Crystal Voyager

Summer Reprieve

2012-02-02T23:16:00.001+08:00

So we moved recently. We've been in our new house for three months and they've been big ones. We're loving it - so glad we moved. We're slowly making it our own and finding homes for everything.

James waxing up his new board ready to surf

We've already made ourselves a boardrack!

We've had a lot of wind and heat and not many waves this Summer. We went to Manly, Sydney for Christmas, but more about that later...
James and I got a surf down at Hussas late arvo, after a wild search through Dunsborough and Yallingup. I learn about conditions and places every time we head down there. It's pretty confusing when you don't see places regularly. We looked at Yallingup, went to Smiths... We wound up at Windmills and it was so big it was dumping overhead onto the rocky, granite shore. After that, I'd decided just to head back to Yallingup and go out there - by which time, the wind came howling in.

So Hussas was good. It looked big but was actually too fat to catch. We both caught a wave and felt pretty good, I think, about being out somewhere unfamiliar. The next day was another lesson wave hunting. We went here:

Unridden perfection

- A place suggested by my Uncle, who is a local. His call was good on Hussas the day before and when we turned up at Moses Rock it looked soooooo nice. I was going to be going out on my own and got to the point of suiting up and standing on the stairs... before I chickened out and decided I didn't like it so much with the wind shift... and were those set waves getting bigger..? So, second guessing myself, I decided to go check out Hussas again. Upon arrival though, we found that it was flat without the wind pushing swell in, and the conditions had obviously dropped, unlike what was forecast. So we missed the window.

I second guessed myself and missed out. It's hard to be brave sometimes. And it's always easier when you go out with someone who knows the lay of the land to tell you how it all works, where to get in, get out, watch the rocks, where to sit...

And I think it is a definite balance between *being safe and knowing your limits* and *having confidence in yourself and judging the conditions with a clear mind*. I think I should have gone out at Moses Rock. It has become a monkey on my back and I hope I'll be able to give is a go on one of my next trips south.

In the meantime, I'm trying to remind myself of what I'm capable of. To stop over analysing waves and just get out there. I definitely need to find some bigger balls.

We've just started surfing Tom's in the last few weeks. You could say that we've discovered it. For ourselves, that is. It's no secret - loads of people surf there, but we never have. I assumed it didn't break in Summer and Scarborough was always closer. When Cott breaks, we go there. So it's been a real treat to realise there is a reef break in Perth that breaks on a small swell! We've had 2 out of 3 good surfs there and are starting to get it sussed. Between Tom's and Wedge, I've actually had quite a few surfs over the last fortnight. It feels good.

Byron Bay Surfer Girl

2012-01-31T19:21:00.001+08:00

Lonley surf at beautiful Wategoes from Rest Your Eyes on Vimeo.
I had to post this (again maybe?) because I love everything about it.

Summer Soaking

2012-01-20T14:35:00.000+08:00

Surf conditions have been dire this Summer. Can't remember the last surf I had here. Lots of early seebreezes and intermittent, lacklustre swells. So I took the dSLR out finally in the waterpoof housing I bought a few months back. It didn't leak, which was a good start and I saw a huge eagle ray on the way to shore. A real treat.

I can't wait to take the kit out in some waves. Also excited to get some shots around sunset.

Girls Gone Wild at Wedge

2011-12-12T18:02:00.000+08:00

It is becoming something of a tradition now for our group of girls to head up to
Lancelin once or twice a year. As the back beach often provides nothing but
disappointment we have begun venturing further a field. Now with two 4WDs
between us, we have been sleeping at Lano and burning up to Wedge to surf. This
is what we did this trip. Checked out the back beach. (Filthy, silty, weedy close outs
with two frothers out) then went for a drive to Wedge just for the sake of it.

For those not in the know, Wedge Island is a little island off the coast of WA, north
of Lancelin. The coastline in between is relatively uncrowded and isolated. The
Bombing Range (yes, it has that name for a reason) is a long strip of white sand and
waves accessible only by 4x4 and enjoyed by surfers and fishermen alike.

The little encampment of holiday and fishing shacks is generally just known as
Wedge. So we head up to Wedge, past the makeshift rubbish tip, and then find our
way onto the beach to drive until we like the look of the waves.

Generally speaking, we’ve always been with fathers and husbands when doing any
serious beach driving. Last time we came, there was a cyclone, high tides and no
beach to drive on at all. Great waves though!!

So this time we made it along the tracks and onto the beach with Leeann leading
the way. I always encourage this as I seem to have a blank zone in my brain for
directions when it comes to this place. Onto there beach and there was some
hilarious fishtailing until I suggested to Leeann that she go a bit faster – which she
happily did without any further encouragement.

At this point I need to say again that conditions were hideous on Saturday. Not
another soul on the beach for as far as it stretched. But the winds… Strong cross-
shore winds which eventually swung onshore.

So surfing consisted of catching whitewater, or if you were sensible, hiding in the car and reading a book, like Jo did. The winds were creating a small dune under my car that directed sand up and
straight in through the windows! After packing up, we had a good inch of flour-like
sand over everything in the boot.

Now. Which entry did we come onto the beach from? The one next to the cliff?
Which track did we take? I don’t remember this corner? Must have been left… I
don’t remember these bushes. I was supremely happy to follow Leeann for reasons
I already mentioned. So we ended up driving up a too narrow track to a hill that
we hadn’t been to before. We decided to turn around. Leeann performed a perfect
three-point turn at the top of a dune, cos no one told her she couldn’t. I decided to
do mine on a ‘flat’ section of ground and wound up with one tire off the ground! An
adventure if ever I saw one! We were all out of the car to inspect said tire. Solutions
were debated and tires were deflated.
The girls had no problem pushing me out and promptly enjoyed covered up the holey evidence. I gunned it back over our previous hill and then it was Leeann’s turn. Halfway up the hill, then back down. At this point we were wandering the track trying to figure out where they’d ended up. Tires down and then they were up and over. A left and another left and we were out. Nothing dramatic but I think we all felt like we had been tested and passed.

About 20km out of Lancelin we saw a group of skater guys preparing to leave their
skins on the bitumen during their descent from Nilgen Lookout to the valley below.
Typical Aussies; topless in boardies. Some of them may have been wearing thongs
(flipflops).

The reward for our search is always a bbq fry up. On Friday, Tania and I did the
food shop and bought a kilo of bacon (which we didn’t come close to eating!) eggs,
tomatoes, mushrooms and hashbrowns! Nothing tastes better after a surf!

Champagne slushies helped fuel us for the night we spent walking the entire length
of the Lancelin township in gale force winds. Turns out the pub restaurant can be
booked out in Lano. Should have made a reservation! And that’s without the skimpies
working. So back we walked to a quieter restaurant. Tania and I were upsold on the
seafood pasta, which tasted like it only had those two ingredients.

Early start on Sunday morn as the forecast was favourable. Straight up to Wedge this
time. Saw two tiger snakes and a bobtail before we even got to the sand track. We
all paid a lot more attention to the directions this time. A few more cars on the beach
today and some pretty nice looking peaks. A group of four longboarders were loving
the peak near where we parked up. Conditions were a lot smaller than the previous
day and just perfect for us.

I took out my 5’6 mini simmons and had a great time catching its first shapely waves.
It is taking some getting used to after my usual 7’6 and 9’1. Any advice would be
much appreciated. Feels like it needs positioning in the centre/front of the board, but
with more weight on the back foot.

Between both days, all the girls had some good waves and the two plus hour trip
home was a very subdued affair. Of course we didn’t leave before we had bacon and
avocado toasted sandwiches with the remainder of the kilo of bacon Tania insisted
we buy. Good call.

Dunsborough Escape

2011-12-05T23:16:00.001+08:00

El Salvador CA

This shot was meant to have James skating along behind me, but clearly I needed to have used the fisheye, not at 35mm.

cross country

New board rack for our new house

2011-11-30T22:13:00.001+08:00

On the weekend we made a boardrack for our new house.

We started off with a 3m pine plank and a 3m, 25mm dowel.

There was a lot of measuring twice and cutting once. Followed by a fair amount of sanding and hole drilling.

Then there was some painting... (note the board arrangement in the background)

and some hammering...

More drilling...

Our finished rack - looking very pleased with ourselves.

Our great rack. Stocked with boards.

Hooking

2011-10-27T13:14:00.001+08:00

So this is a slightly different post from the usual. I started crocheting a few months ago. Just one step further into nanna-ness. Anyway it's super useful and cheap. Been making mates slouchy beanies as free patterns are in abundance. Wanted to make a pair of fingerless gloves for a friend's birthday and set about finding a pattern I liked. In the end, I developed my own. I'm including it here...

8 ply wool, 6mm crochet hook
Work flat in rows, turning your work at the end of each row.

Row 1: Chain 25
Row 2: hdc into 2nd chain from the hook. Hdc to end.
Row 3: Chain 2 to turn. Hdc entire row.
Row 4-7: repeat row 3.
Row 8: 1 chain to turn. sc entire row,
Row 9: As for 8.
Row 10: chain 2, dc in same stitch. Skip the next stitch, *2 dc in same stitch, skip the next stitch* repeat * to * til end.
Rows 11,12,13: chain 2, hdc to end.
Rows 14: As for row 10.
Row 15: chain2 to turn. hdc to end.
Row 16: as for 15.
Row 17: As for 15.
Row 18: As for row 10.
Row 19: As for 15
Row 20: as for 15
Row 21: As for 15
Row 22: chain 2 to turn, 2dc in same stitch. Skip next stitch. *3dc in next stitch, skip stitch* repeat * til end.
Row 23: chain 2. *hdc2tog, hdc in following stitch* repeat * til end.
Row 24: chain 2, hdc in next stitch. hdc in each stitch til the end.
Row 25: chain 1, sc in same stitch, sc in each stitch til end.

Fasten off.
Lastly slip stitch long sides together, right sides in. Else you can stitch with a tapestry needle, if preferred.
Beginning at top edge and using the photo as a guide, slip stitch edges together for 1 in. (2.5 cm), leave next 1 1/2 in. (4 cm) open for thumb, slip stitch remainder of side edges together. Fasten off and weave in ends.

stitch detail

Summer Season

2011-10-21T11:57:00.001+08:00

First day of the Summer sailing season last weekend. I hung around to take some shots of the start of the Sabre dinghy race. My dad, along with a couple of the other boys, have built their own dinghies to start up this class at their yacht club.

Sweet little, one man, one sail boats. This was his first race in his new boat.

Bronze

2011-10-14T15:52:00.001+08:00

Bronze , originally uploaded by Hannah Katarski.

More faves...

2011-10-14T15:50:00.001+08:00

Hannah Katarski's favorites on Flickr.

Around town

2011-10-01T14:44:00.002+08:00

Spring has been pretty nice. I've been enjoying my new 5'6 mini simmons and my new (2nd hand) canon rebel 2000. I think I might need me one of these bikes with a basket too...

It's been a bit of a challenge finding waves with shape lately - the curse of living in Perth. Hoping that we're not done for the year as far as swell goes. Can't wait til the next session with decent waves so I can build up some confidence and consistency on the new board. A standing wave in the back yard sure starts to look good after surfing day after day of close outs.

Bombing Range

2011-09-30T19:15:00.000+08:00

We went up to Lancelin for the weekend back in May. The waves were terrible, it was too big for the banks. So we made our own fun.

mini grom

More eye candy

2011-09-12T21:38:00.001+08:00

Hannah Katarski's favorites on Flickr.

Winter in Byron

2011-09-10T19:36:00.001+08:00

20110803-_LX_5421.jpg, originally uploaded by alexfringsphoto via flickr.

Magic duck dive shot...

Gnaraloo: Voyaging for Waves 6/6 - Dune Jumping Turtles

2011-09-10T09:00:00.000+08:00

Gnaraloo: Voyaging for Waves 5/6 - flat day fun

2011-09-09T10:41:00.000+08:00

On a windy blown out day, we went to Dolphin Point. The swell had dropped too much to surf. We also went walking in the dunes.

luging

Gnaraloo: Voyaging for Waves - 4/6 - Fencelines

2011-09-08T10:38:00.000+08:00

Callum

Shots taken by James

Ella getting a push

Siblings :)

Drop

Gnaraloo: Voyaging for Waves - 3/6 - Tombstones

2011-09-07T22:09:00.000+08:00

Morning surf check

Uncle Bill at Tombstones

Laid back

Dad - whale breach on the horizon

Dad

Whales

Virtual photoshoot

2011-09-06T23:38:00.000+08:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8810660@N02/3820399859/in/faves-hannah_katarski/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/raenbow/4701970739/in/set-72157607487061919

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150109437045432&set=a.10150109436645432.279792.107488610431&type=1

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.107919930431.97617.107488610431&aft=376542040431&type=1

Images by: Leo Jauncy, Don't mess with Texas, Micah Camara, jacogigante & Blue Element Photography

New juice

2011-09-06T22:31:00.001+08:00

Hannah Katarski's favorites on Flickr.

I'm hanging out to post some more photos, but they're on my mac, which is unplugged on the floor, surrounded by all our furniture while we wait for new carpets.

Gnaraloo: Voyaging for Waves - 3 Mile Camp 2/6

2011-09-05T22:06:00.001+08:00

Magenta L❤ve

2011-09-04T16:32:00.001+08:00

Magenta L❤ve, originally uploaded by Hannah Katarski.

Took the new board for a surf today. The conditions were pretty average - post storm, drunken swell. Took me ages to find waves. Only found a couple and then the conditions died. Took a leaf out of James' book and caught some foam. Should have done that at the beginning to at least get a feel for how it trims.

It will take me a bit of getting used to, I think. Like any new board. I found I needed to stand further forward which was surprising. Once I get it sussed I reckon I'll be able to catch anything on it! Planes nicely and duck dives like a dream!!

She's so pretty!
❤

New Toy!

2011-09-02T19:56:00.000+08:00

My mini simmons arrived today! Isn't she beautiful?!

She is now all waxed up - I bought pink wax for the occasion - and has a lovely new leg rope. Allll ready for this current swell - as soon as the wind gets sorted.

Excuse the blurry shot, but you need to see the fins!

This board will be a huge size reduction from my usual 9'1 and 7'6. My 6'8 rarely gets a look in because we rarely have the waves for it but this board has heaps more volume. My first custom - stoked. And stoked with the colour. Never thought I'd ride a board shorter than I am tall.

5'6" of magenta goodness. Can't wait to see how she rides!!

My recent favourites...

2011-09-01T18:08:00.001+08:00

Hannah Katarski's favorites on Flickr.

Click through to see the credit and the image large.

My new board

2011-08-25T19:25:00.001+08:00

It will be winging its way to me next week!!

Check it out here!!
http://www.blackapachesurfboards.com.au/uncategorized/mini-simmons-deluxe-for-hannah/

5 feet and six inches of magenta goodness!!

Cottesloe in Winter

2011-08-23T17:54:00.000+08:00

It is almost Spring :]

By the pool

2011-08-23T08:00:00.001+08:00

So I haven't been well for the rest of the trip. Managed to drag myself around to a few shops with my mum on the last day. That was about all the shopping I ended up doing. Dad, Rich and Em all surfed on the last day, but I know I'm sick when I can't get excited about surfing. So the most energetic thing I got up to was lying by the pool and doing a cryptic crossword with my mum.

This is what else was happening earlier on in the week.

Fun with the nephews

Baby pool time!

Cocktails

Bali - surf expeditions - part 2

2011-08-22T17:06:00.000+08:00

Dad finding a few last waves at Legian before returning home to Winter

Canggu Trips

In the minivan! Click to enlarge these shots... :)

A rainbow assortment of gear: 6 surfboard, 7 people and no roof racks

Richard checking the peaks

We missed the offshores on our second trip

A few coffees overlooking the bay

Fun in the reforms

Hotel

Sneaky right - Legian

Mint.

2011-08-21T21:06:00.001+08:00

Mint., originally uploaded by Hannah Katarski.

Tidak bagus & Bali nightlights

2011-08-20T05:49:00.003+08:00

Two days of our trip have been spent feeling very fragile. Both James and I had an attack of Bali belly or some derivative. Stomach cramps all Wesnesday. The night was a tag-team, world of pain and we still felt very tender Thursday.

So. Instead of more about that, here are some photos of the lovely lanterns around Legian and Seminyak.

I just wasn't well enough to surf for the remainder of the trip, even though my dad had so much fun on Saturday that he had to go out twice. It's my fourth trip to Bali and I've never been sick before, so I guess that's pretty goods odds.

Canggu - stoked in Bali - Surf Expeditions Part 1

2011-08-19T17:21:00.001+08:00

We went to Canggu on Tuesday too. Only, this time the dude with the van didn't have roof racks. Turns out you can still get six surfboards across Bali sans racks. All you need is a strap or two...

Dad really hoping his kneeboard, the shortest and least secure on the roof, makes it to the beach!

The conditions were similar, but the wind was already in when we arrived. Doesn't seem to make a great deal of difference here, unlike home. Felt a lot more confident today and caught more waves even though it wasn't as clean.

Bit of a paddle out. Crapper but more crowded.

This was our last chance for some waves before the swell kicked up. Thursday was 14ft instead of the 7 and 8 of the previous days.

Post surf happiness:

Bali Bagus!

2011-08-19T14:46:00.002+08:00

We are in Bali! We've had a terrific couple of days. Sunday we went for a surf right out the front of the hotel. The shape is very dependent on the tide here and it's taken us a few days to get the gist of it. A few swims in the pool. A trip up to the 'Bintang markets' on some bogus information meant we didn't find any markets. turns out it's a supermarket specialising in beige food. Deep fried stuff, biscuits, noodles, anything lacking in nutritional content. Then we walked back from Seminyak to Legian.

As there are 18 of us over here for James' 30th, we've had no shortage of people to eat with and do things with.

Monday was James' birthday. 6 of us piled into a van, stacked 6 boards on the roof and drove to Canggu. We surfed at Tuggu while the birthday boy enjoyed the coffee overlooking the breaks and being chatted up by the waitress. The waves were really nice, but Leeann, Rich and I wasted a bit of time trying to catch soft reforms when we should have gone straight out the back. Once I went out the back I only caught three waves before the tide got too high and the swell died. All hands and boards made it back safely.

Nasi goreng at the hotel before we shot off into Kuta to meet James' family at the water bomb park. Unfortunately we didn't realize the cost to get in! $26US per person. Between the 6 of us we had enough to get 3 or 4 people in. In the end, the others went off to do some shopping and James and I went in alone. Found the family and had a great time creating log jams on the river with all of James' siblings. Going random on the watersides was also great fun and we got braver and braver. Hayley went on the climax slide - the one where you get closed in a clear capsule - and can proudly say she is one of the people that got stuck and had to climb out the hatch. If you don't weigh enough or aren't going fast enough, you don't make it through the loop the loop and slide backwards, til you stop and get rescued out the hatch!

We had dinner back at the hotel as they had a seafood BBQ. So great that James could spend the evening with friends and family who were able to come over for the occasion.

The campest maitre'd sang Happy Birthday, Marilyn Monroe style then was led around the dance floor by Jim. Here he is getting a skate helmet from his mates.

Sunny Sunday

2011-08-07T16:05:00.000+08:00

Today was wonderful. We're back to our usual Winter weather for a few days; blue skies and 20 degrees.
Finally found some surf somewhere with shape. Leighton was glassy with some nice a-frame peaks. Managed a roundhouse style cutback on my mal which made my day. Then James met me at the beach with a coffee and we went for a skate on the super smooth, new hot mix paths.
The afternoon has been spent sitting in the sunshine, drinking tea and binding a new 'colour study' sketch book.

Roast for dinner. Perfect end to any weekend.

Kombi Kamping

2011-08-05T17:40:00.002+08:00

I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that as a teenager I wanted to one day own a kombi of my own. My uncle had a metallic blue one when I was a kid. The bohemian, travelling, drifter in us all can't help but be seduced by them. Travelling wherever the wind or whim takes you... whether it be a perfect point break, deserted forest trails or into the throng of a festival. Supremely customisable, archaically functional - if a little quirky - with oh so much personality.
For some, the dream remains a dream. Others commit to the tweaking and tinkering that comes with the reward of ownership and the sweet, sweet freedom.

It can be hard to balance responsible, adult life with the desire to escape and take off. I find my balance here.

Winter

2011-08-04T14:50:00.000+08:00

The sun is shining today! It has been a while. We've had front after front pass the south of the coast and whilst we've had swell, it's been accompanied by gale force, onshore winds. Not pretty. I've ordered my mini simmons. Magenta. It should be finished up and arrive just after we get back from Bali. Bali is now just 8 days away and the warmth will be welcome. Couldn't quite wrap my head around the thought of surfing without a steamer. It will be sweet.

In the meantime, the winds have finally swung offshore, there is swell lingering and we're heading to the beach this arvo. At work today I had these guys playing outside my office window. Red-tale black cockatoos. They're so majestic and big. Bigger than a crow or raven. They're an endangered species so you don't see so many of them around the city.

bigger is better...

2011-07-27T17:23:00.000+08:00

After spending time up in Gnaraloo I had the epiphany that shortboarding isn’t really for me. It is something I’ve been aiming towards, but the reality is that starting to surf at 25 doesn’t really lend itself to vertical reos and insane cutbacks. You need to have been doing it since you were a little tacker. Plus we rarely have good quality shortboarding waves, so there’s just not the opportunity to develop my shortboarding skills. Perhaps if I was able to surf the board 2 or three times a week I might be in with a chance. These two things combined make the journey to decent shortboarding almost impossible. The icing on the cake is that I’m not actually that attracted to it. I like the glide. Smooth, planing rides that move in synchronicity with the wave. Not the hack and slash, bunny-hop you so often see on short boards.

A few things have helped this epiphany to emerge. For instance, I saw this:

She was taking off right on the peak and styling all the way. THAT is what I want to be doing. High lines and long, 70s style cutbacks.

In the past, the turtle roll vs duck-dive has been the other incentive for working towards shortboarding. But this chick just turtled under the biggest waves, no problem. Ok. Sometimes it just takes seeing it to believe you can do it. I was also watching the Roxy Longboard Pro in Biarritz. When the pros were stuck on the inside they did all the things I do. No secrets. That’s just how it is when you LB. You can't fight it.

So I was stoked to get on my longboard and get styling. It finally occurred to me that if I was going to be stuck on the inside at Tombstones diving under 6 set waves, it really didn’t matter whether the board attached to my leg was 7 foot or 9 foot. So given that there are a lot more styling options on the 9 footer, I should start taking that out more often.

I was super stoked seeing the cheater 5s, cutbacks and the floaters that the Roxy Pro girls were pulling on their longboards. So I’ve got some concrete things to work towards.

I haven’t dismissed shortboards altogether, but the shortboard shape. In fact, I discovered the mini simmons somewhere on Flickr or someone’s blog and started doing some research. I have fallen in love. The glide of a mal in a mini-retro package! As part of the research for how short I could go, I had a paddle and caught a wave on my Dad’s 6’2 kneeboard last weekend. That was a slightly weird experience. Weirder still was seeing dad kneeboarding on a 9’ mal.

We were talking about the idea of having a crack at making one, but then that led to the idea of just letting someone shape one that really works…
If you don't know what I'm talking about, here is some serious eye candy.
After talking to a number of shapers, they all suggested that the mini simmons can go short. Super short. They have a huge amount of volume and the shovel nose that makes them easy to paddle even at 5’6. Yes. 5’6. I put the order in on Monday. They are shaped to be fast, to plane and do really well in smaller, sectioning waves. I’m sure there will be a period of adjustment and it will remain to be seen whether I can duck dive it, but I’ll have my fingers crossed.

It now seems like such a sensible alternative to the shortboard, complete with glide and Hang 5 stokeability.

If you've managed to read this far, well, well done. And thanks. :]

Surf Check

2011-07-22T10:35:00.001+08:00

I've finally finished this painting. I used friskett/masking fluid to cover the washing line and girl's hair when I was doing the washes for the sea and sky. I've been working on creating even washes and it certianly helped being able to brush over the whole area quickly, rather than filling in small areas while other parts are drying rapidly. I did, however, learn the hard way to be careful when peeling the dry fluid off the paper.

I was inspired by the muted colour scheme of yellow/oranges, clear blue and a sea foam green of this artwork by John Culqui. (While you're there, check out the cool blog & art of the Boda Surfamily) John's work is simple lines and colours, but so evocative!! I ended up using a few more colours than I'd planned but I think I'm happy with it. The overall mood is pretty close to what I was aiming for.

I'm looking into doing another short course, this time in drawing. There is a 'drawing for beginners' or an 'illustration for children's books', but I don't have a lot more info. The children's book course sounds pretty interesting. Nice context for learning and I would like to develop that illustrative style rather than a life-like, photorealist style.

My next project: a painting of my mate's kombi!

Gnaraloo - 2011 Surf Trip - 1/6

2011-07-15T16:22:00.002+08:00

Dolphins

We have been and now we are back.
All in all we were only camping for 4 days. My grandfather has been unwell and - as a lot of the family was on the trip - we needed to come home. He's doing really well now.
It felt so amazing to be up there again. In fact, when we arrived with the sun setting on Saturday afternoon, I could hardly believe we were there. We've been around the world since our last Gnaraloo trip and last July feels like a lifetime ago. The dynamic was really wonderful with my Aunt, Uncle, two cousins, as well as my Dad and James. It was great spending some time with my cousins; we haven't seen much of each other over the last few years and they've grown into amazing people.

I'll talk about the waves in the next post.

I took a pile of photos with my film cameras and will post them once they're developed. Really didn't take many digital shots, so I'm excited to see how/if I've managed to capture the trip through film. Excited to see how my Rebel 2000 (old film SLR) performs too.

We saw heaps of whales, dolphins, one dolphin who kept jumping entirely out of the water, a turtle and a reef shark/ray. There were some dugongs around too, but it's probably lucky I didn't see any of these guys! I just would have registered that it was big and not a dolphin.

Minimal injuries. Slashed my hand open on razorshell - this was after a surf as I was getting out. Ridiculous.
So still fighting fit and primed for Bali in 4 weeks!

Turtles

Ocean treasures

2011-07-14T16:21:00.000+08:00

Recent watercolours I finished since coming back from our trip.

I learn something every time I paint. Wet in wet. Wet in dry. When to use which. Blending, shading, colours. The biggest thing with watercolours is learning to leave it alone. The shell above was my first go at using masking fluid. Learned you have to take a bit of care pulling it off.

Treasures from Gnaraloo. So inspired to try a still life like this. Then I saw some work by Sue Kalab when visiting my Grandfather in hospital. Sadly I couldn't find any of her ocean inspired work online. I'm pretty happy with my limited colour pallette and the secondary shadows work well.

Rainbow in the storm

2011-06-28T12:39:00.000+08:00

Things are pretty gloomy today. A huge front is passing over the City. It feels like winter.

I spent the whole weekend painting and drawing and these are some of the results.
Pulled out the sewing machine for the first time in about 2 years. Feels good. And my needle was sufficiently worn in to blast through the watercolour paper.

After I completed the one above I came across this amazing website with tips on controlled washes and graded washes and the like. So I have been pracitisng my technique. The writer talks a lot about using the 'bead' of watercolour and not letting it dry out. Makes sense. Worth checking out if you're a beginner like me. The section on common mistakes has been invaluable. With any luck I'll now have smooth washes instead of blotchy ones and no unexpected water marks. watercolour techniques

Gnaraloo - Winter escape!

2011-06-27T13:31:00.001+08:00

In less than a week we will be taking off up north for the third time. It was touch and go as to whether we'd make the trip this year, but things have worked out. We've been head down, bum up with work for the last six months, now the holidays begin! This time next week - weather gods willing - we will be surfing in the desert and sleeping under the stars!

Across to Tombstones

I am looking forward to whales breaching, open fires, warm weather, wide skies and long rides.

The long range forecast is still a bit vague and looking big, but with any luck, the beginning of next week will bring smaller swell and fair winds.

The photos from last year's trip can be found here.
Also, a little video I made last year using my GoPro is here.

Fencelines and the full moon

Water doodles...

2011-06-24T11:11:00.000+08:00

aTENTion to detail

2011-06-23T10:31:00.001+08:00

aTENTion to detail, a gallery on Flickr.

One of my galleries on flickr. Galleries are curated collections of photos by other flickr users. There are so many talented people and so much eye candy.
This collection evokes, for me, the sence of escape and getting away from it all on an adventure in the wild.

Hannah Katarski's favorites

2011-06-23T09:37:00.001+08:00

Hannah Katarski's favorites on Flickr.

test for sharing my recent faves as an interactive mosaic.

Winter Solstice

2011-06-21T19:56:00.001+08:00

Today is the shortest day of the year - and longest night. To celebrate the return of the sun I watched it set over the ocean to be reborn tomorrow. Surfed my local, small and glassy, with two other guys until finally, it was just me and the Indian Ocean.

Happy Solstice.

Day Off

2011-06-21T12:58:00.001+08:00

I had a day owing to me and took Monday off. I went on the search and, as usually happens, wound up at the first place I checked. It was a lot windier than I'd thought, so the spot out of the wind was where everyone inevitably wound up.
Full moon and a high tide made it super deep and super fat. Found a couple of waves. One of them caught me by surprise as the fat lump of swell I was riding hit the bank and turned into an overhead steamer. All I could think about was the submerged granite rocks somewhere along the shoreline. Only succeeded in catching one other wave after that, but am hoping to go back tonight and check it out on the lower tide.

Elementia Series

2011-06-17T11:43:00.001+08:00

A series of artworks that I completed for an exhibition a few years ago. They all sold, bar one. Click through on the image to see a larger version on Flickr.

Reminiscing

2011-06-15T18:54:00.002+08:00

Winter has finally set in in Perth so it's nice to remember our Endless Summer in 2010...

It started like this...

Then it began to look like this...

Then we went here...

and ate our own body weight in basque food and gaufre (waffles)

Then traveled overland to here

Then we high-tailed it across the sea...

and drove to another western coast

And finally landed in the middle of the Pacific which looked like paradise.

For more images click through the photos to my flickr

New painting!

2011-06-12T13:14:00.001+08:00

I have finally finished this! Been blue balling it a bit. You know when you procrastinate because you don't want to make a mistake? I do it all the time. I don't know why. It's not like I can't just start again...

So I bought better quality paints and then had to wait for them to arrive, then realised I needed to get a bit familiar with them before blasting straight into painting this.

So anyway, it makes me happy. It reminds me of girls' only trips to Lancelin (2 hours north of where I live). It's one of those tiny holiday/fishing/surf towns that don't have a proper supermarket. Lots of scrub and sand dunes. Relaxed and low key. The weekends are always carefree and full of too much good food and filthy language and, with luck, some super good waves. The toughest decisions centre around which board and which thickness of wettie/rashie to wear.

Resurrections and collections

2011-06-09T16:25:00.000+08:00

Somewhere along the way I have unwittingly become a camera collector. I don't really know how or when it happened. I made the leap that many hobbie photographers make a couple of years back, switching from a digi-point&shoot to a cheapish dSLR. I then flirted with a number of cheap waterproof film and digital cameras when I started surfing. I've since upgraded to a canon 7D and have recently gotten into film again. So I've bought a number of fun 35mm toy cameras. Then an opportunity to buy a secondhand waterproof housing for a dSLR came up and I'm now the proud owner of one of those! Plus another dSLR, just because it fits the housing and came as a package deal...

The newest arrival to the family is a canon rebel 2000. Got it on ebay for $39 and it is so exciting! I've loaded it up with a new roll of provia 100 (another swag of loot off ebay!) and can't wait to see how it goes. The bonus is that my EF lenses for my digital camera fit it. The 50mm 1.8f Mark II even auto focusses. It has pretty limited settings by the standards of today's dSLRs but so much control compared to the plastic toy cameras. It still allows for multiple exposures, which is pretty cool.

My canon D10 (my first reasonable underwater cam) drowned a few months back. This was after a year's worth of use on our round-theworld trip, during which time it performed admirably. I wasn't using it, so can't be clear on what happened to it. Insurance came to the rescue and I've just recieved the shiny new replacement. So what better way to recognise the occasion than with a photo of my cat. Isn't that why we have cameras??

The mal (above) is my dad's 1969 Cordingley's Stringerless Mark IV. Took it out on the weekend! Broke the legrope on my 3rd wave. Fun though! Convex bottom and weighs about as much as I do.

It's been in the shed since I took this shot back in 2007. When he surfs stand up, he doesn't surf goofy or regular: he just stands up facing the wave, whichever way he is going.

Normally he looks like this - click image for a larger view

Trees

2011-06-08T14:21:00.000+08:00

Fermenting

2011-06-02T14:57:00.000+08:00

Lots of ideas are rolling around in my head, but now I think it's time I stop procrastinating and start pulling things off shelves and out of boxes. It's time to make a start.

Over the last couple of years I've really moved away from textiles and into mixed media and photography. Now, how to combine them all...

I'm really feeling a desire to get back into free machine embroidery.

Managing a recent art competition has been really inspiring, seeing all the great work. Dampened slightly by a sensationalised story in the paper that has rather destracted from the wonderful event and participation of so many artists. Sometimes I'm just so disheartened by our society. The media in particular. It's only good news if it's bad news.

So I'm off to hunt some waves this afternoon! The storm has passed, leaving banks, offshores and swell in its wake. That is sure to sooth my soul and wash away the week.
Hope you're finding waves and inspiration in whichever part of the world you grace.

Lazy Days

2011-06-01T11:45:00.002+08:00

Some shots of Cott from my sneaky session.

Taken with the coloursplash lomography camera. I kinda thought all plastic cameras were created equal, but it appears not. Just ordered some provia and velvia film on ebay. Can't wait to start using it.

The rain has started this week. Big storms and winds were forecast but it hasn't really happened. Was counting on them to stir up some sand banks around the city. Looks like we may be waiting a little longer.

New hobby

2011-05-21T10:00:00.001+08:00

So not much painting of late. Or collage or textile work. There just aren't enough hours in the day. Plus having to work really cuts into my 'me' time. :P It's finally starting to feel like we're getting close to Winter and so I have been doing a suitable activity.

A workmate started teaching a friend and me about three weeks ago and we're unstoppable now. It is so easy, I recommend it to anyone that wants to learn. Being a lefthander, I did feel a bit challenged. Generally I'm pretty good at reversing instructions but this was pretty confusing to mirror. I found a few nifty vids on youtube giving left-handed demos of how to do different stitches. Helped a lot.

So I have set myself the task of making a blanket. 10 squares by 10squares. That's 100 squares, kids. So far I've made about 15. There's just something about crocheted granny squares. It's so retro and nostalgic. It reminds me so beautifully of my childhood. You know those hazy, intangible memories that are more feeling than anything else? I spend half my life trying to recapture them.

Toes on the Noes

2011-05-20T15:51:00.001+08:00

I was re-watching the ROXY short surf film 'Shimmer' the other day. The interviews are a bit naff, but I like girls surfing and Roxy is always so 'feel good'. Graceful and pretty. Kula Barbieto is a featured longboarder and I saw her pop up, turn her board and then cross-setp to the nose in a sort of graceful, two-step gallop. It made so much sense! I keep trying to take my time getting to the nose and then fall off because I've missed the opportunity while I worry about keeping the board in trim.

My Uncle had told me that you need to have your board in the top third of the wave and to get down the front straight away.

So on Wednesday I gave it a go. Waves were tiny, but there were a couple of people hanging five, so it reminded me to give it a go. I managed to pull off two Hang 5s on separate waves! All without falling off afterwards.
Stoked.

Gnaraloo 2010 - unknown surfer

After work today I'm off to pick up my Dad's 1969 Cordingley Stringerless 9'4. It hasn't been used since I took it out after I first started surfing, about 3 years ago. Now that I know what I'm doing - sorta - I'm keen to have another go. Plus it weighs so much that I'm thinking it will be a whole lot better for noseriding than my new, light 9'1. Apparently, though, it has a convex bottom.... we'll see how that works out.

Margaret River Drug Aware Pro

2011-05-17T14:47:00.000+08:00

A quick trip down south for some waves and to take in the spectacle of an international surf comp.

We had to park on a golf course and catch a bus out to the surf break...

Waves had been 8-10 foot on the Friday, but we arrived to a rapidly dimishing swell. Uber long waits between sets and competitors were struggling to get two scoring waves in their heat. Lots of heats were extended to 40 minutes. The groms had the best day of it, surfing Southsides while the pros waited on a flat Main Break.

The crew

The women's finals finished after the mens and I was pretty spun out to see 90% of spectators leave after the men's presentations finished. They took place whilst the women's semi was still running, I might add. Guess there still isn't as much of a following of women's surfing...

We stopped in at Gracetown on the way back to our little chalet. The swell had dropped even more. Still looked fun, but we didn't have boards with us and a 60min round trip to get them would have left us with 40mins of light. We could surf on Sunday.

The Search

After a mega meal of pizza at the Malt Market, and a round of shots from a friend of a friend who insisted, we hit the hay. We awoke on Sunday morning to the sounds of 25 knot onshore winds and the swell read: <1 metre. Unheard of. So no waves for us. We perked ourselves up with pancakes and coffee before hitting the road.

Easter holiday highlights

2011-05-15T17:36:00.002+08:00

We made the most of the unusual 5 day weekend by driving 5 hours down south to Denmark. We were organised and got our x-trail serviced before we left. So as luck would have it, something in the service broke the computer and the car 'forgot' how to idle. Couldn't get it in to be fixed for another couple of weeks. So we left in the old Crystal Voyager, packed to the roof with longboards, in the dead of night, to putt our way down south.

Ocean Beach

Camping was pretty busy and chaotic compared to in the sticks last year, where we were camped in the Stirling Ranges, away from everything. Amazing weather, generally, and great company. Blown away by all the high-tech camper trailers and caravans people have these days. Aren't you meant to leave all your crap at home?

Ocean Beach after watching the dolphins surfing

We had rain each night but the days were wonderful. Monday was the only really wet day, so we hopped in the car and made the trip to the treetop walk. Tall, old tuarts that are known for developing human-size holes in their trunks. We also made a trip to a maze made entirely of plants. Quiet and peaceful.

We got some tiny waves at Ocean Beach. Nothing to write home about, but it was fun. I loved that you could tell the local girls apart from all the visitors. The locals were surfing in bikinis. It was definitely a longboard wave. The beach is south-facing. As the sun set behind the hills and the surf club, the face of the waves became bathed in gold. We surfed two nights until it was too dark to see, sharing some golden, tandem waves.

Me at Green's Pool on a sunny day

Rock Pool swims

Jess at Elephant Rocks

Local art market on Easter Saturday

Happy Campers

We received hours of entertainment from our pterodactyl-like neighbours. However, I think we were all after a bit of solitude. A lot of fun, but next year I think we'll aim to get off the beaten track...

The ideas are forming.

More images here: My Flickr Set - Denmark

Surf Trip FWDing Fun

2011-04-27T14:59:00.000+08:00

Diana Mini Big ❤

2011-04-17T12:58:00.000+08:00

I got my first roll of film back from my diana mini yesterday. All in all I'm pretty happy with the results. I don't think I like the film, but I have a whole range of different ones to try. You can switch between formats (square and rectangle) so the negatives are pretty messy. This meant that a few of the images didn't make it onto the disc the lab gave me.
This was my set up to try and digitise the negatives. I followed a process along the lines of this to compensate for the orange cast and to invert the image. I'd previously tried to shoot them using white sky as backlighting, but this left a very blue tinge to the images. So I needed pure white.

The only problem with this set up was that the closeness of the negative to the screen left the grid-like pattern on my digital image. (below)

This one below is much smoother because I photographed it about 20cm from the monitor, but it's blurry. I need a holder to keep it still, so my focus is sharper.

Some funky double exposed images.

Sketchbook

2011-04-13T19:06:00.001+08:00

I made a series of scrap/sketch books a number of weeks ago. The concept was one I'd seen demonstrated by Traci Bautista who does funky, urban inspired art and bookmaking. So I've taken a pile of photocopies of my work, along with coloured paper, watercolour paper and some b&w photocopies and bound them using my zutter bind-it-all.

It's actually been really liberating. I made sure I had lots of colour and lots of different sized pages. So now when have an idea or want to draw something, I open up to a little page that is just the right size and off I go. It has also enabled me to make it a work in progress and I've been sticking in things: yoga stickers, festival flyers, cider bottle labels, lyrics. fun!

Ocean inspired collage in the background. Sketch inspired by camping trips down south to Denmark, one of Maddie Joyce's camping adventures and, well, all this.

Desert Lefts

Beach in My Backyard

Psychodelic 60s page - Sandtracks

Beach in My Backyard

2011-04-11T20:27:00.002+08:00

Drawing Down the Moon

I've been beavering away drawing and filling my sketchbook. These are the first paintings I've finished on this theme. I'm a bit bummed because the watercolours I've used let me down a bit. They didn't deal with being diluted for a wash and became grainy. I've ordered some winsor newton cotman's half pans from the UK. I've done another drawing but don't want to finish it til I get the new paints.

We spent the weekend down in Margaret River watching the finals of the Drug Aware Pro. Kelly Slater got knocked out before we arrived, along with Mick, and Taj lost his quarter final. The swell died and the finals were a real struggle, waiting for waves. Courtney Conologue was great to watch. Couldn't believe that everyone left after the men's event finished and didn't bother to watch the women's finals. Says something about people's interest in surfing. I'd hoped it would be more equal. Pretty sad.

We've finally had some rain after the longest Summer we've ever had. It is very welcome. The image below is inspired by our last girls surf trip up north, back when it was 40 degrees.

Backyard Bliss

In the Zone

2011-04-04T20:25:00.000+08:00

So something has happened. Maybe it's the change in season. Maybe it's this moon, but I finally have some ideas cranking and I feel like they're taking me somewhere!

About a year ago I had a total epiphany realising I could combine my art and my surfing. Kind of obvious, I know... But there are so many super super surf artists out there. I'm just blown away at the endless number of ways people find of drawing waves! What can I bring that is new? So I've really struggled to figure out how to make it mine. My style.

When I was painting my first surfboards I was trying to think about what surfing in Australia is like. How are the images and culture different? What's unique? So that's been rattling around in my head for a few months. Answers are now starting to fall out.

I'm drawing and painting and even have ideas for how to incorporate my textile work in a way that I think will work!

How do you find your own style? What's your point of difference? What is the unique thing you love about the place that you depict in your art?

Watercolour course - final week

2011-04-02T19:15:00.000+08:00

Here's my finished painting with details added and the tones in the car darkened. Getting the right balance with light and dark has been a challenge. Plus figuring out what to try to paint in and what to leave out.

This painting was inspired by a photo by photographer, Ryan Tatar. His photos have a wonderful retro feel and are often themed around surf culture in California.
Click through on the images below to visit his flickr photostream.

Booty!

2011-04-01T17:33:00.000+08:00

My goodies have finally arrived in the mail. My Diana mini (bottom left) was bought off ebay and it took a few weeks to arrive. The rest of the booty arrived in about 3 days from Lomography! I have a veritable rainbow of film to experiment with. I can't wait to finish my first roll of film and see how it turns out. Today I've been photographing negatives (my camera is far superior to my old scanner) and trying to get decent positive images with it. Still working on that...

Watercolour course - Part 2

2011-03-27T19:53:00.000+08:00

We did flowers this week. I'm not totally thrilled with what I did, but I learned something. I like some of the poppies in the image below. I had fun working wet-in-wet and trying to create light and shadow by adding water.

This one was really just to play around with salt. meh.

This one I started in week 3 and have almost finished. I'm really happy with it and am stoked that I managed to draw a car. I spent a lot of time drawing before I got into painting. Since this photo I've touched up a few things and made some shadows darker.

This is the original photo by Ryan Tatar that I've worked from. He takes wonderful photos and you should check his retro world out here.

Watercolour Course Part 1

2011-03-24T09:19:00.001+08:00

I've completed 3 weeks of my watercolour course now and it's been great. I've certainly learned a lot and it's really good to have the time allocated each week to practise.

These are still lifes from week one. The idea is to concentrate on tone, shades of light and dark.
Week 2: below. Still life and working wet-in-wet. At the start of week 4, I'm now finally starting to see when I can use wet-in-wet and when I can use wet on dry.

Week 3: above and below. I was so knackered but made myself come anyway. I'm actually really happy with my ghost gum and plan to have a go at painting some more trees. I really like the sky in the one below, but there are a few random things about it. That's called learning though, I guess. Each time I've completed a painting I've learned something.

I've almost finished the piece I started in Week 4. I spent a lot of time working on the drawing and didn't finish it in class. There were plenty of times where I thought I'd bitten off more than I could chew. But I've surprised myself and am actually really pleased with how it's progressing. Who knew I could draw a car?!

2011-03-22T17:44:00.001+08:00

This is a shot from our trip up to Gnaraloo last year. With any luck we'll get up there again this year.

I'm sure the swell can't be far away. It is now officially the hottest Summer we've ever had in Perth. This Summer's average maximum has been 32C. Compound that with the fact that we missed Winter last year, because we spent it in the Northern Hemisphere, and you can see why I'm getting excited about uggboots and surfing in the rain.

In the meantime, we've done our 4WD course and managed to score a compressor, so I'm primed for some 4WDing and have my fingers crossed that things look good this weekend for a surf trip to Derrs.

Green Head Getaway

2011-03-21T22:35:00.000+08:00

Our latest adventure took us 3 hours north of the city to a little place called Green Head. The weekend, in celebration of a friend's 30th was super relaxing. The highlight was definitely the trip out on her dad's boat to a little offshore island to visit the locals...

Turns out they were pretty friendly!

Welcoming committee

We made it up pretty late Saturday night so enjoyed a magical nap here after frolicking with the sea lions. The Sou-wester was finally in and was very welcome.

Side trip on the way home... Apparently the dreaming stories of the local aboriginal people tell that the pinnacles were the bony hands of giant spirits buried under the ground. Their fingers are stretching towards the sky, looking for something to grab onto to pull themselves free of the earth.

Easy to see why it is a sacred place.

Waiting for Winter

2011-03-09T11:01:00.000+08:00

First Day of Winter from Hannah Katarski on Vimeo.

Winter 2010

Those were the days...

2011-03-08T20:21:00.000+08:00

When every wave was big,

When riding the foam was the most fun you could ever have,

and the shape of the wave didn't make any difference at all...

The world is wide now

and full of waves.

Good shape is hard to find,

but the search can reward life-

defining moments,

breath-taking experiences

and memories for flat days.

What a wonderful journey we've started on.

Watercolours

2011-02-23T23:25:00.000+08:00

I start a 6 week watercolour course tomorrow night. Hopefully learn some basics. Should be good, never done any painting tuition before.
These are some little ones I've done recently based on photos. Looking forward to posting some more as I progress.

Dunsborough and Windmills

2011-02-21T18:40:00.000+08:00

Spent a long weekend down in Dunsborough for a friend's 30th recently. I didn't think that Yallingup Bay ever got flat, but on the last day there, it was.

Got two surfs in amongst all the eating and ping pong.
A shortish session out at a tiny Yallingup mainbreak. Pretty terrible conditions. Super strong easterlies and hardly any swell, so you had to wait on the shelf of reef (that I could touch whilst sitting on my board...) to get enough steepness to catch the fat wave. Then a few random set waves would come and break so. far. out.

Got out to Windmills too. Finally found the place. Thought it was a 4WD track, then, now that we have a 4WD, found out that it's fine for all cars... So anyway the swell was super small, but there was still plenty of size coming through here. Great fun and just so beautiful! Can't wait to check out some more spots off the beaten track from here.

Second board makeover

2011-02-19T19:39:00.000+08:00

At work on an old kneeboard

I finally plucked up the courage to attack one of my own boards with Posca paint pens. The first board was an old one of my dad's that he doesn't surf anymore, so if it turned into a disaster, it didn't matter.
I wanted my 6'8 to work out. Plus my husband surfs it as well, so couldn't have anything too girly on it. A challenge. Having said that, he did used to surf a pink foamie in Summer a fair bit - he doesn't really care what his boards look like.

Originally I'd planned to work on the deck, but the original spray was just too busy to add to.
So I drafted up a design for the underside of the nose hoping that, one day, that bit will be out of the water a lot and shown off while I'm busting reos etc :P.

I found it quite a challenge to work in such a narrow triangle, so I solved this by drawing the waves on an angle, effectively giving me more width to work in. I added the stars to echo the pattern on the deck. I used a more limited colour palette to minimise the girliness by avoiding the rainbow effect of the board above and stuck to simpler lines.

completed 6'8

Girls Gone Wild ~ Lancelin 2011

2011-02-19T16:57:00.001+08:00

The trip this January was the best yet. Conditions a week out were generally looking pretty good and we were all excited. Then Tropical Cyclone Bodhi... (forgotten it's name already) reared its ugly head and it was looking like we'd be stuck inside waiting out the storm. It hit Friday night, waking up the light sleepers with lightning outside the window and heavy rain.

But the next morning dawned; sunny, hot and a little windy. We checked the back beach which looked uninspiring. It was decided, with much bravado about knowing the way, that we'd head up to Wedge. At the very least we had 2 4WDs for security, if very little know-how. We got there relatively easily and ended up parking behind the dune. There were plenty of waves to be had just over the hill and there wasn't any beach to drive on anyway - the high tide from the cyclone.

What we found...

Paradise

The waves were a little fat this first day, but still super fun and we basically had the place to ourselves.

There was just enough time to get back to our rental and cook up a bbq storm before the real storm rolled in and the power went out. Wind, rain, lightning, plus thunder this time. A much needed trip to the bottle-o, via the beach to check the carnage. Onshore mess. By the time we got back home, the wind was conspicuous in its absence. A perhaps unwise decision to indulge in champagne slushies before two of us raced back down to the back beach for an arvo session.
No wind.
The empty car park quickly filled as we slip-slop-slapped, as though surfers everywhere had received the 'all-clear' signal.
We found a peak to ourselves and passed a happy hour surfing glassy waves under a glassy sky.

The power eventually came back on around 9pm. All the pubs were closed and nothing was open for dinner. Instead doughnuts and CCs were on the menu.

Sunday was windy. Kinda NW, which isn't good. We felt that we'd make a go of it anyway and head straight back to Wedge. Protected by a northern groyne it was super fun and less fat than the day before. Helped along by the fact that I'd taken out my 6'8 the day before, surfing my 7'6 this day was so much fun. Best surf I've had since Gnaraloo. Things were really clicking and I was getting some great turns and carving happening.

We're all chomping at the bit to get back up there. But do we wait for another cyclone?

Happy Merge-Day!

2011-02-19T16:22:00.001+08:00

I have merged my art and surf blogs into one big pile of goodness!

And about time too.

Welcome. I've just boiled the kettle...

2011-01-28T15:19:00.000+08:00

It's been hot hot hot here. Not a lot happening surfwise, but there's plenty in the pipeline.
Tomorrow marks the start of a girls' surf weekend, so it's off to Lancelin for some fun and, with any luck, decent waves!!

Yallingup long weekend the following week and we have all our fingers and toes crossed that the conditions will be good.

mixed media art prompts

2011-01-27T16:21:00.000+08:00

I've been thinking that a pile of prompts might be a good way to challenge me to do new and different things. Mix up my style and way of working a bit. It's nice to be challenged.

So I've been looking for lists of 'idea prompts'. I've also done up some of my own. Somewhere a while back, I read about the idea to cut out and glue the prompts onto popsticks. So that's what I'm going to do. I have coloured popsticks, and now, plenty of ideas! Now all I need is a jar to keep them in. Like I'm going to have trouble finding one of those...

Here's my list. Feel free to download it and do the same if you think it's useful. I've left some of them vague so that there's room to move. As long as they spark an idea, that's what counts. As I work primarily in mixed media/textiles and journalling these prompts are all about 'what comes next?' Add a colour, add an element, add a new material, use a certain style.... Sometimes you just need a reminder that you have puff paint and airdry clay hidden amongst your stash of gear.

Summer in Oz - hot hot hot!

2011-01-14T15:16:00.000+08:00

We've been keeping busy, making the most of the Summer weather and fairly damning lack of swell. Even a few trips down south didn't turn up the goods. Instead, we've been getting some regular dosings of island time...

Rottnest

Main mode of transport on the Island

reliving our youth

Walking out to Penguin Island. 700m from the mainland. Felt like survivors from a shipwreck with all of our flotsam.

Into another world

Click the photos for more on flickr.

First Surfboard

2011-01-13T15:45:00.000+08:00

I've just completed my first surfboard makeover. Done with posca pens on my Dad's old kneeboard. Moving up to a non-retired board soon. Complete but unvarnished close-up below:

So what's next?? I'm trying to find a watercolour course to have a go at some landscape painting. There's so many inspiring landscape photos on flickr at the mo and I'd love to turn some into small paintings. Magical goodness below! Click on the photo to take you to the artist's photostream...

Chris Brunt

Karl Mackie

Sarah i
Finally... check out Matt O'Sullivan's beautiful travel watercolours... click it

Finished surf book and some waves

2010-12-30T23:04:00.000+08:00

It was about time I finished off my book by binding it and doing the cover. The wax medium worked a charm at getting rid of leftover paper fibre on my image transfers. The seed head below is a stand alone transfer that was painted with wax medium once finished.

The back also has an image transfer direct to the canvas. It came out super bright once the wax medium went on.

The final page. some doodling with posca pens, more image transfers. The bus is a funny drawing James emailed me of our van that he'd whipped up in paintbrush. You know the one where you have to try and draw with the mouse?

I've been making the most of the flat conditions by practicing drawing/painting waves. Here's some of the results so far. More if you follow the link to flickr.

This last one is a sketch I did up at Gnaraloo, now with some colour added with water soluble oil pastels.

Surfing in the Desert - Video from Gnaraloo, Western Australia, July 2010

2010-12-11T15:10:00.000+08:00

Surf Book

2010-12-05T22:21:00.000+08:00

I started this little project before we went on holiday for three months. Then I came home, broke bones in both my arms and, finally, after another two and a half months I'm back at it.

It's almost finished now and I've really enjoyed the process. I've focused on incorporating more. More layers, more elements. Pushing my own limits. Plus giving myself permission to play and make mistakes. Pages are primed canvas. 6 x 7.5 inches.

It's funny where you find new inspiration. When I started surfing I didn't really consider the artistic side of it, but so many surfers are artists. When you're completely obsessed with the ocean it makes sense that you want to draw/paint/photograph it!

Image Transfers

2010-12-04T17:57:00.000+08:00

I first read about image transfers in 2007 in an article by Lesley Riley in Cloth, Paper Scissors. Since then I've spent a lot of time experimenting with different transfer techniques.

I've tried and had success with:
Soft gel medium and ...
photocopy paper - onto paper/card
inkjet photos - stand alone/paper card
inkjet transparencies - onto fabric
Water and inkjet transparencies onto fabric, organza or felt

Citroclean and photocopies onto ANYTHING - silk, paper, card...

TLS and photocopies - stand alone

I've found that transparencies work best on fabric. Haven't had much luck with them onto paper. It always seems to smear. I like using them, but its a bit fiddly because you have to
print your image on an ink jet transparency - I don't think photocopy
film ones work. They're expensive plus I haven't had any luck with colours. B&W is fine and
detailed but colours come out with a green tinge due to the ink in my
printer. Life is too short.

Using soft gel medium I found that you really need to use Golden. Everyone talks about it. I had an Atelier branded soft gel and had some success but just couldn't do paper transfers. If you've had problems, give the Golden a go.

The use of photo paper for transfers is almost a science. There's so many theories about which paper? Matte or gloss? Which brand? I haven't found one that I'm happy with. Funnily enough, for me, the cheap and nasty photocopies - colour or b&w give me the results! So I'll save my money. Remember you can select 'mirror' on most copy machines to flip the image - all ready for transfer!

Special J takes great surf photos and makes surf inspired art. She outlines the general transfer technique using soft gel medium here:

Special J's image transfer technique

Lots of people have excellent examples of photo/paper & soft gel transfers on their blogs.

Here are some that I've done on hand made felt, which is less common. Transparencies peel off without leaving any paper residue, which is important on fabric. You need to be careful how far you spread the medium as it changes the hand of the fabric and can be seen when dry.

Note the dry medium around the image that I've covered with stitching. (above)

The above image is a colour photocopy or print out transferred to paper using paint. With this technique you lay the image face down on the wet paint and leave it for a few minutes. Once it's started to set you carefully peel off the paper then roll away the remaining paper with your finger, leaving the ink behind in the paint. The same technique is used for soft gel transfers, although there's lots of variations.

I've read that with paper transfers, if you have paper fibres left over
on the image, painting on some wax medium turns the fibres translucent.
Plan to try that out soon.

The above is a water transfer from an inkjet transparency. You spritz the transparency with water before placing it face down on your fabric and then burnishing. The fabric was too wet at the bottom of the arch and the image has run. However the top section is very sharp. Once you've rubbed everywhere you gently peel the transparency away. Haven't had much luck with this on paper but it works on....

Organza!! Which is pretty sexy!

The whole attraction to water transfers is that it doesn't change the hand of the fabric.

Here's another water transfer - this one is onto silk.

The above, I'm fairly sure, is a water transfer from a colour transparency. Don't love the results. Too soft and washed out for me.

This next technique I didn't try for years. I was turned off by the idea of using solvents, then I got told about this product called Orange Power or Citroclean. You buy it in the laundry cleaner isle of the supermarket. It's not as nasty and works REALLY well.

Behold...

Above are two transfers using Citroclean. On the left, a colour photocopy onto silk. On the right a b&w photocopy onto white card.

Above, colour copy onto silk (top) and (right) colour copy onto painted card.

Below, colour photocopy onto card.

This is by far the most versatile and reliable technique I've found. Plus one of the cheapest. It also doesn't change the hand of the fabric. You lay your image face down on your receiving surface - fabric, silk, card, paper then paint the back of the image with the Citroclean until it is quite wet. Then working quickly, you burnish the back of the image quite hard with a spoon. It's just practice to get a feel for how much you need to do. Once you're done you just lift off the paper. The paper has a faded look which can sometimes be nice reused in collage. Leave the transfer to dry.

I like how sharp the image turns out. Plus you can get a really sharp border to the image (as above), or tear the edges off your photocopy before you start to give an organic edge (2 images up).

Finally we have TLS transfers. Translucent liquid sculpey. I've had a bottle of this stuff sitting on my desk for about 4 years. I finally dragged it out and had a play. The results are pretty rad. It's bakable and the side of the bottle says stuff about putting it in the oven. In another CPS mag, dj pettit outlines another method using your iron. So I got my colour photocopy and placed it image up on a hard surface covered with greaseproof paper (deli wrap). I then covered the image with TLS, placed another layer of deli wrap on top and ironed it on high (no steam) until it set. After it cools down a little you simply peel the transfer off the copy paper.

Viola!

This is the first and only one I've done, but I'm pretty happy with the results. I plan to do some transfers of black line drawings and then add colour after. I have a feeling it will be bolder. You can stitch into these, cut them up, collage with them, even embed lace when baking. They feel a bit like latex, whereas I thought they'd be solid plastic.

This is a page out of a book I'm making. It shows the TLS transfer (top left), a soft gel transfer of a b&w music photocopy (bottom left) and a stand alone soft gel transfer of a colour photocopy (middle right). This last one is one I plan to try the wax medium out on. See the white paper fibres?

Right. Well, this will be a good reference for me later on. Hopefully it is of some use to you, if you've stumbled across it! Feel free to leave any questions in the comments and I'll answer if I can!

On the mend...

2010-10-23T14:08:00.000+08:00

At 5 and a half weeks, the Dr has given me the ok to stop wearing my splint and boy is it a welcome reprieve! I've been doing the stretches the physio has given me so that I can increase the flexibility in my wrist from nonexistent back to normal. Strengthening starts next week and then, so long as I have normal mobility, when I hit the 8 week mark I can go surfing!

Swimming and "water exercise" is apparently good for healing a break, so I went for a paddle on my 6'8 the other night. Sitting on my board, chatting to a mate and watching the sun go down was pretty special.

So the forecast is that we're gonna have a hardcore cycle season. Pretty sure that's the meteorological term. That sucks. But if it has to happen, I'm hoping that we might get a few bursts of swell down here before the Summer flatness descends.

This is my local. One of my favourite spots. I haven't surfed it in almost a year because we were away over Winter. It is seriously swell deficient and only breaks when the rest of the coast is firing. I'm hoping I might get lucky with a few freak sessions in November before we say goodbye to the waves and hello to the sou-westerlies until next Autumn.

3 weeks, 5 days and counting...

2010-10-06T14:04:00.000+08:00

So the slow process of sorting through the 3000 odd photos has been made slower by the fact that I broke both my arms our first day back in Australia. Plans for a quick trip down to Yallingup before heading back to work were replaced by trips to Emergency rooms and x-ray centres. The lesson has been learned: Skateboarding and jetlag don't mix.

So now I'm counting down until I'm no longer cripsey and can get back in the water. It's been almost 4 weeks now. It'll depend what the Doc says at my next appointment in 2 weeks. If the splint can come off my left wrist then I can, with any luck, be wave sliding on the first day of Summer.

In the meantime, I've been getting mobility back into my right arm with physio exercises, checking the swell charts to see what I'm missing - nothing - and surfing vicariously.

Some visual poetry from Flickr... mouse over images for credits.

Inspiration by:
umeplumme
sgblyth
meisi
Maddie J
felipesiebert
J.boltz
Sosidesc
JerseySurfing
Zaz by Roxy surf
PatrickSmithPhotography

Testing the flickr slideshow!

2010-09-30T14:26:00.001+08:00

Gnaraloo

2010-07-09T14:13:00.000+08:00

I don't even know where to start. We had such a fantastic time. Sure we weren't without our dramas - the hired trailer suspension died on the way up resulting in the 12 hour drive taking an extra 5 before we were all at camp... but all in all, it was pretty nice! It was windy this year but all easterly. Sunny everyday which was a real treat after leaving Perth at 3am on the coldest night since 2006.

Our campsite was massive which allowed for my parents' Taj Mahal-of-a-tent, plus ours, plus the kombi. We were joined by a number of visitors around the campfire as the entire surfing population of Margaret River seemed to be there at the same time as us.The following day was our first day out at Tombstones - the mainbreak. About as small as it gets up there and so much fun. The following couple of days were bigger and we left it to Bill and Dad to surf.Dad kneeboarding

We managed to find some waves too...Hannah

Hannah
James on a bomb

We worked up the courage to go out at Fencelines one afternoon which proved to be a fun little wave. Very dependent on the tide but a shorter paddle and nice and fast. Courage was needed to get over the thought of ending up on the reef ledge at low tide.We had a couple of days by ourselves out at Tombies when dad and Bill went off to Turtles.

Suited up and ready to paddle out. The water is really warm and glassy, but the reef is nasty. On the first day out I put a sea urchin through my bootie and carved chunks out of my board on the coral coming in.Endless Summer

Loving the lefts.All lefts here... me bottom turning to head down the line.

James had a knack for finding ones like THESE!

Richard making the drop. Me about to be decapitated...

James and Dad went into Carnarvon to collect the trailer (complete with two new springs) towards the end of the week. Rich, Emma and I took this time to chill out and do some drawing!
We had a fantastic and unusually crowded day out on the water midweek. Waves were so fat that we were getting push-ons from Dad and Bill. But the Meiklejohn boys didn't stop at giving James, Rich and I a boost. I think everyone in the line up benefited. It was a great vibe, there were heaps of other women out and it was like a tea party out in the ocean.
We ate so well. Bill's meatballs, Dad's chicken casserole. Emma & Richard brought along the gourmet contingent with red Leicester cheese, honey and banana breads, roti... The highlight as always though was fresh caught fish and handcut chips.

After cooking for 9, the place got a whole lot quieter when James and Sarah left, shortly followed by Rich and Emma.We had some quiet days with less wind and even smaller swell. I took the 6'8 out at Fencelines and found that it went pretty well with the new skills I've picked riding my minimal.

Dad and I also shared some father daughter time out at Tombstones one afternoon. Whales breaching not so much further out. A whole four people in the water.The tranquility up there is unparalleled. No power, no phones, no fresh water. You feel pretty isolated. And we were, until the Friday before we were due to leave. It took me a while to realise where all the people had come from. School holidays. So our last 3 days were a little less tranquil and a little more circus-like. Having said that, there were plenty of waves to go around, still waves going unridden and the sun kept shining.

Still offshore

The idea that we'll shortly be getting on a plane and heading off for 8 weeks seemed alien. The thought of airports and traffic and people, a million miles away. Totally unreal. Reality?

The sunset and the stars and the sound of the waves...

Huzzas

2010-06-04T23:45:00.000+08:00

We hadn't been out here before and it was big and crowded. After umming and erring for an inordinate amount of time, I decided I'd go in with Jo and James took photos. We recently got a new lens and this was a good opportunity to try out the Sigma 120-400mm!

Although it was daunting to look at, where we went out was super fat, ridiculous to get on and I only caught one wave.

Wave of the day was definitely Jo's mega right!

Lancelin again

2009-09-18T13:19:00.001+08:00

We're off to Lancelin again tonight. We've got a house near the back beach and 4 mates to spend the weekend with!! Good times ahead. We'll be throwing the boards in the van and heading off about 4:30. Along with out 7'6s, the new addition will be making its debut over the weekend... 6'8" x 20 1/2" x 3" Nice. And. Fat. The spray is growing on me. Can't wait to get a handle on it. I'm mainly worried about stability but also just getting my confidence up. Guess I'll be learning how to duck dive this summer... A few pics from Bali. Taken with the Go Pro board mounted camera. Lovin it. Definitely James' turn to get some good shots this weekend.

Bali Bagus

2009-09-18T11:58:00.001+08:00

Uluwatu - reef and swimmers

Well... Bali was amazing. The weather was perfect everyday. We were over there with a great bunch of people, so everyday was a party. The hotel was magic. Right on the beach and our room had an open air bathroom whcih was fabulous. We went out to Uluwatu on James' birthday. Amazing. Huge. We didn't surf there, of course, just washed and then swam in next to the cave.

Surfer at Uluwatu

Food, swimming, shopping.. and of course, some surfing. Unfortunately it was pretty big - 3m plus for most of the time we were there. That meant that the beach break was standing up vertical right out the back before closing out, filling the beach with white water. A lot of mess. This also meant a lot fo water moving around, invisible rips and lots of trash in the water.

Uluwatu

We had two really nice days where the swell was smaller and the waves were forming off two distinct peaks out the front of the hotel. Magic. I have footage that I put up on youtube. Actually got some really great rides and it was fabulous to be really surfing somewhere overseas.

offerings at a water temple

Check out more photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hannah_katarski/sets/72157622097734087/

Off to Bali!

2009-08-12T11:04:00.001+08:00

James and I are off to Bali for 9 nights with Leeann, her hubby and some other surfers! Warm weather, incense, frangipanis, good food and hopefully ...great waves! We'll be blogging it here: www.swelldaze.blogspot.com I've also been making some movies with my birthday present - a GoPro surf camera. Check out the results here: www.youtube.com/span24

Low tide - BUH BOW

2009-07-26T16:23:00.000+08:00

It seems that whenever you have a great day and feel like you're getting things together, the ocean soon sends you something to bring you back down. We checked out the beach this morning, but just couldn't quite get ourselves motivated to get in. Cottesloe - too crowded, the reef? not frequent enough, sandtracks? no waves, Leighton - meh... So we watched the comp at Iso's (would have been out here if not for the comp) and came home. I went out this arvo for another look and thought the tide would be fine. It wasn't. Too shallow for the reefs so I ended up at the swimmers' beach again. Ate it so many times trying to surf on this little peak that no one wanted. Still, beats hassling with the twenty 15 year old shortboarders :) I'm reminded today that the right wave and conditions make all the difference. The saving grace was the dolphin that surfaced 2m from me and hung around for a while. So special seeing them swim past. Bloody freezing. I am now drinking tea and eating crumpets with honey. :]

Isolators

2009-07-24T16:15:00.000+08:00

2.5m @ Rotto. Light offshore. Tide: 1.0m I was hardly isolated out there today! Minimum 20 people in the water at any time made for some interesting manoeuvres when you realised that there were people infront/behind/under you! I had the best surf I’ve had in aaaaages! I caught 7 waves while I was out and was proud of so many things. My first wave was a warm up one from the left side. Broke pretty quick and I cut back to go right. Took a little while to adjust to what was catchable on the high tide. Nice and deep though. The second I caught from the right edge, made the drop on my knees, but once I was up managed to catch up, get around the section and get into the pocket! Sweet! My third wave was a head high left!!! I whooped and hollered the whole way along and couldn’t stop laughing when I was paddling back out. It was a sneaky wide set wave so I caught it on the inside and everyone else on it was further down the line. Amazing feeling seeing it walling up next to me! The fourth was a little bit interesting, I was looking to go left and about 5 of us all caught it. The guy next to me was going right! So I managed to cut back and not run into him, and then got a really nice ride. After that I moved further across to the left. Was sick of catching waves and not being able to go because someone had already got it or I was about to kamikaze in to someone waiting further in. Sitting on the left was great as most people were after the rights and there were lots coming through unridden. I pretty quickly caught three. The first had about 6 people on it. The chick in front of me did and amazing bottom turn from high up on the face and then flicked off. As we were paddling she said ‘yep yep!’ and I’m not sure if she was saying ’yep I’ve got it’ or ‘yep you’ve got it’. Either way I had right of way and as everyone seemed to be on it, I guess it was ok. The next one I had to myself. I angled really sharply as soon as I stood up which was awes. The last one I caught a bit late and made the drop on my knees but finished with some great carving then flicking off the back. I felt like I was surfing today!! It’s been a while since I’ve had a decent fix and today was it! Gnaraloo was full on and Tuesday at Sandtracks just felt wrong, so it was great to be chilled. No pressure, no worries, just fun. I wasn’t looking at my feet, I was looking down the line. I didn’t nose dive at all. I was managing to catch them ok and the longboard felt really good! I met Greer today. She’s the Wahine rep for the Cottesloe Longboarders’ Club. Membership opens December, so hopefully James and I will join up then. She’s really nice and about my age. She’s been surfing about as long as us, went to Bali earlier in the year and is pretty keen which is awesome! I also had a few chats with some of the guys who also belong to it. They were pretty cruisey and happy to have a joke. Gonna check out the Club Round on Sunday!

Gnaraloo

2009-07-03T22:14:00.000+08:00

My first trip to Gnaraloo was a real eye opener. Such a beautiful place with amazing surf! This is the biggest break I've seen and surfed.
We didn't have ideal weather while we were there unfortunately. A series of very powerful fronts through the southwest coincided with our trip and we felt the effects up north. We had a number of days of strong onshore winds and other days had less than ideal conditions - strong NE or SW winds.
Swell size fluctuated but was a lot bigger in general than when the group had been in 2008. Last year was apparently small everyday and mostly offshore. Would have been ideal for us getting our confidence up. Having only been surfing for 18 months, I was conservative with the conditions I went out in.
I surfed there 3 times over the week and am already dreaming of next year!
#1
Tombstones. To say we were awed is an understatement. There is just so much going on. Lines of swell peeling along, the bombie off to the right, reef, coral, a cliff to climb down; the whole experience is full on.
We stayed in close and caught some reforms on the wide side. The current was fairly strong which meant paddling the entire time to try and position yourself for a decent wave.
Getting out, the tide was low enough for us to climb up the cliff.
Day 2
Today we paddled out the back with an escort. My dad and uncle showed us the best way to paddle out and where to sit. Managed to get cleaned up by one wave when a set came wide, but otherwise made it out the back fine.
I caught two ~head-high waves, the first I rode straight for some inexplicable reason. This left me with a massive distance to paddle back out. But I wanted to know that I could get out the back again. So I paddled wide like I was told and got there. The second wave I caught was looking really nice, but I needed to be angling more straight away. The wind was making the waves really bumpy and I ended up falling off on the second ride after hitting a speed bump.

Overwhelming experience. Has given me a very different perception of my home breaks.Day 3
After the last session I really wanted to get out there and combine the skills that I have with the confidence to ride the waves we had. The last session I hadn't surfed to my ability but had learnt some important lessons.
Unfortunately the conditions weren't lining up for us and today was bigger than Monday but with less shape. I caught a few waves and fell off them. I caught one in the foam and got angling, but just couldn't quite get around it and onto the face. Went for miles though... then paddled back out. I was chuffed that I was catching the waves, though. Finally I caught a nice one and got angling along the face... right up until it sectioned and I didn't manage to get round it.
This was the last session we got. The other days were either bigger, the wind was screaming onshore or the current was so strong that getting into position would have been next to impossible for me.
I've learnt a lot and can't wait to get out at my home breaks with a different view on what 'big' is. We cut the trip short by a few days as there was no chance of surf with the storms down south. I wasn't ready to come home, but it was the right thing to do.
Hoping for small GLASSY conditions when I head back next year. :) Can't wait to see it at its best in offshore conditions.

Derrs - last minute!

2009-05-19T21:01:00.000+08:00

Gear: 7'6 Conditions: Glassy/ NE. <1.5m swell. High tide I had Friday off and Dad said he would join me for a surf. We went to check out Trigg, decided it was shit. Couldn't get excited about it. Both were thinking a cup of coffee instead when Dad suggested we could go to Derrs if the wind was gonna stay light. So we drove home to swap cars to then drive back, past Trigg to Derrs. When we arrived there were 3 people there, one just getting out. Then it was just Dad and I for about an hour til another guy came in just before we left. Nice shape. I caught a head high right!! Lots of lefts and another reaaally nice right that opened out into a nice rideable/cutback-able shoulder. A few extreme dismounts in the shallows today. I also learned the hard way that you can in no way milk these rides. When you see an out, you've got to take it. Had to have your exit strategy ready. I managed to bruise my toes on rocks on one ride. Caught it late and so it broke and the foam jetted me straight at the beach (which was not very far away). Got a bit tumbled on the rocks. They are feeling better now after a few days. I had some good rights today which is great after last session where I was a bit unco and overbalancing. One left was so fast that I had trouble staying attached to my board! I needed to be taking off closer to the peaks today, but wasn't really pushing myself as much. So next time I need to be a 'bit more courageous', as Dad put it :) Such a terrific day!!! The sun was shining...unspoilt beauty basically all to ourselves. So lucky.