My friend Rob (the canadain guy in some of my fotos) came online last night and told me to look at this:
http://www.northernstar.com.au/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3628920&msg=emaillink
so, turns out hes american, which is a surprise to both of us. anyway, he got sucked out admist the sharks and whatever and basically was ready for the big check out. pretty intense stuff.
so to find a balance between fact and fiction, the truth and the news. this is a written account by the man himself:
A group of us staying at aquarius backpacka's headed out to tallow beach at about 10 am that morning, Including myself there were three canadians (Trav, Kyle and Myself)... an englishman, an
aussie and a really experienced surfer from the states (Rene). We noticed a strong current as we paddled out through the break which carried us north towards the headland but still were in relitive safe zone. I had caught one wave and rode it into the beach and paddled out for another. I spotted Trav a little behind me and over to my left and we were heading for the same wave when we both realized we had been caught up in the mighty cosy corner rip. Now we had used this rip in previous days to get behind the break but today the swell had switched direction and had come from the north making it a monster rip. We turned and paddled to try and get out of the rip which we fought for approx 20-30 minutes. Trav managed to escape to the saftey of the beach, while for me trying to paddle out to the side proved to elusive and exhaustive. I was also getting sucked by the rip into a 6-8 foot break which was crashing dangerously close to the rocks. The rip won out and I was smashed repetivley by the break some times only managing to get one breath before the second wave would hit, pushing me into the cliffs of the headland. Over and over they just kept coming as I felt helpless to do anything about it. I do remember asking god for help as I knew that I couldn't take much more. By then current had swept me around the corner and into the veiw of everybody who were enjoying the lookout at the most easterly point of mainland Australia. Finally I caught a break and was able to paddle over the wave before it broke and got away from the rocks. I was in Serious Trouble... I signaled to the onlookers almost 100ft over head for help... but there was nothing they could do at that moment anyways. I was alone. Another set of waves rolled in and threated to smash me into the cliffs and repeatedly holding me under for longer than I wanted to be... even with me clinging to board with everything I had. I paddled out of the inside again, out into the open sea and looked up at the crowd to see 1 guy waving and pointing to the north of the cape. "He wants me to paddle around the cape? It looks treacherous!" I thought as I looked ahead to where the guy was pointing to see consistent 12 footers breaking further out than where I was floating and rolling fast and hard and then exploding against the rocks at the point of the cape. It was too big and my arms were jello... but he's the only guy helping me so maybe he nows something I don't! The guy followed me along the rocks and was trying to guide me into the rocks and through them into the saftey of the little wategos beach in the bay. I was paying a little to much attention to the guys' hand signals and didn't notice that I drifted into the inside of the massive break. At that point I was swearing at the waves telling them not to f***ing break on me. when I heard the roar of the rescue chopper headed straight for me. I was still paddling for my life trying not to get caught in the breaking wave as the chopper circled overhead twice... then flew away towards tallows. Where the hell are you going?! I'm right here!!! you bastards! Too exhausted to fight I gave up and set adrift over the rolling monsters that threatened to engulf me and my last once of strength. Then the chopper came back circled and circled and circled but other than that, didn't do sh*t! That's when I looked over to see the bright red and blue zodiak launching the waves headed right for me. It swung by as i grabbed the lifegaurds arm and flopped in the boat as we spun a 180 and raced out of the danger zone with my board still in tow.
The ride back was rough as hell as I clung to board just as tight as I did under the waves as we caught air all the way back to the beach. I layed in the boat unable to move anymore as a crowd gathered around the zodiak. My heart was going full speed but my limbs were done. I had been out in the surf for over an hour and a half of non stop fighting I felt my leg rope being tugged off and the lifeguard ripped the board from my weak grip, looked at me and asked "are you ok". I just kind of took a moment to think about it and said... yes... I'm fine, thank you.' almost as if I didn't believe it myself. The best part was that I was safe again. That was all I cared about. At that point the guy from the cliff emerged from the crowd and started chatting with the lifeguard and introduced himself to me. I sat up and tried to make sense of what just happened and then tried to get up but ended up staggering into the lifegaurd. The paramedics were the next guys on the scene who gave me a quick look over and then helped up the beach to the ambulance. i thanked the guy on the rocks and the lifegaurd profusely and accredited them with saving my life and then was escorted into the front seat of the ambulance. The press were on hand and took tonnes of photos of me making my way up into the ambulance. "Mate, you just missed all the action" i thought as I was driven from the scene to the hostel.
Now I returned to the hostel to find the boys were still not back so I went for a power nap. They busted in about 45 minutes later and shared there view of the story with me. Basicly Trav had just got out of the water when a guy came running up the beach pointing out my way saying... 'That guy's in trouble!' So they raced to the guys norweigan girlfriend and borrowed her phone... no reception... next person... reception... right, call the rescuers... Then after the details were given they climbed the cliff ban to the light house and tried to see me through the crowd. That's when they learned about the shark warning that had been issued. oh goody was that ever good to hear. Apparently before I was washed around the headland people on the cape had spotted three large sharks lurking in the visinity. And yes while I was out there I was thinking about sharks... but told myself not to think about it and kept paddling. I didn't see them nor were they spotted in the area during my ordeal. I had nothing left to fight the shark anyways so even if one did come say g'day he'd probably get bored of chewing on my leg and eventually bugger off anyways. Ok the thought of what was out there still freaks me out. It was kind of funny the thoughts that went through my head out there. All those people staring down from the cliffs above unable to do anything even if they wanted to help. I was at the mercy of the sea which didn't care about wheather or not I survived. I know I was lucky yes I counted my blessings and tried to look at the good that came out of it. I also hoped that I wouldn't splashed over the news
to see the route he was dragged check out this foto:
http://www.haebc.com/will/gallery/album01/Mail0001
so what have we learned from all this...canadains should surf!
So i know alot of my friends have some very important exams next term. so i thought id add some lighter things to do in those exams you really dont care about.
1. When given the paper, consume, then ask for another, adding "tell the chef to hold the staples"
2. For a physics paper, make a paper aeroplane out of the answer sheet, and then afterwards complain that if it had been a practical you would have aced the mechanism of flight section.
3. Be more creative in you answering eg. When did the First World War start?
- I cant not answer this quesiton as the detail may comprimise my agents in the field.
4. Answer every question with "what would jesus do?". or, in a theology exam substitute "jesus" for "gandalf".
5. Go to sleep for the duration of the exam. but 5mins before the end wake up and say "oh shit", and start writing your name frantically, once done, tell everyone, "that was a close one".
6. When being read the rule and regulations, raise your right hand and when a teacher ask why...Say "course of habbit your honour, i mean sir, i mean i didnt do it, i know my rights you cant prove anything"
7. Use a disclaimer, therefore any likeness your account of the revolt in scotland in the 12 century to the exact script of highlander, is totally coincidental. thus avoiding an interesting legal suit.
8. Add "your mama" as much as possible.
9. Bring Cheerleaders.
10. Disprove the relevence of this paper, by explaining that reality is purely the imagination of the one perseving it, and therefore all action, reaction and possible outcomes are pre-destined by ones own sub-consious. so there is no point in taking this exam, as the exam it self does not exsist.
Just some things that are making me laugh
"i had a friend say to me, "man, the weather is really trippy." i said "no man, its not the weather that is trippy, maybe its the way we perseve it that is indeed trippy." then i thought, man, i should of just said "yeah."
"i want to get a map of the world for my wall, and so i can stick pins in all the place i have been. but first i'll have to travel to the top to corners of the world, so the map doesnt fall down."
"i was at a concert and i was standing by the door, and a bouncer came up to me and said "your gonna have to move, you blocking the fire exit". what like if there is a fire, im not going to run. if your flamable and have legs...your never blocking a fire exit."
"people are always trying to hand me out fliers, and when people are handing out fliers, its like "here, you through this away".
"i did alot of drugs...because of acid, i know that butter is way better than margerine...i saw through the bullsh#t!"
"i think pringles were ment to make tennis balls, but on the day that the rubber was supposed to arrive, it was potatoes. and pringles is a laid back company, so the said "F#@k it, cut em up"
mexican food is great but its essentially all the same ingredients...so its like
"what is nachos?" - its tortilla with cheese meat or vegetables.
"what is a burreto?" - tortilla with cheese meat or vegetables.
"then what is a tost tata?" tortilla with cheese meat or vegetables.
"well then what is...." - LOOK ITS ALL THE SAME
"when ever i'm away i feel like i should write a postcard. but you could be a genuis, but you always come across as a totally moron "this city's got big buildings, i like food. bye"
"has any one ever applied anything that the learned in gym class...ok im standing in a room full of strangers, based on what i learnt, i will through red ball at a fat guy."
Here an interesting thing for you to ponder. What is the only thing in youth culture that has become more conservative as time has gone? - Dating and relationships. How so you may ask. Well think about this in the 60s and 70s, a person could be "seeing" two to three people and it was normal. It wasn’t a sign of being easy, or any other derogatory term. Just you were testing the waters, seeing everything that the field had to offer. The idea of a date was much more apparent. You would usually go one a date with someone one day and the next some one else. This would be an isolated incident totally separate from each other. You had no moral responsibility to tell date 1 about date 2. But today there isn’t this screening system. Kids think that the first kiss with someone is the sign of a totally lockdown to everyone else, that you are official not single. So you have kids of 12/13 who are in "relationships"! Just because you like someone doesn’t mean you cant have an interest in some one else. Its only when you start to have feelings for someone that you remove yourself from the availability of others.
The way things are now you have kids going from relationship to relationship without a chance of playing the field. Cus as soon as you’re out of that last relationship, the next person you take a liking to, you feel obligated to make it into a relationship. And because of this, someone who does "get around" is labelled promiscuous, and unfaithful and probably not a nice person. Maybe they are right. It seems with the current state you can only have the two extremes. There is no room for middle ground. The sexual revolution happened for a reason. It was a social commentary more than just a scientific break through in things like the pill. There’s 3 and abit billion of each sex in this world, the chances of you finding mr/miss right only going relationship to relationship is very unlikely. Maybe that’s why divorce rates in America are up to 1 in 3.
In this world of kids being more mature than every, are we losing out on a vital part of life education? How many people do you know that are still together with their high school sweethearts? So wouldn’t it save alot of time and heartache to be more open minded in the dating world. Having my share of lost time and heartache, im starting to see alittle sense in the flower power ideology.
Heres another way of looking at: the carling cup, or any sporting playoffs. Teams work there was through teams they are matched up with until the have eliminated all but one other team which the meet in the final. And finals in theory should be the best games. Therefore leaving the most people happy. If you didn’t understand that (cus im not sure if I did). Its just saying that if we open up to meeting lots of people in the early stages. By the process of elimination and gaining experience from previous encounters, you will eventually met the right person
rambling and pretty indirect, but i think there is a point hidden in there some where....leave a comment on what your thoughts are.
I guess i should give abit of an update considering i have been back in england for over 2 weeks now...god i feel so dirty saying that.
i can safely say its not just me who doesnt like be being in england. my body is dying as well, its cold and dry so my lips are chapped, my eye has become infected...but its on its getting alot better since i went to the doc, and im having nose bleed by-daily. i think i could have kept a mobile hospital quite quenched for a week or so with the amount of blood ive lost. anyway, i guess i got to get used to it sooner or later.
so im still looking for a job in the greater horsham area. it was looking pretty hopless a few days ago, but then i started looking and my options greatly improved. well the first thing i saw was a sales assistant in the body shop, cool i could deal with that. so i spoke to the owner who informed me that i shouldn't even attempt applying unless im able to give fully facial make-overs. so i was torn, use my skills from working for 2 seasons on queer eye (i was the grooming one), and risk comparimising my witness relocation program or keep looking....i chose the later. anyway, next door was hargreaves sports who were also hiring. so i dropped off my CV today and am awaiting an interview. but i mean, how could they turn me down, 3 time world indoor tiddelly winks champion for recovering TUMS abusers...it just wouldnt happen. but to be on the safe side i also signed on to a real staffing agency for the local area to try and find some more high paying jobs. i will keep you posted on my eventual career decisions.
anyway, outside the high octane world of bussiling comerce, life has been pretty average i guess, which is SO boring. well thats not totally true, i did have a pretty entertaining weekend. i went down to eastbourne to stay with tom, who i havent seen since the night of 4 gallons of cooking oil, a traffic cone, a picket fence, and small child's trike (i wish i was making this up). The plan was to hit the town that night. but according to a quick poll, turns out no one was going in to town. so (and id never thought id be doing this) we went to bar night at school. well it was odd going back to where i had just left and slightly defouled a few months earlier, but the beer was cheap, and it was cool seing everyone again. i had numerous shrieks of "oh my god, its you", even from people i had never met. now heres where things take a turn for the worse. i was commenting to a few people that i havent been really drunk in over 8months, i mean drunk enough to through up and feel awful in the morning. even on my birthday, where i was roaringly drunk, i did not have a hang over. but i guess the weather is a factor or something, cus 4 bottles and a few shots of vodka later, i was slammed. and the next morning i thought i was dying...and yes, i through up that morning. but after a large full english i was feeling fine again. the rest of the day we spent playing john butler trio songs, and trying to squeeze 8months of rehersal time into 6hrs to further the endevours of The Healed Project. later that evening we headed into town to see delle, who i havent seen since the summer, for a quick drink and a game of pool, which was a nice chilled way to end the weekend.
This is kinda probably one of the last..hey, this is what is going on, post for a while, because not much is going to be going on for awhile. instead it will go back to the mental dumping ground and tourtered artists refuage that it once was. it will be deep......im just messing, there are plenty of dick joke on there way.
Peace
Because a certain persons email doesnt seem to be working properly, i think ill just save time and write this here.
I fell through the sun and it all,
Hiding from you,
But theres no-one who does it,
Like you.
Light the sky, open your eyes.
Busking for the Beautiful view.
Talk to me when i dream of you,
Dream of me when i talk to you.
The most you could have hoped,
Is that you start to feel.
All this is for you to handle,
A summer night to steal.
I hope it stays forever,
This feeling of chance.
Who could say? Breathe in,
Breathe out.
Hold your breath for this.
Sky blues of this summer.
Talk to me when i dream of you,
Dream of me when i talk to you.
Just a quick line to say that i have put the fotos from my trip on the site, and there is a link down by my about me. the foto time line is sydney first..then moving on to byron.
ill be doing a really post 2morrow
ENJOY
(I’m afraid this post is a bit dated. I wrote offline on my first day back, expecting our lack of phone line to be a temporary thing ha. i have had to go to work with dad to get this one up)
26hours later and im england. god, i never thought i would put some time and effort into getting somewhere i hate. but what are you going to do. and to all those still travelling, i can tell you that england is still the same, and i advise to never come back.
i think im going to use this post to both sum up the last day or so of travels and kinda summaries what has taken place over the past 57days. sort of do the most memorable moments, the best bits etc.
i think its ironic how 200 and how ever many years ago, the british travelled all that way to australia just to imprison a bunch of people, when i, in the year 2005, am pretty much doing the opposite. 15000km to be imprisoned in a world of greyness and pikies. oh how times change. anyway, i left melbounre on the 28th on flight cx104 to hong kong. i dont think i have actually ever felt so low about leaving a place i have known for such a short time, but i guess thats a credit to melbounre and Oz that it has touched me. anyway, the movies on the flight were crap, when ever a jimmy fallon movie is the most exciting thing listed it never a good sign. so i found other way to amuse myself...hehe. first of all i introduced myself to the guy next to me as "corey mathews, big wave surfer out of malibu"..ppl will believe anything at 30,000ft. later on in the flight i decided to continue in the vein of the elevator pranks by looking out the window frequently with a confused look on my face, then finally giving a nervous wave, closing the blinds and asking for a stiff drink. im not sure what i achieved, but it was fun. 9hrs later i am in hong kong for 2 and a half hrs. ive heard you really need longer to really see the whole of hong kong, but im afraid i didnt have the time. cx251 to london was awaiting my presence, and i have to say, this was one of the only flights i have ever been on where by the end of the 13hrs, i wanted to stay on board then face the 0c blizzard out side. it was freezing! but 2hrs on the tube and the trains, and i was back home. so 26hrs later and 27c colder, you find me in slinfold, sussex...looking forward to sleeping in my own bed!
ok so that covers the travel part. now i had this idea on the plane just thinking about the past two months and writing down the first/most stand out things that come to mind. not all humours, just memories. i was wondering how to approach it. it may get alittle confusing, but i'll try and give rough date/locations and back story if need be. ok here goes.
the sprayige - this unfortunate episode happened around the end of jan in downtown sydney. we (sam and i) were standing outside a 7/11, bottle of coke in hand when the crosswalk signal sounded, so sam said "when ever i hear that sound im drawn to cross a street, even if i dont need to". not that funny, i know, but was i taking a sip at the time and burst out laughing. thing is, i think i was able to cover half a block in all directions with the fluids emitting from my mouth. caught in the cross fire were a group of asian tourist, who kinda looked at me blankly, a business women, who tried to kill me with her stare, and a father and son, the father giving me a look that kind of went a long the lines of "what have you done to my son". i gut laughed until i cried.
The 3hr fight- this was painful for all involved. im not going to go into the full details of it as most know the story already, but i will say that i learnt alot about myself and those i thought i held close.
Pie run- this adventure took place on our second night in byron. in short, sam, beute, sean and i were sitting outside the room in our boxers, waiting for an chance to go to bed (sounds odd right, but all you need to know is that neal was in there with a certain lady). so to kill time we drank...alot, then decided to go to the pie shop down the road. so at 2am the 4 of us set of scantly clad and beer in hand to get a cornish pasty mmmm. i think this was so memorable because sam was propositioned frequently on the trip, strangely by an alarming number of guys.
Arts factory cinema- i dont know why, but going to see garden state there with that group of people really hit me in some way. i dont know, i guess that movie just meant more in such an atmosphere.
Bali bed- a beautiful night in a beautiful house, with a beautiful person.
Holes to heaven- this is actually a song by jack johnson, and the first of two jack related memories. this one is slightly more loosely based on our hawiian friend though. for about 3 nights in a row tristan and i would head along the beach around the time of 11-2am with a guitar meeting random people and singing random improvs about them under the stars
inaudible melodies- there was this magically time at aquarius around 5pm, when every one was getting back from the beach, putting on some fresh clothes and just coming together to reflect on the balcony. the sun was slowly lowering and the air felt heavy with drained bodies but buzzing minds. anyway the downstairs open area start to fill up and this same jack johnson would usher in this time. "slow down everyone, you moving to fast"
Stoned james- "kill kill kill die die die"...tristan, if your reading this, that was fun. basically, these guys went nimbin (drug/hippie capital) and james kinda mixed his proverbial drinks...caffeine hit and a body stone, and well tripped out quite fantastically.
Coffee and cake - you can kill 3hrs so easily when your with some one you enjoy the company of and are sharing a mars bar cake with. i wish it could have lasted longer
Cinema under the stars - my second night in melbounre, and the uni laid on an open air movie for the freshers. i just felt peaceful, the movie was superfluous to the general atmosphere of being with someone...aww how cute.
there are many other memories that will stay with me for ever. some are my own, some i shared with only a few and therefore have no place in such a public place. but i feel that these few give the best spectrum of my time and experiences that made such an amazing trip.