Comfortably numb

Blowin's picture
Blowin started the topic in Sunday, 20 Aug 2017 at 4:44pm

It's been over 5 months since I pulled up on the East coast.

I was only staying for three.

If it wasn't for visting good people I don't think I'd ever come here to be honest.

Indo is too perfect to go past really. Warm water , crazily good food. The sort of waves that all others are held against in judgement.

Whilst WA is raw. Tim Winton's memoirs paint a picture of a coast that doesn't suffer fools . A coast that's dynamic , untrammelled and full of opportunity for those willing to extend themselves to grab it.

But the East coast ?

So busy. And domesticated. And infrequently beyond playful.

Yet here I am , 5 months later and well into the depths of the Southern Hemispheres trophy season....

Maybe because...the East coast is so easily beautiful and so beautifully easy. Every day is a paradise. Stroll through a green coastal belt - fuck it , make it a littoral rainforest studded with cabbage and bungalow palms whilst we're at it - till you reach the secluded golden sand beach nestled between the two black basalt headlands covered in pandanus and flannel flowers. Lace monitors stroll whence they please , grey kangaroos graze the Mirram grass on the dunes and the resident kookaburra misses nothing from its perch above the sandy track from the car park to the surf.

The surf is fun. Mostly always fun . And sometimes it's world class.

Boards go up in volume but down in length.

Whilst wave periods are down but wave count is up.

It's a land of beachside showers and well positioned bowling clubs.

It's a land where the sun drifts through the day's sky and all of life's pleasures and problems are played out to the theme track of a million Rainbow Lorikeets all trying to be the loudest bird on the Norfolk Pine.

It's the most mellow place I've ever been.

Especially if your housemates are pensioners .

You see , when you live with older people your life takes on a slower tempo to match theirs.

Long unhurried breakfasts - especially when the day's only getting warmer and the offshore has set in for the long haul - lead to a day of leisure and an appreciation of the world around you. Time is measured. Conversations are never clipped short.

My first couple of months were a frenzy of waves and maximising every opportunity. The next two months were a time to recharge. I've spent a lot of time moving for a lot of years and now it was time to kick back. Surf if there's surf and if there's not . ...While away the hours in pleasant companionship whilst soaking in the ambience till the sun slides towards the distant range . A few beers and make a big deal out of the evening meal and time together. That's as testing as it gets.

The East coast is like an opiate.

And I'm wrapped up in its cozy cocoon .

There's worse ways to go.

Blowin's picture
Blowin's picture
Blowin Sunday, 20 Aug 2017 at 5:18pm

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Sunday, 20 Aug 2017 at 6:27pm

Lovely stuff Blowin. Don't wanna bum your high, but reefbreaks?

Can a surfer truly be happy without them?

goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot Sunday, 20 Aug 2017 at 6:31pm

Not bad Blowy

zenagain's picture
zenagain's picture
zenagain Sunday, 20 Aug 2017 at 7:21pm

Nice.

Mal Caithness's picture
Mal Caithness's picture
Mal Caithness Sunday, 20 Aug 2017 at 7:22pm

First time response commentary. Currently here in the same time frame.I am not Blowin. Are you kidding ? "Comfortably Numb" probably( does ?) .... best describe this place . Am missing the Westside,rather channel" Moving Out " WTB Brothel Party .Missing Left,Lefts,Mates & the Indian Ocean. Just for the record.

Blowin's picture
Blowin's picture
Blowin Sunday, 20 Aug 2017 at 7:41pm

Stu - The answer to your question is unfortunately - No.

Mal Caithness's picture
Mal Caithness's picture
Mal Caithness Sunday, 20 Aug 2017 at 8:03pm

Ditto

Mal Caithness's picture
Mal Caithness's picture
Mal Caithness Sunday, 20 Aug 2017 at 8:08pm

Ditto

toneranger's picture
toneranger's picture
toneranger Sunday, 20 Aug 2017 at 8:43pm

mal,the're just called west thebarton now.dropped the brothel party.the radio announcer says it was too much of a mouthful.pause.......laughter at comment clearly audible in background

AndyM's picture
AndyM's picture
AndyM Sunday, 20 Aug 2017 at 9:31pm

Richard Clapton is the perfect score for that nice little yarn.

GuySmiley's picture
GuySmiley's picture
GuySmiley Sunday, 20 Aug 2017 at 9:33pm

Good luck to you Blowie, living the dream it seems, but what was last week all about then?
Rhetorical question.