Bit of a mixed bag in this week’s editorial: surfing injuries, oddball weather, Cape carnage, and a gallery of great surf photos. It's not easy to weave a common thread between those topics, so inspiration must come from elsewhere...

In surfing, there are few, perhaps no, maneuvers that can solely be attributed to one person. Pioneers learn from their predecessors and push forward in increments, while the same cutting edge that’s present on the Gold Coast is similarly advanced in California, Hawaii, Hossegor.

Yet there are surfers who so mastered particular moves, who either popularised or advanced them to the point that their names are forever linked. I’m thinking Lopez and deep tube riding, or Christian Fletcher in the air.

Mark Sainsbury may not have been the first to do a floater, but in the mid-80s he advanced the art of riding over whitewash like no other surfer, taking it up into the lipline, linking impossible sections with a functional and feelgood move - that sense of weightlessness in the freefall and the rebound of acceleration upon return.

Sanga won an Aussie title and a Pro Junior on the strength of the move, though he had less success on the world tour, his best result being 38th in 1990.

On the 6th August 1992 - thirty years ago today - Sanga suffered a brain aneurysm while surfing at Avoca - his home beach. On the anniversary of his death, Mark Richards said, “He was an unbelievable surfer, and I credit him with inventing the floater...and you couldn't have met a nicer person if you custom ordered one."

If you’re surfing today, why not chuck one up there for the spiky-haired fella who’ll never grow old. Float on. Feel the weightlessness and feel the glide, and note the passing of time.

- Stu

Losin' It (And Gettin' It Back Again)

But only chuck it up there if you can safely get it back down again.

Injuries, eh? It's a common theme - the pain and discomfort, plus the slow road back to health - and this week Steve posted an account of his most recent bout on the sidelines. Read More >

Victoria's Dire Strait

If you had to book a surf trip in advance, deep in the middle of winter anywhere around Australia, the Victorian Surf Coast would usually be a great bet. It'll provide little consolation for Vicco surfers, yet this week Craig explained why the above premise isn't true this year. Read More >

New Collaroy Seawall Underway

"Once this is up it'll be a momentum for others to do it too," said one of the property owners who paid for the original Collaroy Seawall, built last year.

Fella was spot on with heavy machinery this week beginning work on the next stretch of seawall. Read More >

Tahiti Pro Early Forecast

Five days out from the start of the Tahiti Pro and swell is forecast to come from every direction except the ideal one. Still, we've got video evidence that JJF can make it work even when it's weird.  Read More >

Tim Bonython: Cape Fearful/Fearless

When the warm up day was more compelling than the main event!

Tim Bonython captures a number of incredible waves from Max McGuigan - whose wave at 9:50 demands to be seen - plus Kipp Caddy, and Dylan Longbottom. Read More >