Hidden Gem

Hmmm. Where is his house? Marshall told me to meet him on Phillip Island, in a little bay but I don't see anything. Just rocks and grass and nice right pumpin' thru the bay. Fuck Marshall, who cares, I can't change into my wetsuit fast enough. Solo long lined perfection that bend into the bay. I get a couple hours until the winds come up. Wind is really howlin' now so I spin and drop into a bumpy one and milk it almost to the beach. As I paddle in I notice a strange black line just above the black rocks, and then I see a figure in the reeds wavin' me up the hill.

Turns out to be Marshall, nods to me saying "You got some fun ones, mate!". He then takes me around a corner and I see this concrete structure buried into the dunes, with ragged tufts of dune grass above it. That's your house?! The house is a long thin concrete box, set along one edge of a large square courtyard contained by six feet high black concrete walls with dune berms ramped up to roof level on three sides. On the open ocean elevation, windows are sized and positioned within each room to act as picture frames to the views. His house is completely hidden from the landward side.

His courtyard offers protection from winds and is a north facing sun trap in winter. Here we sit and enjoy some tea in the warm sun while he tells me of the countless rides at the point in his front yard. He builds his boards specifically for this spot. Always fiddlin' and changin' up his shapes to get the most out of perfection. That evenin', I am put up in an ocean facing room where I mind surf the point as I drift off to sleep. Wake up, surf with Marshall, thaw out in the courtyard, eat a huge Aussie meal, surf the windy afternoons...and repeat for two weeks straight. It is heaven.


Back to real life this mornin'...it was fat, weak, slow and cold. Good to be back.
6.9 @14secs from 320