what a year!

Well 2012 is almost done and dusted!

What a quick year but so much happened.... Moving to Lennox Head, Flying to Hawaii to compete in the Olu Kai Race, changing to an international sup sponsor, as well as pciking up 2 extra sponsors.. not to mention starting a social paddle group and meeting new people and making new friends.

Its been great to start up a social paddle group with my close friend Anna. We have had a number of successful events and numbers continue to grow. Its great to introduce SUP to so many different people.

Cudgen Creek Meet Up

Its been a challening year with a few mixed contest results. I had some great comps and also some terrible ones... Im hoping to take it all in as a positive learning curve and allow myself to prepare for the 2013 season. With new equipment to start the year.. I have a little bit of time to get use to my new board .. 8'6 JP Asutralia. This board is the full carbon model. I'm looking forward to testing it out and hopefully some great results for 2013!

Lennox Head SUP Meet Up

After being in Lennox now for 5 months, I decided it was time to create a MEETUP for fellow paddlers in and around the northern rivers. Last weekend saw the first paddle meet up at Lake Ainsworth.  It was great to meet some fellow paddlers from around the region and have a paddle around the lake!  My friend Anna has also created a MeetUp group for the Gold Coast.

The nest meet up will be held at Brunswick Heads on the 27 October! :)

 

 

 

 

Queensland State SUP Titles

After the cancellation of the QLD Sup Titles back in June, a new date was set for the 7 July. The day before, Geoff Breen and myself headed to the Alley for a warm up session. We stumbled across fellow sup'er and frother - Justin Holland.

It was small, clean but challenging due to the strong offshore winds. The day of the comp turned out to be better than expected. Light offshores and about 2-3ft of swell.  Dogman even came up for the comp, and ended up commentating the hole event.... (he's found his true calling!)

As the comp got underway, the conditions stayed clean and offshore and before long my heat was in the water. The waves were small but clean and the bank at Lacey's was just perfect! Long right handers..  On my final wave I remember seeing this dark shadow under me, it was a huge stingray! I took it as a good omen, as he followed me along the wave! I made my heat and progressed to the Open Women's Final with Shakira, Ali, and Ang.

me during the final

The boys were ripping! Its so great to watch them, and try and learn from them. As time went on, the conditions still stayed offshore and it was time for our final. The bank was better than before, and i felt so at home. Laceys is one of my favourite sup spots and have many sessions out there! We had some magic waves and managed to get a combined total of 10.10. Shak was surfing so well, and at the end we found out there was less than .5 between us.It was close, and I'm stoked to have come that close to such a good surfer. We're both off to the Aussie Titles now... :)

(photos from Surfing Queensland)

Justin Holland Sup Camp- HPC Australia

Surfing Australia in conjuction with Justin Holland put together a 2 day Sup Surf Clinic...

I'm currently on day 1 and it has been a great experience. The knowledge provided by the guys at Surfing Australia and Justin is great! We surfed for nearlly 2 hours and would have every wave on video... the critiquing was great and you walked away with wanting to learn so much more....
Hopefully day 2 will be better surf, as today was onlt 1 -2 feet... but we tried hard with what we had on offer!!

Surf season has begun...with a BANG!

Winter is here!!!! Like most parts of the world....winter brings the best conditions here! Its offshore almost all day and pumping south swells from the Tasman Sea come up the coast with fresh sw/se winds. This year we have already had 2 big low pressure systems creating 10-12ft sets... It was way to big for me!!!

I was lucky to get out between the 2 swells with a few other sup surfers Jackson Close, Geoff Breen, and the Dogman out at the Alley. 2-3ft only a handful of guys out... The waves weren't perfect but they were offshore and peeling 100m+ down the bank...

Once the big swells settled down, the points at Lennox Head were firing. We were so lucky to have a near perfect 3ft surf with less than 5 people out... This was an arvo session I wont forget in a while... Perfect lines at Lennox with no one... After a few hours I was placed on filming duty as you can see!

Hawaii 2012

Ahhhh hawaii!

This pic is of my good friend Suzie Cooney and I taking off on a Maliko run....

I flew into Maui back in May this year to be greeted with epic downwind conditions... 35-40 mph with ocean swell! It was amazing.... long glides and fast!

I had flown to Maui to compete in the 4th Annual Olu Kai race. The week leading up to the race was amazing with some of the best downwind sup conditions I have ever seen!
Race day was hard, no wind and no swell - but I was still happy to place 1st in the 14ft 30-39 division for the 2nd year in a row!

I highly recommend this race to anyone who likes downwind paddling!!! Maui is such a special place to me, and all the Maui crew have made it such a special place for me :)

My first internet ad!!!

http://www.noosasurfworks.com.au/boards/laguna-bay-stand-paddle/

The only constant in life is change

For the past 6-7 months I have been wanting to make the move from the Gold Coast down to Northern New South Wales... Particularly Lennox Head.

The only thing was finding a job (same as I had on the gold coast) For the next few months I was watching job sites to see if anything was coming up, and to my dismay there was no jobs. I decided to focus my energy to positive and affirmed that a position would come up for me.. And within 3 months a position was advertised at Ballina for a 12 month position.

It was a hard decision- to leave a very stable and secure job, for the opportunity to live in a small coastal surf town with a number of breaks, with a low population for 12 months. In the end, it was very clear that I had to at least apply...

So now, 2 months later I have moved! I'm now living at Lennox Head and starting a big new chapter in my life. I've been here a week, and it feels right! I do miss my friends and family but at least they are only 1 hour drive away and as I get settled here I hope to meet new people!

I'm enjoying my work, so my next goal is to extend the position or become permanent.

What a month...

WOW.. As I look back on the last month, It's amazing how much has happened.

I managed to pick up 2 sponsorships for my SUP- Surf Fx and Hive Swimwear. http://www.surffx.com.au/ and http://www.hiveswimwear.com/

It's such a buzz knowing that these 2 companies are willing to support me and my love for Stand Up Paddling. It's great to know that after putting so much into the sport, there is a reward!

I was also very lucky to score a late arvo glass off at a local point break in my area. I didn't know at the time but a student photographer was taking shots from Burleigh Headland. It wasn't until I got out of the water that the photographer approached me. The pics were amazing and have ended up on international blogs.

The pics below were taken by Rafael Moura.... It's hard to believe he has only been studying photography for 4 months!

Waiting for the sets

Competition season has also begun.. Last week the Inaugural Queensland State SUPA Titles was held at Bilinga Beach in 2ft stormy onshore conditions. It was very close, and ended up taking out my first state title.

Noosa Festival of Surfing and Australian Surf Open were held in March. Noosa was held in small
1-1.5ft at First Point with 6 of us girls in the final. I placed 5th - and found the smaller waves challenging... but happy to make the final. The Australian Surf Open was held a Kingscliff in peaky 2 ft waves. There was four of us girls in the final. We managed to get close to the high tide which created some fun small walls but lacked power. We were all getting stuck on some of the waves,... I had a free surf the day before my comp and managed to loose my paddle. I decided to take my sup out without my legrope..lesson learnt! A wall of white wash came , knocked me off my board and had to swim 100m to get my board.... and my paddle was gone!I managed to grab a spare paddle for the comp, and was pretty happy to place 2nd.


Its been a busy start to 2012.. with my results so far:

2nd - Australian SUP Women's Open (Surf)
5th - Noosa SUP Womens
1st - SUPA QLD State Titles
4th- 12 Towers Race 12'6 class

Camping adventure.... North Stradbroke Island

After packing our boards, camping gear, food, and the bare essentials it was time to hit the road..... next stop North Stradbroke Island...

After boarding the vehicle ferry from Cleveland..... we drove straight to Cylinders Beach and set up camp for 5 days. We managed to get 1 really good day of surfing at Main Beach. Once the high tide came in.. the beach filled with perfect a frame peaks and lots of barrels for our shortboards - once the tide dropped  -I took my SUP out at Main Beach.... something I thought I would never do. The locals said they had never seen a girl Sup at Main Beach before.... so I felt pretty happy!

Main Beach is very fast, and punchy but actually very fun on the SUP. Whilst cruising around I spotted 2 sharks, 20 dolphins, and several sting rays... The island is a huge marine wildlife park!

Main Beach

Once the wind changed to the south..Main Beach was dead onshore.. We explored Cylinders and Deadmans. Deadmans proved to be the better option- with 2-3ft rights with 1 person out...along side with 20-30 dolphins! This beach is my favourite beach on straddie!


The following day the winds changed to stromg SE - making most the island onshore..patience was the key and on the mid tide we scored 2 ft a frames.... and surfed till the tide changed.

After our surfs, we decided to test out my new Rav 4..... and took it beach driving! This was a new and exciting experience. It was great to cruise and explore the long open stretches. It did take some getting use too.... deflating the tyres and making sure you drove on low tide! Making sure to slow down when we saw kangaroos!


Camping was the best (and cheapest) option for us - Cylinders had great facilities and right on the beach. Kangaroos would come down in the afternoon to check out the campers. Living on the Gold Coast, its very rare to see them in the wild!

2 males- cylinders

Surfing is...

an element of freedom......

a form of self expression

a way of getting in sync with the ocean...

All photos taken by Mikela Wilbow -  http://www.mikalawilbow.com/

Getting back to basics

I have been stand up paddling for almost 2.5 years now.... I still remember that feeling when I first jumped on a Sup! My toes were gripping into the deck so hard I got cramps! I couldn't work out how to use the paddle ... But sure enough it all came together.



Providing instruction to my friend Anna

 Over the weekend I had the opportunity to teach 10 close friends how to stand up paddle! It brought so many memories. Scott Penwarn from starboard had several boards for my friends to have their first Sup experience. After a brief instruction , the group took to Sup very quickly, and almost everyone fell in :)

I could see a mixture of excitement and fear in my friends.... It was only a few years ago I was the same!

It was a great feeling to be able to share my love and passion for the sport with my close friends and let them have a small insight into my sport!


All were amazed at the thought of surfing and racing- and a new found respect was found for what I enjoy doing! In return, it brought be back to basics. I haven't had a slow, relaxed flat water paddle in almost 2 years as my focus and drive has been to train... It was great to get right back to basics and enjoy why I fell in love with Sup in the first place!

Up and away!


I had been so busy training, that over time I had forgotten why I started getting into Sup. I had forgotten how peaceful, tranquil, and grounding Sup can be.  I forgot how easy SUP can be - just grab a board/ paddle and seek out a body of water!

Living on the Gold Coast, there is an abundance of water ways, creeks, canals, and of course the ocean. There is so many places to explore!



My friends may be inspired by what I do, but in return they have inspired me to share my love and passion for the sport, as well as setting aside some time each week to find some more places to SUP.

A huge thanks to Scotty for allowing the girls to have the opportunity to try out the sport!

Back to Basics

Learning life's hardest lesson - self acceptance

I believe we all have lessons in our lives... How many lessons will depend on the person! One of my biggest life lessons to date was to learn to accept myself!

I had been struggling for many years with my body image. Being born with strong broad shoulders and athletic body would be some people's dream but for me- it was quite the opposite. I was constantly being asked if I was a body builder, swimmer, triathlete, or how much protein to carb ratio I would eat. People constantly stare - and ask what do I do to be so fit, built, toned,  and big. I have random people telling me I shouldn't work out in the gym anymore or I'll get to big..... Funny as I never go to a gym!

I constantly struggle to find clothing that suits me due to my physique!

Years of constant torment and negative comments about how unnatural my body was for a female lead me to believe and feel I was unattractive, and a freak. I would have very narrow minded people saying I had muscles like a man- it was through the negative thoughts in my head - I was attracting this negativity.

It wasn't until I stood up to myself that things started to change. A few instances where I put people back into their place made me realise that no one has the right to put down your body!  After seeing my healer Julie Kay, and working extensively on changing my thought process from negative to positive. I started to accept my body as a gift rather than a curse and over time things started to change.

I started to thank my body for the gift it has given me- for without it I probably couldn't surf or paddle as strong as I can. I learnt to respect my body and in return my body gave me energy, and strength for racing.

I've come along way.... And the way I see things now that if a complete stranger can't say something positive then they are not worth even knowing!

What I once saw as my curse - My broad shoulders

Everyone has something about there body or themselves that they aren't happy with- but by not allowing yourself to be free of this- your not living your life to full potential!

Hello 2012 and an introduction into me!

Well 2011 has been and gone........ and my NY resolution was to get a blog started...! This will be part of my new business idea- which I hope to also get underway by the end of 2012. 

What a year 2011 was! I'm sure everyone had ups and downs.. I had some great experiences in 2011!

I managed to achieve 2 dreams... compete and win overseas, and go to the Maldives!

In August 2011, I travelled to the Maldives.... HEAVEN! After saving my money, I booked a 2 week trip. 1 week on the Boat - Ocean Dancer, 1 week at Kandooma Resort. Well worth the saving!!!!!

Ocean Dancer

The boat was amazing! I travelled with 6 other people. 3 fellow Aussies, 2 Hawaiians, and one pommie! We didn't score all time epic waves - however we did surf 3-4 ft most days, with only 6-15 people maximum at any one time. This is my idea of heaven! We had some stormy weather - but overall it was fantastic! Surfing Sultans, Jails, Cokes, and Chickens! Cokes was my favourite. It has the most size and punch when we were there! I became very close to a few local sea urchins....







I was so happy to finally be scoring nice long 4ft rights, wave after wave, without any aggression!

The Maldives is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been too. I surfed 3,4 even 5 times a day! I couldn't believe how clear the water was. Besides surfing, we would snorkel, fish and jump off our boat! The snorkeling was amazing - manta rays, eels, sharks, turtles, dolphins, and an array of fish (including NEMO!)

Boat Jumping! YYEEWWW

After every surf , we would celebrate by jumping off the top deck! Scary and exhilarating at the same time! The resort was also great. The southern atolls were allot quieter, but also had perfect waves! My favourite was Lucky Joes,,,, A left hander that would break like Bingin. We surfed here 3 days straight 4ft everyday with NO ONE OUT!

Empty Lucky Joes

After battling Anaemia through 2010- I finally got my iron levels under control by March 2011. I could finally get back into training and start to focus on heading to Hawaii to compete in the Olu Kai race! I trained a solid 4-6 months prior and before I knew it- I was off to Hawaii!

The Olu Kai race (in Maui) was on the same weekend as the Battle of the Paddle (Oahu). It was a hard decision to choose  which race- but in the end I decided an endurance downwind race at the famous Maliko was what I really wanted to do.  I managed to get a 14ft Naish race board from Naish Paddle Centre in Maui (thanks Coach) and did some epic runs with Suzie Cooney, and Chris Pagdilao prior to race day. Race day came round - what a buzz. Such an awesome experience competing overseas! Everyone in Maui welcomed me with open arms, and the vibe was electric!  The race was fast with good winds, and nice glides.... I managed to place 2nd overall in the 14ft class, and won the 30-39 female (14ft) with a time of 1hr 8 minutes for the 8 mile course.  (12.8km for the Aussies) after being so sick - it was great to finally feel on top again! My close friend Suzy Cooney won the 40-49 division -(this pic is of us celebrating our wins)

The Olu Kai race was the second race I competed in over in Maui.. Back in 2010, I flew over to compete in the Naish International Stand Up Paddle Race.. This race was also on the famous Maliko run - covering 9.4 miles. 

This race was what inspired me to start competing overseas. It was such a surreal experience paddling with some of the best paddlers in the world. I set my goal - a time of 1 :40:00 about 6 months prior. I had only started SUP 2 months prior- so I was very unsure of how I would go! To my surprise and delight- I had an awesome race. I hit my target time of 1:40:22 and placed 6th in the elite unlimited women's. At the time, I didn't know I was suffering from Anaemia. This pic is of me- finishing 6th

I also competed regularly at Stand Up Paddle Surfing Comps across Australia. It's great that SUP surf comps FINALLY have a women's division. For most of 2009 -2010 - Aussie girls would have to compete against the men. It's an amazing feeling knowing in someway I have helped women get noticed in SUP surfing by providing us with our own divisions.



In 2010, the first ever Women's Australian Stand Up Paddle surf comp was held. I placed 2nd in this comp and also scored a sponsorship with Laguna Bay Stand Up Paddle. Tully st John has been great, providing me with the option of surfing some amazing boards.

Wild Womens Water Day

My results for 2011 include:

2nd place - Wild Womens Water Day (Surf sup)
4th Place- Noosa Festival of Surfing
3rd Place- Noosa SUP Race
3rd Place - Malfunction (Surf sup)
2nd Place- Coast of origin (regional)
2nd Place- Qld State Surf Titles
3rd Place- Australian Surf Sup Titles
2nd Place - SUPSA SUP Surf Womens

2009-2010

1st - Greenline Sup Race
1st - Australia Day Paddle Race (2010)
3rd Noosa Sup Race
3rd Roar Industries SUP Race
2nd Salt Sup Race
6th Naish International Paddle Race (Hawaii)
2nd Australia SUP Surf Titles
2nd Greenline BOP Race

Malfunction- Final 3rd place (WIPEOUT!)

A little into me....

I also love surfing.... I have surfed for almost 15 years..... I have always loved the ocean, but until I was 15 I could never venture further than up to my waist. I had chronic ear problems for almost 10 years - starting when I was 4 till 14. I have a series of ear infections which led to a number of grommets being inserted in my ears. When I was 9, one came out to early in my left ear - leaving a hole in my ear drum. I couldn't get any water in my ear due to the high risk of infection. Living in tropical Queensland, and so close to the beach - my mum would get specialised ear plugs and a bathing cap - so I could play in the surf. Years of teasing and torment didn't stop me.  I was just happy to be in the ocean. Once I turned 13, i was old enough to have a skin graph operation performed to close the hole in my ear drum. The operation was a success and I was free to go in the ocean- without earplugs. I remember that day- It was at that stage the happiest day of my life. A week later, I went to Sea world to celebrate. For the first time in my life (at 14) I went on water slides - it was a dream come true.... Until I managed to catch an extremely rare tropical ear infection. This caused my ear to constantly weep for 15 months. No drugs stopped it - I was placed on several types of antibiotics to no avail. Several Ear, Nose, and Throat Specialists,CT Scans and tests showed nothing. It wasn't until one Specialist suggested an old wives tale - Aluminium Acetate.. then the infection stopped. It cleared up in 3 days.

It wasn't until this moment, that I was able to get back in the ocean. Armed with earplugs - I started to learn to surf. I think my passion for the ocean steamed from this experience as a child. Today I still bare a scar from the skin graph, and lost about 80% of my hearing in my left ear due to the infection - but it doesn't stop me in any way. I'm still surfing as much as I can today!