Tracks June 2015

It’s three days after the Quiksilver Pro final and I’m still on the Gold Coast. I’ve ignored work commitments, sidestepped a weekend bucks party back in Sydney and spent a night sleeping in the car. Why? Because the tardy swell that never really arrived for the Quiksilver Pro has finally shown up. For fourteen days of relative flatness I’ve listened to stories of surfers who hooked up with cyclone Marcia and enjoyed life-altering rides, and of course I’ve watched dozens of torturous clips to validate their glorious claims. I never got to make out with Marcia so I’ll be damned if I’m missing out this time. Anticipation knows no equal as my rental swings past the point at Kirra. When a crisp green line swings into the big groyne and…

Come the end of February, Mitch Coleborn was happy to sit out the Quik Pro circus setting up a couple hundred clicks to the south of his Sunshine Coast home. Even with the collective eyeballs of the surfing world beginning to focus sharply on the Gold Coast, he’d be one surfer they wouldn’t see, no matter how hard they looked. Not even the hypnotic lure of twisting Kirra tubes courtesy of TC Marcia was enough to get Mitch to budge, the thought of joining the fray of 100 ravenous surfers looking for cyclone swell glory not exactly getting the big goofy-footers motor running. You see, when it comes to waves Mitch ain’t looking for groomed Gold Coast perfection, it’s more a chunky, homely brown water wedge that gets him hot…

Nic Von Rupp has artfully carved a career for himself as Europe’s best-known free surfer. Nic, who was raised in Portugal by a German father and Swiss mother, seems to understand that winning the attention of fickle surf fans is a two-dimensional gig. If Pipe is pumping then he’s out on the peak in front of the shooting gallery; wrestling with the pros, the Pipe specialists and the chest-beating Alpha males, hoping that his ‘moment’ is better than all the others that day. Despite his European heritage, Nic has proved quite adept at scooping the premium Pipe cylinders. In the 2013 ‘Black Friday’ Pipe swell, Nick speared through one of the best barrels of the winter and here he is again, drifting through Pipe with Lopez poise on a late…

With a lay day looking likely, a handful of the world’s best surfers and a few hundred Easter Friday revellers cut loose at the Tracks Party during the Rip Curl Pro. Featuring sets by Boston Switch, Cut Snake, internationally acclaimed Yolanda Be Cool and infinitely insane, DJ Eddie, the party spilled into the earlier hours of Saturday morning at the Torquay hotel. Jeremy Flores retained his ranking as the pro tour’s number one partier and was last seen moon-walking the streets of nearby Jan Juc. No one makes use of a 12-day waiting period better than Jeremy and its great to see someone exploiting the best job in the world for all its worth. A huge shoutout to Carlton Dry for supporting the night and providing plenty of beverages and…

KING OF THE CASTLE - A POEM Footsteps strolled the famous pier, Ripples trickled into the fisherman's gear. Seashells rested on the golden sand, A bambino's maiden paddle observed from land. A balance so elegant and sublime, A persona years ahead of its time. An elongated platform of koa under a dripping armpit, Fluorescent okanuis that barley fit. Aqua blue eyes and tanned skin, An exciting adventure was about to begin. A bedroom inside a dingy box, Constant odour of malodorous socks. A sibling's rivalry quite extreme, Both exerting the same pipe dream. A fluffball of shepherd the perfect connection, A boundless nurture of protection. Sturdy carbon fibre against the yoko willow, An attached fishing pole next to the pillow. A beach chair stationary for hours, A sea of tranquillity…

NEXT BIG THING. NEXT FUTURE CHAMP. NEXT WORLD CHAMP. NEXT BIG WAVE CHARGER NEXT. NEXT. NEXT. NEXT. HERE AT TRACKS, WE HEAR IT ALL THE TIME. AND, BY ALL THE TIME, WE MEAN: ALL. THE. FUCKING. TIME. IT'S BORING. AND DRAINING. BUT - THERE'S ALWAYS A BUT - IT CAN SOMETIMES BE VALIDATED; ESPECIALLY WHEN SOME OF THE BIGGEST SURFERS IN THE WORLD ARE JUSTIFYING THE CALL. ENTER CALEB TANCRED. FOURTEEN YEARS OLD FROM AVOCA. HE BAGGED HIMSELF BACK-TO-BACK AUSTRALIAN JUNIOR TITLES, HAS A MANE OF BLONDE HAIR THAT LOOKS AS LIKE IT HAS BEEN DYED IN THE INK OF A YELLOW HIGHLIGHTER AND ALREADY, WCT SURFERS JOEL PARKINSON, TAJ BURROW, ADRIAN "ACE" BUCHAN AND GLENN "MICRO" HALL (MICRO IS ALSO CALEB'S COACH) HAVE PILED KUDOS ON HIM AND TOUTED…