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Surf science camp recap day 4 and 5

On Tuesday we knew the surf wasn’t very good, and so we went for a trek in the bus further south....we got lost in the Hamelin bay caravan park and made our way to cape leewin. Again, we are easily pleased so an hour of jumping on some rocks, catching some crabs, and drinking from waterfalls made us forget all about the small swell..after that we headed to giants cave...and it definelty lived up to its name. I think I speak for everyone when I say I was surprised we all kept quiet for a whole minute when we all turned out torches off..if you know our class, you would know , we are never...ever quiet. We played some team building activities in the pitch black and told our favourite parts about camp. But all I’m saying is...what happens in the pitch black cave, stays in the pitch black cave especially when some of us may have mistaken our mates for mr palmateer...

Later that afternoon we went for a paddle in cowermup bay where we found, and named some new rocks (Oliver rock and Tom rock) and attempted to surf the little runners coming through. Early dinner and the rest of the movies before a 5:30 wake up for a surf at north point. We sat on the bus looking at the tiny waves come through for a good 30 minutes and mr p was pushing towards turning back but our class makes the most out of what we’ve got and so we insisted in paddling out. And sure enough, the swell picked up and there was a lot of “I caught the best wave I’ve ever caught today”, there were a few barrels and some tuuubes as mr baddock likes to say. Sadly, all must come to an end and so after packing up and cleaning the hall we said cya to Gracetown and as reward for cleaning up so quick (speed is important here, not quality) we got to go to he chocolate factory..where we may have mistaken ‘free sample’ for ‘free chocolate, help yourself, take as much as you like, fill your pockets’..woops.

Even though we now all have millions of mozzie bites, and I feel as if I will need to go to a chiropractor for the rest of my life... it is definelty a camp, and a class that I will never forget and I can speak on behalf of all 14 of us when I say Thankyou to everyone who made our time in surf science the most memorable 4 years ever.

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Surf science camp recap 2017 day 1,2 &3

Surf science is unlike any other subject at Prendiville, or any other school for that matter. As a class of 14 students we have spent 4 whole years together. We have had 166 early morning surfs together, 3 Lancelin day trips, countless ultimate vortex games, 4 surf carnivals, 1 big breakfast and a whole lot of fun along the way too. We’ve lost some mates throughout the years, and gained some too..and we’ve made our way through 3 inspirational teachers who we will be forever thankful for...but now...for that last week together as a class. Seeing all the pictures, reading all the blogs and hearing all the stories over the passed few years about the previous surf science camps made us wish all year that time would fast forward to the 2nd of December and when the day arrived...we finally got to start making our own memories of camp.

On the way down to Grace town, we listened to our Spotify playlist, ‘bus ride bangers’, and stopped off for a cheeky Miami bake house pie and 4 hours later we were all pretty eager to chuck the wetsuits on. Our first surf location was ‘big rock’, only a 10 minute trek through the dunes behind the Grace town hall, where we were staying. We had the beach pretty much to ourselves, apart from the bugs! We surfed for a couple of hours before heading back on the bus into Margaret River to go shopping for the week. It was like a scene out of MKR... there was a mad scramble with shopping trolleys and kids flying everywhere trying to find the right stuff. We had our groups, and our shopping lists...but some people seemed to think you needed icy poles and lollies to make tacos? After some obscure items made it into the shopping bags, we headed back to the hall to unpack. The hall was all decked out with fairy lights and a little welcome sign it was super cute! Before our wetsuits even got a chance to dry we were back on the bus heading to a spot called honeycombs... the waves were too small, and the sun was setting too quick so we swapped the boards for a swim. A nice relaxing swim would be way to hard for us though...so instead, we found a decent sized rock, and decided we should all try stand on it in the middle of the ocean while getting smashed by some waves. A bit of pushing, and shoving and one ginormous...petrifying bird. We were just minding our own business when this dodo looking bird with a beak the size of China starting charging towards us. It was hilarious to watch from the beach, but you were feeding the fishes out on the rock. The scarred ones (cough cough ben) bolted for the beach ...while others tested themselves against the creature and after a lot of screams (Etienne) the bird finally realised he was no match for surf science. After some tasty tacos and a shower (sharing one shower between 19 people was pretty interesting)..we were all exhausted and ready for bed. Next morning, we packed the surfboards in the trailer and headed to margs main break. The waves were pumping and there were only 10 or so people out at Southside, so off we paddled. There were definitely some sun kissed faces after that surf..cause it was too good to get out! After a quick nap and some lunch, that arvo we went to a break called lefties. A quick 15 minute walk on the cape to cape track and an motivational speech about getting eaten by sharks (thanks mr P) and we were set to go. After the sun went down, a board snapped clean in half (cough cough Callan) and a pod of dolphins catching waves scaring us half to death we were all ready to hit the hay (or concrete if you were like me and had no sleeping mat to sleep on). Monday morning we went back to honeycombs, but this time to surf.... some sets made some of our eyes pop out of our heads...but they were all charging and I think there were some pretty good claims that morning. In the arvo, we went back to honeycombs....if you hadn’t guessed it was our favourite. The waves were even better than the morning, and there were definitely some barrels caught too and by the time Etienne finally got out of the water half the class was back on ‘bens rock’ ...this time no bird, but much ..much bigger waves. (FYI- It’s not a good idea to laugh yourself out of air while getting smashed by waves). Once we caught our breath, we headed home and watched some of our iMovies we had made commemorating our time in surf science....and despite a few digs and friendly banter they were hands down the funniest iMovies ever made.