When people ask me "What music do you like?" I never know what to say. I love music, but what music I love really depends on the mood. Looking at the most played albums on my iPod people would probably be no closer in figuring out my tastes. Foals, Appleseed Cast, The Belligerents, Van Morrison, Bright Eyes, Cut Copy, Tegan and Sara, Jimmy Eat World, and Jamie T all seem to be on high rotation.
I never regret anything I do, it's the things I don't do that I regret. One of them was to learn an instrument when I was young. I have tried since, but after 3 useless strums of the guitar I always seem to crack it and put it down in anger. I go to many music gigs at home, and I always love whatever music it is, but the little devil in me always looks on in envy at how easy these people seem to make a note, a tune and a song out of such a primitive concept.
One such person is Arry Wilson, a friend of mine I have known since the days of Beta video tapes. The first time I saw him play would be 2 years ago in West End, I was really impressed, and the handful of times I have seen him since he continues to improve and put on an enjoyable set.
One time I saw him last year up at Kings Beach Tavern and was lucky enough to have my camera with me - and be sober enough to use it still. Hopefully you enjoy the photos.
From what I have heard he has a drummer with him now, so it will be good to see how they progress together - even if I am on the other side of the world.
Here's a story that most of you reading will have no interest in whatsoever. But because I can, I am going to write it anyway.
I guess the highlight of the story, by which I mean if this was a movie, this is the one scene you don't want to miss is best summed up by the following quote from sailinganarchy.com during there regatta coverage of the Mumm 30 World Championships in Newport, Rhode Island, USA circa 2008.
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.............All that being said, we are still in decent spirits and we are better off than a broken rig or a severely holed boat.
Which brings me to Superfly...
These guys have tried so hard and overcome so much to get to this point, today was just heart breaking. at the start of race 2, Mescalzone tacked to port, tried to duck, but something went wrong and they couldn't bear off in time and t-boned the Aussies something fierce. No worries, the guys from Superfly are still in great spirits and trying their best to make a bad situation the best they can.
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Basically, our team had got together early in the year with the aim of doing something at the World's in Newport. That something ended up being the last thing anyone would want, but more on that later.
Myself and Josh (who actually requested this story) went to New York for a few days before the rest of the team came over. I won't say how our flight was - actually I will, it was terrible, China Airlines flights which went from Brisbane - Sydney - Taiwan - Alaska - New York. For those playing at home, grab an atlas and look at that flight path and prove to me there is a more indirect flight in the world!
The week was great, all the sites that New York has we encountered, but flying a helicopter around Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty was definitely the highlight. Along with grabbing a NY Rangers game at Madison Square Garden, and hanging out with a heap of mad dogs at the exclusive Soho House and throughout the Tribeca District our week was a pretty good time to be alive.
This trip was 2.5 years ago and one memory that really stands out is the DREADED weight limit the Mumm 30 class has. Basically at top level regattas there is a maximum that the crew's combined weight can't exceed. Our situation led to us all having to lose weight with one of our heavier guys dropping in excess of 10kg's (I got down to 71kg, which is pretty rank considering I am still lean and currently weigh 76kg).
Meeting the rest of the guys at JFK Airport, picking up our hire bus and driving from NY to RI proved quite interesting at times, with the call "straight arm, straight road" often being used when the unfamiliarity of driving on the wrong side of the road really kicked in.
Our plan was to settle in to our home for the next 2 weeks, and finally have a look at our boat and set it up for the regatta - This was fine. Finding a few dodgy blocks and soft spot in the deck mean a few repairs and fitting refit - that was fine. What wasn't fine was the fact that in the process of craning our mast into the boat, a dodgy knot meant we lost the rig onto the concrete and ended up snapping a critical component of the rig - so critical in fact, that it meant we could not go sailing and finding a compatible spare part meant we lost 2 days of time.
Finally getting that fixed was all well and good, but it also meant that we had lost a lot of time and our first time in sailing the boat was sailing out to the start of the first race, this was also the first time of seeing the course. Actually we cut it so fine that we were still setting the boat up on the way out and we got to the start line with less than 3 minutes to go (you should usually get there at least an hour before for set up and practice).
Im not sure what happened over the next 20 minutes but I do remember coming into the first rounding mark in second place and looking behind us to see and America's Cup winning tactician, a couple of Olympic Medallists, plus plenty of World Champions and other top ranked professionals and thinking "Shit, how are we gonna keep this". Eventually the breeze kicked in more and with every increase in pressure, an untuned rig meant it felt like running a 100m final in concrete boots. Finishing that race around 6th ended up being one of the only highlights of our regatta.
The next day was a terrible day of racing for us, and day 3 brought us some better results to see us going into day 4 around the 13th spot mark. Waking up to an absolute gale on day 5 led most boats to believe racing would be abandoned for the day, however the nature of the regatta and quality of the fleet meant the race must go on, a stance that would ultimately end our regatta. The first race of the day lead to a few fun and wild rides, especially downwind, where due to the late stage of the regatta, meant a high risk high reward strategy for a lot of boats. More like high consequences, as boats lost control in wind speeds that often sneaked over 40 knots.
The next start was a great one for us, in a good position to windward of the fleet it was happy days! Until the Italian team "Mascalzone Latino" tried to duck behind us and ended up T-Boning us mid-ship, this caused severe damage to the boat, so much so that there was a risk of her sinking. In the end, that was the last time we sailed Superfly, as the insurance company wrote her off and our campaign was over. The Italians, as as result, threw away their winning position in the regatta and ended up 3rd overall.
We all drowned our sorrows in Newport and a few days later found ourselves in Taipei for some RnR.
We eventually got a new boat - she is called Italian Job - I'm not sure where that name comes from.
My very first day in Italy was three months ago, I went into a shopping centre and walked into a sports store to get some socks, only to find a massive display for the Mascalzone Latino Team, including their shirts, sailing gear, and a poster of the very boat that killed ours. Definitely a weird experience.
I probably would have never posted this blog as it was so long ago, but Josh requested it so here it is.
I'm pretty sure most of you will not have got this far into the story, but I really don't care ha.
If you did make it, listen to this song as a reward.
Austra - Lose It.
Times Square
New York Skyline
Old lady
Near Little Italy
Rockafella
Spot the tourist (is that a tour guide in my pocket?)
On my favourite bridge in the World - Brooklyn Bridge.
Sunset the day before the first race - boat just put in the water, with plenty of work to do still.
Crew Photo
Incident - we lost a boat, they lost a world title.
Comprehending.
Me front and centre perfecting the "Forlorn" look
Assessment.
Meanwhile the fun on the racecourse kept going.
The close racing that one design brings - 20 seconds would often be the difference between 5th and 15th.
Taipei - i would definitely recommended not going there for more than 2 days.
So it has been around one week since i jumped on the big bird over to Nice, it took roughly 30hours of travel and it was all pretty average - exceptionally average in fact. Except for the Arab guy in Dubai airport with a suitcase full of duty free chocolates and other treats, that part was well above average on all accounts.
I have started to get a vibe for the place, and met a lot of cool people - each with their own story and background, but all here with the common goal of securing some form of employment on a super yacht. Staying in a trailer park in Biot, 2km down the beach from Antibes has actually been pretty cool. It is full of people doing the same thing as me, so it is a bit of a community, with most people willing to help you out (keep in mind most people are after the same jobs!).
It is generally a nice place, and my week long training course has been pretty fun, especially afterwards where our group going to the beach for sunset beers ha grown from 4 to 13 in 3 days. Thanks to twilight, these sunset beers last from 5pm through to 930pm. Splitting the carton means we get 4 hours of fun for the price of 4Euro.
Here are some photos i have taken over the last week - well I lie, i have only taken my camera out once, which was during my walk from Biot to Antibes on Sunday afternoon.
The last 6 months have seen me travel from Samoa to Iceland, Korea to Dubai and a bucket load of places in between, hands down my favourite part of this has been the people I have met - many of whom are now some of my best friends. Going by the last 6 days, it's hard to comprehend the amount of cool cats I will meet and add to this "list" in the near future.
TONIGHT.
I am going overseas for an indefinite period of time, I will be based in Antibes, France, working on boats in the Med before hopefully going to the Caribbean around Christmas time for a few months. So it should be 12 months, give or take.
This song popped up on my playlist a few days ago and it is pretty much me at this point of time. Lyrics are below.
Thanks to all my friends and family who have made my life awesome, you know who you are! Brisbane will always be home.
I'm coming back, just don't know when.
Jono
Grouplove - Don't Say Oh Well
Yeah I step outta my little country
I travelled seasons, took a longboat
And now I find my self in a small town
It's so remote I couldn't trawl
So I kissed my mommy, I wanna sweet cheeks
And I told my dad I'm real glad that we're friends
Said to my brother I'll surely miss him
I'm coming back just don't know when
Waited enough to find the truth, the pain, again then say oh well
Don't say oh well
Don't say oh well
And I told my bandmates, they are my soulmates
And I hope we can understand
That this year has been a big one, yeah
We following what we don't plan
So do you got that sweet devotion
Oh will you follow your heart's plan
Oh why not jump in to that ocean
And run your fingers through your hair
Waited enough to find the truth, the pain, again then say oh well
Don't say oh well x4
Home - 2009 - One of the first DSLR photos I ever took.
It's Australia's own version of "South of the Border", people love the fact that for under $1000 they can have a flight, and accommodation for a week paid for, and have a grand old time for ridiculously cheap. They also love the fact that they can board a plane that morning in the middle of a freezing winter, and a few hours later they will be watching the sunset on the beach in their swimmers with a 60c beer in their mitts.
It's no wonder this place has become popular.
I have graced the shores of Bali a number of times, the first being in 2005. However it wasn't the cheap booze and liberal lifestyle that attracted us there. It was the waves. Spending up to a month there at a time, every trip was, as they say "Same, same, but different". From the wide-eyed virgin trip myself and Ben did the first time, the wild nights when Noel joined us the second time around, as well as our jungle adventures to G-Land. Then this time around, the 3am motor bike rides myself and Troy did looking for "potential waves".
Due to work, we only had two weeks to get our fix in 2009, so I joined Shane, Jono H, and Troy at the airport with the aim of getting as much out of the trip as we could. Discussing this over a few beers in the airport lounge lead to us sprinting for the plane and making it by the skin of our teeth.
Having a real dislike for Kuta these days a.k.a. "Sin City", we were lucky enough to only have a couple of nights there. Our arrival night, Jono H's birthday night, and one more night one we arrived back from Nusa Lembongan.
Nusa Lembongan is one of those places I call my happy place, not too popular with the tourists yet, a beach lined with $3 a night accommodation each with their own restaurant out the front. Not to mention it is home to one of the funnest and most extraordinary surf breaks around "Shipwrecks". Due to tide in the strait between Bali and Lembongan, this place only breaks on the high tide. Knowing this from past experience, we made the 30minute walk/paddle out there at low tide whilst the surf was only 1ft. An hour of swimming the reef, followed by 30min of 2-3ft fat waves, followed by 1hour of perfect empty 4-5ft waves meant was probably one of the funnest surf i have had over there. By the time the circus was onto it we were well and truly content with what we had and our 4 hour session was joyfully reflected upon over a few beers whilst watching the now 50 strong circus fight for the days last waves from our bungalow.
The next few days, with the surf small, were spent motorbiking around Lembongan, swimming the reefs and caves, and cliff diving, not to mention building such a rapport with the bungalow owners that they left us one night with a fridge full of beer and letting us use the honesty box.
Back in Bali, the rest of our time was spent in Bingin, making daily pre-dawn 90min motorbike trips to east coast Keramas for morning waves before spending the afternoon on the western Bukit basking in the offshore trades and the endless lines synonymous with this island.
Breaking up the day with watermelon juice, beng beng bars, Dreamlands shorey sessions, nasi goreng as well as countless episodes of The Office, lead to an all round fun trip.
The biggest shock for me was the crowd compared to 5 years earlier. Cheap airfares has really allowed everyone to get there, surfers and non-surfers, and the amount of europeans in the line-up had increased five-fold.
Ayo!
Music: The Beautiful Girls - La Mar. I chose this vid as it is all Indonesia, G-Land at the start, then Keramas around 1:30 into it, then Shipwrecks and the Bukit make an appearance towards the end.
Arriving at my happy place.
Nusa Lembongan life.
Watching the Shipwrecks Circus
Nusa Lembongan
Nusa Lembongan
Troy and myself - post surf discussion.
Keramas sunrise.
Bukit afternoons
Near Dreamlands
Bingin Sunset
Keramas
Keramas
Keramas
Monkey Magic
Shane admiring the edge of the earth.
Team - Shane, Troy, Jono H, Jono W
Dreamlands
Dreamlands - where a lot of our midday fun would be.
Being a fanatical soccer supporter, I remember vividly Australia's first game at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Every Aussie will remember it, the one against Japan where we scored 3 goals in the last 7 minutes for a come from behind 3-1 victory. I remember there and then saying to my mates who were watching it "We are going to South Africa no matter what!"
Four years later, Heerey, Scott, Nathan and myself were at Brisbane Airport getting ready for 5 weeks of madness in Africa.
A two day stop over in Dubai on the way was a nice little warm up, water slides, Arabian Gulf swims, Desert Safaris, as well as the world's tallest building and biggest shopping mall were made the more easier with my old work mate Rob driving us around.
After the warm up it was on to the main event, landing in Durban and meeting Nathan's girlfriend Lou at the airport who was to join us for the next 5 weeks. The next 10 days was spent in a camper van driving from Durban to Cape Town, swimming with Great White Sharks, cruising game parks looking for lions and other wildlife, surfing, campfires and of course the odd bottle of scotch.
Staying at a friends backpackers in Cape Town for a week allowed us to meet some awesome people and I think the scrabble board at 33 South is quite a popular legacy that we left behind. Highlights were climbing Table Mountain (hungover and totally unprepared), our Stellenbosch wine tour, the house party at 33 South's new Loft (just don't trust Scott's electrical prowess there!).
Leaving our friends in Cape Town behind, it was off to Johannesburg for the night before going north and into Zambia and Zimbabwe. Seeing the Victoria Falls were amazing, I was lucky enough to see them on foot, from the air in a Microlight plane, as well as whilst I was bouncing around on the end of a bungee chord. However one of the coolest views was during my pre-dawn lone trek to the falls for sunrise (you will see the photo below). A sunset cruise on the Zambezi River, as well as morning fishing trip up the river also rounded out a week where I celebrated my 25th birthday in unforgettable fashion.
From Zimbabwe, it was back to Joburg, and then a bus trip back to Durban for the start of the World Cup. Going into the Fanatics camp at Kingsmead Cricket Ground, our home for the next 3 weeks was celebrated with 3am arrival beers with our new friends. Cheap drinks, 2000 like minded individuals, and a bar in our compound that was impossible to get kicked out of meant a lot of hangovers and amazing memories (a lot which are fuzzy!). Throw into the mix gigs by Powderfinger and Fatboy Slim, as well as hanging out with Mark Bosnich and a heap of other Socceroos legends, and Foxsports commentators it was worth every penny.
The typical Durban day involved wake up around 9, free breakfast, walk to the beach and play beach soccer with the locals, hang at Joe Cool's Bar for lunch and the first World Cup game of the day before going back to camp for dinner and a few, or a lot of drinks into the night whilst watching the rest of the games. Of course when Durban was hosting a game, the town was a buzz and the live sites were definitely an experience. Other activities included more game park tours, zulu village tours, Shaka Marine World, as well as hanging out at Gateway and getting pummelled by the Gateway Wave House.
Following the Socceroos took us to Rustenberg, which involved a car park party with the locals in the middle of nowhere, as well as checking out Sun City Casino. For our trip to Nelspruit for the last game, we decided to drive our own car for the 12hour each way journey. However a broken GPS meant we did get lost, ending up in Swaziland for the night where a flat tyre in the desert was not the most desirable situation to be in. We did go through Kruger for our third and final game park, and coming home with a Socceroos win under the belt was a pretty good feeling.
Media attention was one thing we could not avoid, thanks to our now infamous Koala Hats. News crews from far and wide would come up to us pre and post game due to this, and at last count we had interviews by crews from, Australia, Argentina, Spain, France, Nigeria, as well as some Asian country, it was hilarious and we soon developed a competition of who could say the most outrageous thing, often on a live feed to millions of people.
This trip really couldn't have gone any better, and in our debrief the four of us still can't believe that after 5 weeks of close quarter living there was not even a hint of blow up at all. It definitely was a great time, with a great group of mates, and it set a stupidly high precedent for all future trips away.
Team Theme song for the trip!
Sharky!
Team Photo: Me, Heerey, Scott, Nath - and our Koala Hats.
Campfire beers, Knysna
On the road to nowhere.
Light fun.
Cape L'Agulhas - near Africa's most southern point.
