SURF CULTURE

Surfing has come a long way over the past forty years…. From the days when a group of mates could escape to a deserted point break and carve up a few waves.

They still can…. But there's always the slight chance they'll come across a surfers' central command post like this…. Complete with laptop computer, microphone, amps and plenty of music.

This is the Quicksilver Eye Wear Australian Grommet Surfing Titles. Grommet? - well as the name suggests - these titles are for the little people… the junior surfers from around Australia who've gathered at well known Yorke Peninsula surf break Daly Heads.

"We're looking for from the girls and boys that are on later on… doing strong turns in close to the powerful part of the wave which is called the critical section of the wave."

Like I said things have changed over the years… and out here teenage girls from around the country strut their stuff on what is a fairly remote part of the State's coastline. And just why have these young girls from places like the Gold Coast, Bondi and Margaret River come to a rocky out crop on a windswept part of Yorkes? … well it all has to do with an emerging phenomenon called Women's Surfing.

"Well I think the guys that surf now are a bit more accommodating for girl surfers. Like I know that a lot of the pro guys from the last… last two decades haven't really grown up really cared about the girls too much whereas the next generation have kind of grown up with girls and there used to us and they're encouraging."

But at the end of the day it's the adrenalin rush that comes with the sport and the very different surroundings to be encountered on that search for the perfect wave.

"Even if you have a bad surf it's still better than anything else… it's such fun. I could think of what I'd be doing if I didn't surf."

"It's really different from where I come from because I'm from Sydney. My mum drops me at the beach and I step out from the carpark onto the grass and that's the promenade… And the beach is just by the road. Whereas here we've been having a trouble with no toilets."

"There's a bit of scariness about the sharks…. Haven't seen any but there've been dolphins and they scare you when you're not expecting it… it's quite scary. You're not used to it where we live…. You don't experience dolphins."

Having studied these fifteen and sixteen year olds… it all seemed easy enough. So why not give it a try?

All you need to do is contact Surf Culture Australia…. And as the sign on Mark Orr's van says ---Go Surfing.

He ---along with one of the company's founders Christine Cox ---took three of us on our own Surfin Safari…. In search of our own special break ---on one of the countless deserted beaches on the tip of Yorke Peninsula.

"OK it looks like we've got some perfect conditions here… some nice little half to one foot waves… spillingwaves which are ideal for learner surfers… Ah just a couple of safety things…. If you don't have more wipeout than successes you're not trying hard enough so when you do wipe out just make sure that when you're resurfacing you grab the back of you're head like a good boxer… cover your face."

Out here the beach is the classroom… as Mark takes us through the basics.

"Ok so you're paddling into the wave as the wave approaches and lifts the tail of the surf board three really strong strokes and hands under your ribs and push up from there."

Soon enough we're all practicing our moves… and we look pretty good. But there's a major difference between the beach classroom and the real thing.

For one… the beach doesn't move… but out here the surf board certainly does.

While it's certainly not the Hawaiian Pipeline…. There's plenty to concentrate on… and soon enough there's a real sense of achievement.

For Christine Cox - there's also the knowledge that another three surfin' sisters have taken up a sport which ultimately changed her life.

"I met a guy who was into… He was more or less in those days called the Rocker… and he actually had to be converted into a surfer or I wasn't going to go out with him anymore. And we had four children after we were married and then I gave up surfin with the other four kids. He carried it on and the kids carried it on, my interests have carried on an administrative role."

Now she runs Surf Culture Australia…. Offering lessons to all ages and all those wanting the special thrill that comes when wave, board and rider combine.

You can book a surfing lesson on 0500 555 989. Surf Culture Australia offers courses on mid and South Coast and surfing on Yorke Peninsula.

More information on Surf Culture Australia