Cat Bay - break 4

Sunday 21st November and we are going surfing two days in a row.  Today Sue is coming with us again and has vowed she will make no suggestions about lunch and will generally just take photos and adopt the go with the flow philosophy of a surfing trip.  I look up the surf and the best place looks like Cat Bay on Phillip Island.  Cat Bay is good a couple of hours either side of high tide and we head off about 9.30. 

We make good time down the freeway and we are on Philip Island a bit after 11.00 and Sam and I are in the water at about 11.30.  The car park is full and there is at least 20 people out.  The surf is great - about 1/2 to 1 metre and not much wind due to Cat Bay being so protected.  A local tells us afterwards that it is blownout everywhere else on the Island. 

If you've never surfed Cat Bay it is great left hander that breaks slowly over a reef and is loved by longboarders and grommets.  I don't think I've ever had a bad surf here and I've been here a dozen or more times.  Getting out at Cat Bay is never hugely challenging as you can go out from the middle or far right of the beach and basically paddle around the break - it's one of the reasons it so popular I reckon, along with the wave itself of course.  Sam and I both get out near the back, which just shows how much Sam's paddling is improving, but also confirms that it's not that challenging. 

About the second or third set that come through I start paddling, having seen the better surfers get off on the earlier waves.  I am paddling hard, then I feel the push of the wave and I jump up and down the left of the wave I go and who do see on my left - Sam!  I decide to turn back on the right as the wave breaks and I fall off only to come up and see Sam still going into the beach on the wave.  That's it I know - Sam will now be saying he saw Dad off on the same wave, he outsurfed him.  I paddle in to see Sam and sure enough he says something like "what happened to you, I saw you and then you were off the wave" - he is smiling from ear to ear.  Sue is laughing on the beach and I think this is such a surfing event - a story is born.  I can here Sam in 10 years time - "do you remember the day we were surfing at Cat Bay and ....". 

We surf for about 90 minutes and there are some great waves being caught.  My waves perhaps don't rate as great but I do get onto a good half dozen and two of them I really enoyed - up smoothly, down left, slight turn upwards (because I can only do slight turns upwards) and then back down the wave.   Great fun and also terrific to see Sam able to paddle out the back and generally just manage by himself in the surf.  Sue gets some great photos including plenty of another old bloke out there she thought was me a few times and some strange kid who she also thought was Sam.  It's been a really good surf and just confirms for me how you can't beat Cat Bay on a good day.  We head back to the car and decide on the big decision of the day - where to for lunch?

We go into Cowes to get lunch.  Lunch is not great - typical holiday town cafe of burgers, schnitzels, bacon&eggs etc despite the claim that my Latte is an "Award Winning Layered Latte".  That said Sam claims to have a great Calamari and iced chocolate.  We look at some of Sue's photos over lunch and they look good. Particularly thinking that she really has to guess half the time if it's me or Sam on the wave. 

I think it's been probably the most successful surf to date and hopefully the photos will bear this out.  I'll try and put a few up on this blog at a later date.  We leave the Isalnd about 2.30 and we are home about 4.00pm.  As like yesterday to Leo the drive to Phillip Island is great and it makes the trip easier and seem faster. 

Break 4 down,a great family day out and it's onto next week for break 5.