Point Danger

A visit to the far North coast and the co-joined twin towns of Tweed Heads and Coolangatta could not be deemed complete without visiting the iconic surfing breaks of D'bar and Snapper Rocks. Breeding grounds for many Aussie surfing legends and host to some of the biggest competitions in the world these two places flank Point Danger, named by Captain James Cook in 1770 after his ship the 'Endeavour' was forced further out to sea by shallow reefs. 

 

Grommets head to the breaks while the Mt Warning National Park can just be seen in the distance behind the high-rise holiday apartments in Cooly...


D'bar to the south on a beautiful autumn Saturday morning. A fairly small swell but that didn't deter 50 or 60 to go out. All of them seemed under 20 years old and all of them hot riders, with most probably starting surfing when they were 6 or 7. Crowded but still a little room to move, unlike...

 

Snapper Rocks where there was an insanely large crowd all vying for position along the formation known as the 'superbank'. Not only dangerous, but downright unpleasant. Late take-offs frighteningly close to the rocks were the order of the day, and if you were lucky enough to find yourself in the groove then threading your way through the crowd was nightmarish. Personally I thought something had gone terribly wrong here. The idea of surfing as being at one with nature and having a spiritual element had been lost. This was more akin to dodgem cars at sideshow alley. The less said about my local break on the far South coast, where 8 out is starting to seem like a crowd, the better.

Christina Amphlett 1959 - 2013

It is with sadness I note the death of Chrissy Amphlett last week. The curse of breast cancer. The Divinyls were one of the best Aussie exports, making us proud that we in the Antipodes could cut it with the rest of the world. Great rock and roll, with surprisingly honest and perceptive songwriting. Chrissy transcended all the shallow stereotypes of what a front woman should be. Not for her the New York art school untouchable Debbie Harry, the icy commercialism of Madonna or the "I wish she had stayed at home" embarrassment of Courtney Love. She just exuded a sexuality, if not an eroticism, that was dangerous, yet in control. It was always about the performance, but my God, she had it down pat. RIP...

I am no ghost

anonymous waves, Self portrait in Tocumwal, late March 2013, digital photograph

This one is just a little visual joke for some people I know in the ambient music field...