PRESIDENT/CAPTAIN'S REPORT

Great to see Grant Edwards back in the surf after a long absence.

Mel Mott is back and carving.

What a great day! Conditions for the May comp last Sunday were as good as they get. A Beautiful sunny autumn morning with offshore winds, warm water, and a metre of clean swell. Numbers were again down for various reasons but the 13 who took to the water all seemed to enjoy themselves. It was great to see members Grant, Lee, & Melanie return to the club. Their expertise will no doubt keep us all on our toes.

Sorry to hear former President Brian was in hospital having his gall bladder removed. Get well soon mate. On behalf of club members I would once again like to wish Mick & Marryanne Wilson all the best. I believe Maryanne is going into hospital this week for treatment. We all wish her a speedy recovery.

Congratulations to Eric and Kirk, both finalists in the Byron Bay Longboard Classic. Well done guys.

Our next social outing is on Saturday 17th May at the Ballina Bowling Club in Cherry St. Cost is $19.50 per head for a Seafood Smorgasbord - great value. The booking is for 6:30pm. There is also a band playing so lets get there and a have a great night. I need to book, so if you weren't at the comp last Sunday and intend to come along please give me a ring on 6686-8747.

I also have entry forms for the Lennox Longboard Classic.

See you in the water.

Wazza

SOCIAL CALENDAR

The next social night for 2008 is on Saturday 17th May 6:30PM at the Ballina Bowling Club. The Bowling Club is renowned for it's great value and tasty seafood smorgasbord. Wazza has received confirmation from some 10 members but can increase the booking if more members would like to attend. Please contact Wazza directly for bookings on 66868747. Hope to see you there!

The Barefoot Bowls Day at the Lennox Bowling Club was cancelled due to the bowling club having missed too many of their own comps due to bad weather and needing the venue for themselves. The Lennox Long boarders hope to reschedule the event later in the year.

See the Club Calendar page for full details of all our planned social activities.

COMPETITON UPDATE

COMPETITION RESULTS - MAY 2008

Our next club round is on Sunday 1st June.

The 28th Annual Byron Bay Malibu Classic was held this last week. Our club was represented by Eric Walker and Kirk Hickey who both took out places in their respective divisions. Eric came 3rd place in the Over 50's, while Kirk came second place in the Over 30's. Congratulations fellas.

Entry forms for the Lennox Head Classic on the 2nd-3rd August are now available online. See the Calendar page for details.

NEWSLETTER & NEW WEB SITE

The club has a new web site – www.ballinamalibuclub.org. All the club newsletters can now be accessed via the web site and either viewed online or downloaded in a format suitable for printing. Members who have provided their email addresses to the secretary will receive an email each month containing a link to the newsletter. The Committee urges all members to take advantage of the new web site and register their email address. Members without an email address will still receive a printed copy via surface mail.

Members will find many benefits with the new web site including:

Members interested in submitting stories for inclusion in our monthly newsletter should Email submissions to secretary@ballinamalibuclub.org

MEMBER PROFILE

Name: Colin Harper (Col)

Age: 62

Origins: Born in Manly NSW. Moved to Cowra at age 21 to pursue a career in farming. Owned a sports store for 18 years.

Family: Wife Pam, three adult sons, and 5 grandchildren.

Job: Currently unemployed but actively seeking employment. Occasionally helps his sons on building sites.

Time on North Coast: 1 year.

Style: Style is probably an overstatement. (Ed- We reckon Col could be a dark horse with more time in the surf!)

Quiver: 9'6" Malibu - Down The Line. 9' Steve O'Donnell.

Started surfing: Nine years old at Manly, followed by a 40 year break while living inland. It's not like riding a bike, it's a hard comeback !

Favorite Surf Spot: Flat Rock

Favorite Food: T Bone!

Favorite Activity (besides surfing): Cycling and snow skiing.

Reason for joining: Met some members in the surf, found them to be a friendly mob and joined for the camaraderie.

TRAVELERS REPORT

This report comes from Marg Bryant after their recent trip to NZ.

Peter and I have just returned from another enjoyable trip to the North Island of New Zealand. First stop was Raglan where Peter enjoyed a surf and I had to sit in the van feeling sorry for myself with a big "pain in the neck" - literally !!!. We met up with Chris and Eric Walker at Opanake (Taranaki) and enjoyed a nice clean and easy surf. From there was a mix of 10' waves for Peter, some tiddly waves I enjoyed with Eric at Mahia, lots of cake and feijoa crumble which I THINK ( ha ha !!!) Eric and Chris enjoyed.

The highlights were the friendly dolphin at Mahia which Chris and Eric got to play with and we missed by one day, then a really lovely time at Tolaga Bay just north of Gisborne where we all enjoyed 2 days of surf by ourselves and with a big walk to view the bay where Captain Cook landed. Some truly amazing cliff faces and spectacular views.

Another food highlight there - the best seafood chowder we have ever tasted, we even got another lot to have on our long nine hour trip around Hick's Bay, it was very flat all day. Eric's info from the locals proved to be a "bum steer".

Most days Eric would be missing for ages supposedly just gone to the showers, kitchen etc. then he would return sometimes an hour later with all the local info - usually very informative and was a great way to get to know the locals.

All in all a great trip although carting boards around is becoming much less enjoyable now and expensive as we got hit with excess baggage. Flat Rock is still my favourite surfing spot !!!!
Peter and Marg

DID YOU KNOW...

SURF WORLD - The Worlds Largest Surfing Museum. Surf World situated in Beach Road Torquay is recognised as the world's largest Surfing Beach Culture Museum and houses the Australian Surfing Hall Of Fame as part of its comprehensive surfing displays. First opened in December 1993, an initiative of Surfing Australia, Surfworld was recognised in 1994 as one of “The most significant centres of world surfing heritage” by the International Surfing Association. Well worth a look on your next trip to Bells Beach.

JOKE OF THE MONTH

WHO SAYS MEN DON'T REMEMBER ANNIVERSARIES?????

A woman awakes during the night to find that her husband was not in their bed. She puts on her robe and goes downstairs to look for him. She finds him sitting at the kitchen table with a hot cup of coffee in
front of him. He appears to be in deep thought, just staring at the wall.

She watches as he wipes a tear from his eye and takes a sip of his coffee. "What's the matter, dear?" she whispers as she steps into the room, "Why are you down here at this time of night?"

The husband looks up from his coffee, "I am just remembering when we first met 20 years ago and started dating. You were only 16. Do you remember back then?" he says solemnly.

The wife is touched to tears thinking that her husband is so caring, so sensitive. "Yes, I do" she replies.

The husband pauses. The words were not coming easily. "Do you remember when your father caught us in the back seat of my car?"

"Yes, I remember," said the wife, lowering herself into a chair beside him. The husband continues. "Do you remember when he shoved the shotgun in my face and said, "Either you marry my daughter, or I will send you to jail for 20 years?"

"I remember that too" she replies softly.

He wipes another tear from his cheek and says..."I would have gotten out today."

MEMBERS CLASSIFIEDS -"NEW"

Items for sale (eg. used surfboards, surfing-related items etc) may be listed free of charge by members. Members are invited to lodge advertisements by Email to the Secretary. Please include a description, asking price, contact details, and preferably a color photograph of the item(s) for sale.