Tom's high performance alaias resemble a modern snowboard and I found it really gripped the face of the wave well adding a whole new level of friction-free control.
The next day I hoped on a bus and met up with my old friend Andrew "Hodaddy" Crockett, the author of the definitive and inspirational surfing book "Switchfoot." After filming a video clip for his dad's laundry factory, we went on a thrift shore shopping spree uncovering priceless pieces from the heaps of discarded attire.
www.switch-foot.com
www.backbeach.net.au
www.tomwegenersurfboards.com
www.noosalongboards.com
