Sometimes..

Its quite nice to be home.
Follow me on Instagram if you want; Lugarts. 

Gabriel Medina..

Medina's performance at Lowers was like nothing I've ever seen. Every heat was like a video part, and every air like a surfline punt of the month. I don't know whats more impressive, his incredible repertoire or how he sticks almost every ridiculous air and layback blow tail he pulls.

I reckon his surfing, along with that of Julian Wilson, John John and Kolohe is going to put the final nail in the coffin of the three to the beach surfing that sometimes still rears its ugly head in comps. Very excited to see what they've got for us in Brazil.

Medina. Ready.
Ps I hate colour splash, here it is being used simply to enhance the narrative and not as an attempt to add any artistic merit.  

Bali and Nusa Lembongan in photos.

Nusa Lembongan has got it right. You know how some things just get it completely right, like Rachel Riley off countdown, nice underdog story, proper intelligent and of course, bangin. She'd also be an amazing travel companion because she'd be able to sort going dutch in an instant. Anyway; Nusa Lembongan is a tiny island next to Bali, where the main export is seaweed which they sell to the Japanese for use in cosmetics. As well as having three really good waves  there are super nice restaurants and hotels, but nothing like the amount of tourists that you'd find at any similar resort in Bali, and you only have to drive 15 minutes on a ped inland to come across real Indonesian villages relatively untouched by tourism. Here a women rakes some seaweed drying out in the sun.

Brazilian J.P Azevedo slotted in a very nice looking Padang shack as the swell built on Friday afternoon.

Toilet.

Agus 'Blacky' Setiawan boosting ridiculously high at racetracks on Thursday evening.

An avid Machine Head fan in Nusa Lembongan.

Kelly Slater paddled out for a few Friday evening, here he is just before the Padang curtain falls (of course he came out).

Monkey and its baby at Ubud monkey forest.

Coby Abberton who was killing it all afternoon, pigdogging a Padang low tide bomb.

Mattia Morri throwing (and very nearly sticking) a huge alley oop off a racetracks wedge.

Bali secret, good waves and two out.

Mt Batur at sunrise.

Agus Setiawan again throwing a tail high reverse with ease.

Dean Morrison getting locked in to a padang shack.

Some traditional Balinese dancing.

Agus again, at home on a racetracks left.

Kamakazee Mustaf Jekson, who was snagging some of the best waves of the day, bending for the cameras as he gets spat out of a perfect Padang left.

Made Lana killing it on solid head and a half racetracks lefts.

Padang Padang on Saturday, although the swell had dropped there were still so some good ones for the taking.

Mattia Morri again with a big slash for a female fan.

Mustaf again.

Unknown in the lip of a big one at racetracks.

Lombok and Gilli T in photos..

Aside from their often violent hatred for dogs and their disdain for unmarried couples (which caused my girlfriend to receive a slap on the arm from a local as we mopeded through her village) the Lombokians are a lovely people, occupying an even nicer Island. Here's some photos from Lombok and the largest of its teardrop Islands Gilli T:

John Elderidge from Cornwall, possible the only British surfer in the lineup that day, showing the Aussies Yanks and Brazos how its done on a big single fin.

Two forest workers in Tetebatu share a joke over their coffee break.
 
On entry to the forest we had a guide forced upon us, who proceeded to take £7 quid off and then walk in front of us along the path, saying very little. He did however tell us when we got to the waterfall that he would often hide in the bushes and wait for locals couples, who would sneak away from the villiage and come to the waterfall to 'make jiggy jig', and when they were finished he would jump out of his hiding place (not before he had taken in the whole show, as he claimed it was much better than the video) and demand money from the poor startled couple telling them that if they did not pay up he would take them to their parents, and they would be forced to marry. A  seemingly very lucrative business venture he was extremely proud of. So when we'd finished seeing the waterfall we ditched him and headed off into the forest by ourselves. After about 30 minutes of walking we came across two large packs of grey and black monkeys, who although a little weary of our presents, stuck around long enough to get some photos. Pictured here is the head honcho.

Young Frenchman Dimitri Ouvre surfed incredible for the whole swell, reading the wave perfectly and getting some incredible long barrels.

Stormy sea in Gilli T. My girlfriend is always complaining shes never mentioned on this blog, so I though I'd not only post this shot of her, but also include it in the banner... your welcome x

An unknow surfer threads through a super shallow barrel at low tide.

Starry sky in Tetebatu.

Dimitri Ouvre again, taking a big guage out of a low tide wall.
 
A grey monkey weary of our presence.

Powering through another shallow low tide shack.

A horse and cart in Gilli T, where there are no cars, police or mopeds and its just these and push bikes which is sick.If I had to make two criticisms they would be far too much Adele and too much sit down dancing. Adele, which I think sounds like a cross between a family friends kids piano recital, which she is forced to play and you are forced to listen to, and a fat girl sat behind you on the train whinging on and on to one of her mates about yet another (inevitable) break up, is played non stop on the island. There is also far too much sit down dancing.. bopping, or head swinging, often accompanied by a pout or casual mouthing of the words, which is frankly an assault on the eyes and the cringe glands.

In Gilli T they have no freshwater supply, so they have to shower in salt water, which means when it starts pissing it down with freshwater rain, they all start frothing and dancing around in the street and showering under drainpipes. Had just drunk a mushy shake when this storm came and ended up joining these boys in a fresh water shower, spin out.

Unknown tucking in below sea level..

A storm moving in from Lombok.

Perfect empty one reels down the reef.

Gilli T.

Another unknown surfer lining up.

Off the top near Kuta Lombok.

A family of black monkeys keeping an eye on us.
Photos from Bali coming soon. Check back x

Back from Indo..

Just got home from an incredible two months in Indo.. loads of photos coming soon. Check back x

Hello

Today I was attacked by a dragon fly with a torso the size of a lighter. It drew blood. Yesterday I found a sick reef set up and although it was flat and we got stuck in a heavy rain shower on the Ped ride back, it was worth it just as a recce, and tommorow the swell is hitting...
Hope your all well. Check back soon.

Yes TB

Stoked that Taj's smooth tech-ers prevailed over Adriano's gammy small wave surfing that the judges usually seem to love so much. His win over Kolohe in round 3 was a farce. Don't know what the judges were thinking, think they got Adriano's and Kolohe's second waves mixed up score wise. Hard to be too perplexed by it as off to Indo tomorrow night and still haven't packed. I'm not one one of those people who have leaving packing to the last minute as a super cool affectation, and will subsequently not be putting it as my status on FB, its just the only vaguely note worthy things about my pre-travel arrangements and I felt like something was missing. I also get to spend 12 hours in Bangkok airport... Fortunately I am traveling with a female, avoiding what would certainly be 12 hours of asking a male travel buddy where exactly we were before smacking him in the crotch on his re-post (and vice-versa) in both a display that would re-instate my already firmly established masculinity, as well as entering us into an amusing game of testicular torsion russian roulette that would almost certainly make the time pass quicker.

Europe trip..

2 and a half months and almost 2000 photos in 5 minutes. Enjoy x

Euro Surf Trip 2011 from Luke Gartside on Vimeo.

Indo..

Flying to Indo on Monday and after 2 months of monotonous work really cant wait to be around proper shacks and monkeys jumping around like Attenborough's watchin..

(Photos of Mundaka & Costa Rica)

Check back for photos or click here to follow this blog.

h8 u naz

I've been really lucky on surf trips over the last couple of years. I've scored Fistral really good on an amazing sunny day with very few girls from hull with their wobbley bits out lounging on the beach, Mundaka on what was called the best day of the Autumn by many, amazing Supertubes, Playa Hermosa and a few others- and a lot of the time, it was just through sheer luck of just happening to be there when they were on. Still it is the sessions that I missed, through my own bad decisions , that I seem to dwell on, perticularly on lonely bar shifts such as this one. I've tried to suppress this story, see my glass as have full, but on reading a recent article, I just have to let this one out, you don't have to read it.. but I'm hoping I'll find it therapeutic.

It's the the 30th of November, the Europe legs of the tour are over, but I've decided to stick around in Peniche for a bit longer before heading for Spain. I've been watching a spot called Consolacao, which is in a little town just outside Peniche. It only works when it's really big and I've seen it fat and mushy a couple of times, sampled a few of the weird food things being sold from a van in the car park, but not really taken any photos of it. Today however looks very promising, The sun is shining, its warm, and perfect Consolocoa lefts (the rarer of the two waves) are peeling off the foot of the headland, with a castle, and an diverse group of on-lookers standing a top it. The mixture includes a mini bus from which a large group of Slovenian 'adventure seekers' as professed by their bus, has spilled, standing gazing out at the lineup whilst munching on cheese baguettes. Older locals mill around the car park, chatting to one another, enjoying the aforementioned weird van foods, not oblivious, but decidedly un-interested in the spectacle going on beneath them. The lineup remains empty, as perfect double overhead barreling lefts peel off the headland.

A group of travelling surfers turn up and start getting suited up, with one clearly driving the other two, who seem a little reluctant to paddle out. I stand watching them, trying to size up whether they are going to be able to make these conditions look as good as they are, and help me get some shots. A man appears from a car behind me. The Portuguese unlike the French and Spanish, don't have English speakers who speak a bit, its either they're fluent, or don't speak a word (a sweeping generalization, that is almost certainly wrong, but you've got to include some pithy stereotypes in article's like this don't you?). The aforementioned man was in the first category and on noting me, poised with my camera, leaned in and said 'I do not think these men know what they are doing. It's very big out here.' I smiled in reluctant agreement. He continued 'There is a place, north of here, Nazare, will be very big today, very big, you would get amazing photos'. I often receive tips of places to go and shoot from passers by, usually its just 'you should go down by those rocks' or 'go up the beach so your pointing straight into the sun and you'll get a nice silloutte' .. and usually I simple thank the offer'er for the offering and carry on with what I was doing, as I did on this occasion.

This man was however, very very right. An hour up the coast Garrett Macmanara was being towed into what is now being debated as the biggest wave ever ridden, while I sat on the headland watching the aforementioned surfers first standing on the beach, then attempting to paddle out, and finally returning to the car park. Eventually someone did suit up and paddle out and catch a few bombs, including this insane pig dog barrel -

But it wasn't enough. I'd love to say that I've learnt from this, I've taken from it how never to miss a classic day again, however the only evident moral of the story is listen to the arbitrary suggestions of passers by, which as rule of thumb is utterly ridiculous...

If it wins the prize for biggest ever ridden at the XXL's this year I'll be even more distraught, So come on 'big wave surfers' pull your socks up, who's got a raise on 90ft?