Photos

They're rising up all over the Mentawai chain. Land camps, that is. And with mod-cons and speedboat access they're challenging the tourist tugs for the white fella's dollar.

After paddling big Jaws (on a soft top), and doing step offs at Pipe (on a soft top), Jamie O'Brien recently set up a mobile winch - known affectionately as The Grinch - on the beach at Waimea and whipped into the shorey, (on...yeah you know how it goes).

Keen eyed readers will know that last week we forecast the Sunny Coast to have a sustained run of swell, and that prediction is coming to pass. Although winds haven't always been co-operative there's been at least four foot of swell each day this week.

"I haven't seen a better display of tube riding in all the years I've been shooting." So said Hayden O'Neill, the resident photographer at Pohnpei Surf Club of a recent session at Palikir Pass.

The waiting period for the 2014 edition of the Volcom Pipe Pro begins tomorrow so before the first hooter sounds let's look back at the 2013 comp.

The Billabong XXL comp has been getting hammered with entries courtesy of the extended North Pac swell run. Here are the most recent waves, beginning from last Friday at Jaws.

Last Monday Tropical Cyclone June delivered the first cyclone swell of the season, a mid-range event that brought energy to the points without busting the banks on the beaches. And there's plenty more to come...

It's only run eight times in its thirty year history, the last time in December 2009. Here are the images from the last time Eddie went.

Who needs happy pills when you can road trip?

While the much-hyped Eddie swell failed to live up to expectations in Hawaii, we reveled in the early formation of this system before it slid east to Hawaii. And this has been but one of many.

Sooo...what's been going on in Queensland? Seems like there hasn't been a decent swell for, not weeks, not months, but whole seasons. Can it be that long?

If you asked me how this year rated surf wise I'd say average. But after looking back on snaps taken from my travels across the country, it shows how quickly we forget the good waves we've had once the surf goes flat.

Part 2 of another great year of surf around the country, that being 2013.

Between the end of the comp season and the start of the new year is one of the best times to be in Hawaii; keen surfers can get great waves without the intense crowds. And when Pipe broke the other day at least half that statement was true.

 "This wave surprised us. It is a legitimate big wave in the world of big wave surfing and we all really enjoyed the challenge," said winner, Grant 'Twiggy' Baker from South Africa.

A few months ago Swellnet ran a story on Quiksilver's first surf store in Burma. The commentary following that article centred on whether Burma actually had waves or not. People who'd visited the once-closed country argued passionately either way.

You already know what happened, but here are the photos to relive it. And what an amazing gallery of photos they are!

The swell has hit and the stage is set at Pipeline. These photos were taken just a few hours ago as the world title-deciding swell was making landfall in Hawaii.

Might've been a few laydays at the Pipe Masters but it's not like the waves have stopped.

“Parko is still checking with his wife.” It was an innocent email from Taylor Steele but it brought a wry smile to the cube monkeys at Swellnet. The contrast was stark: pro surfing's jetsetting elite, who fly to exotic locales on a moments notice...but only after the family matriarch gives the OK.