Soooo..... my trip to Yorkes was ruined by a massive high pressure system that gave Adelaide a record heatwave for November. This of course meant no swell. Well, none worth a 700km drive anyway. There was supposed to be 1-2 ft waves down at Waits and Parsons (about a 260km round trip) so i ummed and aaahhed for days then finally, Friday night, i thought screw it I'm gonna see if i can get a little wave.
I packed the fishing gear in case it was dead flat along with my biggest board (42.5 inch Custom X Quest) to milk as much from the waves as i could. I set the alarm for 530 am and was woken accordingly. After a quick check of the wave buoy on the Internet i decided that although the swell had dropped from the day before, there should still be a small wave to catch. So off on my merry way. I knew it wasn't gonna be great but i was pretty desperate so i was willing to accept anything. So complacent was I on this particular morning that when the radio lost reception out in the country i just left it on with the white noise as my companion.
As i rocked up i was greeted with a small swell but a swell nonetheless. Parsons had a few banks but the wind was a little west which was not what was forecast, so i drove round the corner to waits. It was cleaner there but no enticing banks. I reckoned to myself that the wind would sort itself out in half an hr or so as it was only 730 am, so i scooted back to parsons and suited up. I chose my bank and paddled out. Sure enough after 10 mins the wind had swung back to a more true offshore and cleaned conditions up.
For the next couple of hrs i shared the lineup with a couple of Kneeboarders (who were jokingly trying to convince me to try kneeboarding because it gets all the chicks). Mostly small rights, up to 2 ft but with enough shape to pull a few cutties and spinners in either direction. I bit later, a left popped up and allowed for a couple of rolls. The wind had settled and there was a period of really oily conditions making it a beautiful experience to be out. A school of salmon came swimming nearby which made me wonder if i would have had some good fun throwing a lure around in the morning but as always, the desire for a boog wins over having a fish. Shortly after a pod of half a dozen dolphins made quick work of the salmon which is always fun to watch.
After about 2.5 hrs i had had enough of the little waves and was getting pretty hungry so went off to find a bakery and make my way home. A pretty mellow and very enjoyable day. Enough to see me through until the next opportunity for a surf arrives. Hopefully next time at some better waves at Yorke's. If this crazy weather ever sorts itself out that is. Sorry no pics
