There are only two seasons in Tim Bonython's year - filming season and touring season. For ten months Tim chases swells to wherever they may break: Tahiti, Indonesia, all over Australia. In this he's relentless. Then, when the cannister is full, he edits it, lobs the wife and kids into the not-so-trusty white Tarago and hits the road - touring season has begun!

Here's a slice of touring life from ASMF 2014.

New Year's Eve: We just returned from Adelaide doing the Christmas family thing. During that time I got my 14-year old son down to Yorkes for a day or two of surfing. We slept in a tent in the scrub and my mate Wally joined us. The next morning we scored Daly's and really good Pondie - two to four feet, offshore and clean. It was typical Yorkes weather too, hot and dry with the March Flies in pursuit.

On New Year's Eve we were back in Sydney. We had a family night down at Pittwater to watch the fireworks, then off to bed early knowing there is plenty to do with the approaching tour.

02.01.14, Opening Night, Randwick Ritz: A sell out show for the opening night. Some might consider it a good omen, but after doing this thing for years I've become a bit of a machine. I know it's only 1 night out of 37, there's heaps of work to do. Still, ASMF 2014 is off and rolling.

07.01.14, Avoca Beach: One of the best thing about the tour is taking punters into the same environment as it was done in the late fifties, old school halls and cinemas where there was as much craziness going on in the hall as there was on the screen. There were no TVs, videos or computers. For some, surfing was very much unknown but the surfing flick made people understand the ocean a lot more. Some fifty-something years later we are carrying on a tradition which is really important and this is my way of sharing my stories of the ocean. Avoca Beach Theatre is one of my favourite halls, there's not many better places to screen surf movies.

10.01.14, Somewhere on the Pacific Highway: I don't listen to CDs much these days. On the road it's Triple J or, when we are playing the Poms, it's the cricket. Triple J keeps me up to date with the music of today. We are so lucky to have the Js in this country. Also, since I decided to stop hoarding shit like music I have signed up to Spotify.

11.01.14, 34 kms north of Karuah: I was talking to Ted Grambeau on my hands free, when suddenly I heard this high-pitched sound. I look to the instruments and notice the temperature gauge is hot as. Luckily there was a breakdown space on the side of the highway. Houston we have a problem. I rang the NRMA and waited for two hours for him to tell me the manifold has gone. We just crawled into Forster. Then the next day I took it to a mechanic where he says I not only have a manifold problem but a "serious mainfold problem." As it's Saturday midday he suggests getting it to Coffs, which we do, but the next few shows are looking shaky. 

Fortunately there's a small gap in the ASMF schedule, enough time to stop and have it checked out without interrupting the tour. Even better, the mechanics figured a bit of sealant would tide us over. But for how long? Who knows, yet for now the travel gods are smiling and ASMF is back on the road!

16.01.14, Yamba: Great night at Yamba Cinema. We stayed at my friends Gerry Hines two story pad between the pub and the beach. The surf was pretty much pumping. Well, not all time but fairly decent. I surfed at Angourie one morning but the direction wasn't quite right. I mostly surfed the main beach in front of the house. I mean its right there, just 20 steps to the beach.

You know, most crew think we are killing it but the cost to run a tour on this level is huge. Over $100k for 37 shows! So accommodation needs to be cheap but not so cheap we are grovelling. Normally we stay at friends places, which allow the kids to mingle and get to see the real coast.

18.01.14, Byron Bay: At Byron I have a mate, Scott Lambert, that I have known for decades. He's like me, refuses to grow up. He loves a challenge and good Lennox with the two of us, well, we kind of compete. The surf was really fun, about 3 to 5 feet and offshore. He challenged me to jump off the rocks up the top. I said, "Mate, see ya. I'm jumping off straight in front of the car park." He went off ahead of me up the point while I casually jumped off the rocks and paddled to the top of the line up. I was yelling at him to hurry up as he was stuck waiting for his opportunity to get out. It's so sketchy jumping off those rocks there. Anyway, we had a ball. It was a memorable session.

23.01.14, Coolangatta: We had a Q&A planned with Terry 'Tappa' Teece and Ted Grambeau. Tappa is one of the true legends of the Goldie, so for him to host it was perfect. We wanted to do the Q&A first up as we had so much organised, but the problem was Ted - the perennial traveller - wasn't there. He was still in transit! So we held off till intermission. Ted arrived just in time and spoke like he was charming for an airline upgrade.

25.01.14: ASMF is a huge undertaking. I could go on for hours about what it takes, but suffice to say it's not just me that brings this monster to life. Much of the credit (most of it!) has to go to my wife, Sandrine. We also employ four staff that work up seven days a week during the tour itself to keep it going.

27.01.14, Melbourne: We arrived in Melbourne to 40 degrees plus weather. I hate summer. I love winter - give me an endless winter! I much prefer the winter weather, especially when on tour. However, it's rare to tour any time but summer - besides I'd miss too many swells.

28.01.14, The Astor, Melbourne: I thought the Astor Cinema had the largest screen in the Southern Hemisphere and was telling everyone this. Apparently I was wrong and the IMAX screens take that cake. Either way the Astor has a screen about four times the normal size so Chopes looked HUGE!

31.01.14, Streaky Bay: We played at the Streaky Bay Institute Hall and the organisers added extra touches like electric palm trees and a makeshift bar. It looked a treat. The history in that old hall goes back generations. There's still the projection box where the old films were played from. I only went down to Streaky to share my footage with the locals. Certainly not for money. Actually it cost me a fortune to go there with the projector and all the door prizes. The fact is the Eyre Peninsula is a beautiful place and the waves are too. Someone scrawled the word 'Boycott' on an ASMF poster on the town message board, but in the end the kids and locals seemed to love what they saw. Everyone was happy, the locals embraced the message, the groms ran amok, and I got a hangover.

I love the ocean and will continue to share what rightfully belongs to everyone that wants to watch. Hopefully in time people will realise that I am not the threat that they need to worry about. 

01.02.14, Adelaide: The hometown shows! Memories of where it all began, especially my first beach home of Tennyson.

12.02.14. Tonight Terrigal, this weekend Fremantle, then Newcastle, Sydney (again!), and Tasmania. Next month is March, the Southern Hemisphere swells fire up and filming season begins for ASMF 2015. 

Check all upcoming dates and venues for the ASMF here.