Deceptive

The wind had been howling a steady Southerly overnight and into the morning, doing its best to rip sideways into the belly of a fairly solid 4-5ft swell. We had planned to go for the early but this combination of conditions doesn't bode well for anywhere aside from a few sheltered corners. Spots that would be packed to the edge as everyone else had the same idea.

As the wind swung around to SSW in the afternoon, opening up options, we headed down to have a look. Under a leaden sky the sets were crumbling in, throwing outwards on a shallower bank in the middle, but otherwise still suffering from wobble and sickness from the day's earlier wind. I opted out. Marcus opted in.

It looked like hard work but as the sun touched down on the horizon, clearing the clouds to touch the tops of the waves, and the wind dropped for a moment, there was a brief twenty minutes when it looked worthy of a paddle. Snapped off a few shots but with the light waning and Marcus periodically coming up the beach to tell me how much seawater was getting pushed into his lungs, there wasn't time to make the most of this interlude.

Photos are from this small window and make it look far, far better than it actually was. For the lucky few who were out at the time they had just five or six out and it largely to themselves. Mind you, it is a deception as it would have been preceded by a few hours of lumpy frustration. Though sometimes that's what makes a session all the better.

It was like this for a magic 20 minute window

Lefts were the pick	Paddle out	Outside
Scratching	Lots of white water	Heavy inside bank
Setting a line	Looking up	Nice lefts
The odd cover up	Rooster tail catching the sun	In the thick of it