Monday, March 8, 2010

FURTHER ADVENTURES AT THE BEACH

Every morning we set off down the beach to watch the action at the Surf Carnival.
There was plenty of eye candy - even for old folks as the first day was the Masters section

Hunky old guys !!!





Well, I have to admit the younger ones were a bit more hunky !



OK I'd better get back on track !

The weather was fairly overcast but very warm and the sea was ROUGH.


so the surfboat races were very exciting.

They have crew of four rowers and a Sweep - the man who stands up at the back and tries to steer them
out of trouble with a large oar that is used as a rudder.



The rowers have an interesting way of stopping themselves slipping off the wet seats in the boat !


!

! !

You can see that there was a lot to hold our interest in the boat races!

.
.
Back to the boat races.

So the starter fires a gun and off they go - through the surf, over churning waves till they get to calmer water and then round a couple of bouys and back through the surf again to the beach.
Sounds simple ?
But fraught with danger.
Those waves are coming through in sets of two or three or four at a time, pounding on the boats and it's a battle to keep the boats straight into the waves.
If they get the tinest bit sideways, they are in lots of trouble.


and they try to keep some distance from eachother




There are lots of spills.
Upended boats crashing around in the surf.
Heavy oars tossed around, spearing in all directions and five heads bobbing around in the waves, trying to gather oars, check to see everyone is OK then righting upturned boats and back to the race!
There is a ten minute time limit on each race and to finish you must have at least three men and oars still in the boat!

Luckily there were no serious injuries that we saw but by the third day the bruises were evident on lots of those ultra fit bodies.

and the boats had injuries too!


$25 000 down the drain !

I have put this little video we took ( only one minute ) on Youtube so you could see how exciting surfboat races are.

Cheers



8 comments:

  1. Oh dear! Shut your eyes Sue. I just wasn't expecting to see your guys in 'thongs!'. Is this what they wear? Oh my goodness! Been typically British here you understand I was just a little bit shocked!
    I'll definitely be booking that air ticket now! I suddenly fancy having a stroll along that beach every morning too! WAnna join me Lady Helsie, show me the sights! :)
    Great post. I'll check that video now,
    Hugs and Love Suex

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  2. Sue,
    Down here we wear "thongs" on our feet!
    They've just rolled up their swimmers ( togs to us )to expose a little flesh for better grip !!! When the race is over they untuck their togs and cover up again !!
    Makes great viewing !!!!

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  3. You made my day Nothing like a pert male bottom to warm the blood on a cold day here in England!
    Did the fellas know you were snapping their derrieres? Did they mind? or did you hide in the dunes with a zoom lens ha ha :D

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  4. I wish we had boat races like that here! Guys don't wear skimpy suits like that here but I enjoyed your hunks! Such cute bottoms! We are having a nice day here - already 63 degrees F. and sunny! Funny though there is still a little bit of snow in piles on the ground. Maybe spring is around the corner.

    Teacup Lane (Sandy)

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  5. What a nice view you provided to send me to bed with. Nothing like a picture of an Aussie guard to send me to bed with Sweet Dreams.

    Great pictures. The guys down here in Senior ville sure don't look like this.

    Hugs, Kate

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  6. Yes, very interesting, particularly the style of stitching on their swimmers, don't you think? I was wondering if that was a mole or a lump of sand on that buttock. Warrants much further close inspection.
    Lovely views!

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  7. I was reading your post and thinking you are not showing everything that is good to look at a surf carnival ......
    and then .....
    there it was!!!
    Good on you Helsie
    That's our Aussie boys!!!! Yeah!!!!

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  8. Those guys have really woken me up this early morning! Such cute bottoms on those surfers - I thought they were wearing thongs but then read your comment!

    The video really shows how exiting the race is but I think your photos are stunning Helsie - they have captured the rising surf and moment perfectly.

    I see that I have missed a few posts so I'm off to have a further look round!

    Jeanne x

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