Sprout Daily Blog

:: Pre-Dawn

Murray — Fri, 18 May 2012 01:06:26 +0000

So much goes on down in the South End before dawn; it’s such an active little corner of the beach. With an early high tide and dropping swell leaving the surfing options marginal, I took an walk in the pre-dawn light down at the South End to see what was going on. It’s seriously a hive down there! So cool to sit back and watch people getting into their day jogging, swimming, stretching and going about their routine.

If you want to surf, it’s clean and there’s 1-2ft of South Swell around. It’ll be on the improve all morning as the tide drops and the Southern facing beaches will be picking up way more swell than the knee high peelers at the South End. Forecast is showing another little pulse from the South tomorrow. It’s not ideal but hey, it’s swell!

Enjoy Friday; enjoy the weekend!
∆ Murray

:: Sun Run

Murray — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:44:55 +0000

Another clear crisp morning in Manly town; it’s really quite a run of fine weather we’re having don’t you think? Not a bad run of swell either huh? It’s been 3ft + for 8 out for the last 10 days and there’s still couple of days of energy lining up through the weekend. These shoulder seasons really are the best on the East Coast.

There’s 3 feet of clean lines out there and although it’s a little straight in Manly there’s still fun to be had. Winds are light and offshore and the tide is on the way out giving the banks a little more shape. All and all it’s not a bad day on offer.

Enjoy!
∆ Murray

:: *Hello Sunshine

Murray — Wed, 16 May 2012 01:53:10 +0000

Good morning – how you doing this morning? I took a swim with a wide angle lens this morning thinking there’d be a couple of little tubes I could take an inside look at. Problem was at dawn the tide was too high and the recent swell has left some nasty rips and gutters chiseled through the banks. After 20 minutes of swimming against a rip trying to stay in position on a little rip-bowl lefthander I eventually gave up and let the rip have its way with me. By the time the rip had run its course I was 150m further North and out past the headland and free to swim shoreward. Thanks for the offer of a lift in Jack but I think I needed the exercise. So this mornings photos come from the 20 minutes I managed to stay in position.

There’s 3 foot of South Swell hanging around and the banks are definitely working better on the mid to lower tide. By mid-morning it was looking a whole lot better than at dawn.

David Maurice Smith‘s ORIGINS exhibition is opening tonight at Global Gallery in Paddington as part of the Head On Photo Festival. This personal project has seen Dave go in search of the roots of Hip Hop Culture in New York City. If you’re in town drop in, if you’re not make the effort and go check it out. Dave’s documentary photography will take you down the back streets and introduce you to charcters you never thought you’d meet.

:: Closed

Murray — Tue, 15 May 2012 01:00:17 +0000

Frustrating morning if you were in the water searching for ridable waves or on the beach trying to shoot surfers. It’s pretty much closing out along the whole stretch of Manly Beach except for the very rare corner here and there. No particular bank seems to be serving up anything more consistent than the others so I’d just have to find yourself in the right place at the right time. Maybe worth the paddle just to practice you’re tube stance in some closeouts?

Most of the Northern Beaches would be looking pretty similar in this South Swell. If you’re dead keen to soak up a bit of this Southern energy, get in a car, boat or plane and go find some gold. It’s out there, it’s happening! Somewhere right now is pumping!!

20 degrees in Sydney today! Brrrrr!
∆ Murray

:: Southern Lumps

Murray — Mon, 14 May 2012 00:42:39 +0000

A solid south swell rolled into Sydney last night dramatically changing the scene from the flat conditions Sunday. Today it’s 2ft at the South End, 4ft at North Sterne, 4-6ft at Queens and probably twice as big again around the corner. It’s seriously got some push to it!

South swell ain’t ideal for Manly although this morning there was the odd rare one holding up amongst the closeouts. If you’ve got the patience and you can pick them there’s some gold to be found amongst the junk.

LOST BOARD
One of the grommets from Queensie lost his board yesterday. Apparently he was surfing without a leggie when a South Westerly gust got under and pushed it out to sea to quick to recover. It could be half way to Fiji by now! The board has a yellow and green star on the deck so if you see washed up on the beach give us a call here 0413 134 424 or email me murray@sproutdaily.com and we’ll reunite grommet and board.

Stay warm – get in the water!
∆ Murray

:: Hard Yakka

Murray — Fri, 11 May 2012 00:41:56 +0000

Another magic morning down on the beach today. The sunrise was sensational and the warm orange and yellow light being cast by the sun as it came up was nothing short of spectacular. With a little blanket of cloud above us it wasn’t even cold at dawn. Today the mercury is going to tip 28 degree in Sydney. That’s pretty warm for a May day!! It’s worth taking advantage of as tomorrow we’ll see a cool South Westerly blow in and she’ll be feeling more like Autumn at 21 degrees.

I hung out with a group of fitness fanatic’s from Vitalfit this morning putting in the hard yakka in a session before work. Nothing like getting the sweat flowing at dawn ay! The crew got more than their money’s worth with a good session and the best seats in the house to one of the most beautiful sunrises this year. It’s definitely worth getting out of bed on days like this!

There’s some fun little waves about this morning and it should improve as the tide comes in. You’ll need a little extra foam under your feet and plenty of patience as it’s a long wait between sets. Noticed water is still hovering at Summer temperatures? It’s so nice; everybody’s talking about it. If you want to know why check out the article on smh.com.au this morning. Then you can impress your mates with your scientific explanation.

Fresh swell from the South next week. Yeeeeew!
∆ Murray

:: Three Two One

Murray — Thu, 10 May 2012 00:25:32 +0000

Magic Day on the cards for today. It’s going to be 25 and Sunny – that’s just about perfect! If you can’t get outside today don’t worry, tomorrow is looking like a carbon copy with a top of 26 degrees. After that we’ll see a drop in temperature down into the low 20′s which is going to feel a lot cooler. Couple of ace days to score some sun on your back before we head into the colder months.

Surfing wise, there’s still a little bit of East swell around but this morning’s high tide wasn’t doing it any favours first thing. It’s looking a little more shapely now if you’re floating around thinking about a mid-morning paddle. We’re going to have small clean conditions for the next couple of days before a new pulse of South Swell starts filling in on Sunday.

Enjoy the warmth.
∆ Murray

:: Fading

Murray — Wed, 09 May 2012 02:10:25 +0000

You’ve got to love this warm autumn light. Beautiful mornings and gorgeous afternoons seem to be a daily occurrence at this time of the year, just take a look outside your window at 4pm this afternoon. This morning’s sunrise was oh so crisp with not a cloud in sight and turned Manly almost fluorescent Orange.

In the water the swell of the past couple of days is fading but there’s still remnants out there. The low tide wasn’t helping with the shape first thing this morning but expect things to improve as the tide pushing back in. Truckloads of fun to be had still! Yesterday morning I took drive up the beaches to see what was on offer further North. With plenty of East swell on offer and straight offshores it’s a perfect combination for just about every beach on the East Coast and our neighbours to the North were certainly getting their fair share of gold. I’m only just going through the files now but expect to see a few more pop up on Facebook and Instagram the next couple of days.

Tomorrow’s looking like another prefect day. See you in the morning!
∆ Murray

:: Yesterday

Murray — Mon, 07 May 2012 22:17:49 +0000

Late in the afternoon yesterday things really started to pulse. That’s not to say that it wasn’t good all day; but as the Sun set the swell kicked and there might have even been a slight change in the angle. Whatever it was, by the time the Sun had set in the West it was absolutely cooking. More tubes ridden in 30 minutes than I’ve seen in Manly for a long, long while. If you were out there amongst it you’ll know what I mean.

Today’s photo’s all come from yesterday evening in the half hour of twilight that fits between sunset and total darkness. It’s a beautiful time to shoot as the day’s final light bounces off the clouds and reflect all sorts of colours into the ocean. Today’s high-end digital cameras can handle the low-light situations better than the human eye. It’s amazing! You feel like you’re shooting into darkness but with the ISO cranked up, the shutter speed slowed down and the lens wide open it’s surprising and beautiful what you can capture.

If you want to know what it’s like right now check the cam’s; it’s probably pumping all the way up the Northern Beaches not to mention most of the East Coast. No need to rush to Manly. Nothing to see here. Move along.

∆ Murray

:: Elements

Murray — Mon, 07 May 2012 00:32:54 +0000

You’ve got to love it when all the elements come together huh? Solid swell from the right direction and light offshore wins; perfect recipe for Manly and the rest of The Beaches. Pretty much the whole of the Northern Beaches will be pumping today, and maybe for a few days down the track. We’ve got a nice pulse of ENE swell and the winds are forecast to blow offshore and light for the next couple of days. Pick a beach, any beach. Speaking of elements, did you see yesterday’s moonrise and this mornings sunrise? Amazing!

Yesterday’s Super Sunday Moonrise was a cracker! I jumped in the water late afternoon and hung around til the moon popped up on the horizon. Was a beautiful place to watch the sunset and the moonrise and there we some fun waves about too. Stay tuned for some more pictures from this morning and today later on. For now I’m going surfing.

∆ Murray