Is it just me or does it seem like the Christmas season begins earlier every year?

It's still November yet all the signs are here; cheap decoration shops plying their tacky trade; fat fellas in red suits striding the suburban malls; and my recycling bin has three trees worth of brochures ready to turn into pulp. But last week east coast surfers had a genuine reason for merriment as an early season north swell made it's way down the coast. It lit up points and corners that are geared for that direction and signalled the start of our festive season.

Most east coast surfers have their favourite spots for such swells and Steen Barnes is one of them. Heading straight to his happy hunting ground he scored the goods on a bank that had lain dormant since  last summer.// STUART NETTLE