Australia has been turning it on in the surf department over the past few months. The East Coast had an unusually consistent spell during March and April where they were hit with at least a 10 foot swell every week for six weeks! And when that finally ended in May, the West Coast began to fire at all the usual spots like the Box with at least two clean six foot plus groundswells over the past four weeks.

Ben Player and friends scored a semi-secret bombie in the east at 25 foot and Tyge Richardson was towed into a massive set, only to take a lip to the head! Finally, in the south, Mitch Rawlins was part of an incredible session at Shipsterns along with Billabong Adventure Division pro surfers Andy Irons and Joel Parkinson. Rawlins was towed into some absolute beasts - waves so heavy they make the recent big session in Ireland look almost tame!

Young Aussies Brendon Newton, Harry Dixon, Michael Novy, Ryan Mattic and mates have been on an outback Australia mission and come across their fair share of death-defying waves and dramas - particularly at the infamous Cyclops. In one session, Brendo was reported to have taken off on the heaviest wave of his life and free-fell top to bottom on the 15 foot beast…the result was an emergency flight to Perth, surgery to his lip and sixty stitches shared around his body - a brave effort!
In another debacle - Brendo and Mattic were stuck out at sea beyond Cyclops during a fishing expedition late one evening. The boat stalled and they were left to sleep overnight in the biggest swell to hit the WA coast this year! On shore, Harry and Novy called a sea search rescue for them. The next day they were found by a rescue vessel alive and well, relaxing on their faulty boat. The fellas are now headed for the treacherous shores of South Australia so stay tuned for future stories of bravado and drama!

Speaking of Brendo getting stitched up, the young lad is due to be married in December this year - congratulations!

Spencer Skipper, Mike Stewart and Pierre Louis Costes are preparing to fly Down Under as the international wildcards in the Shark Island Challenge, the first major IBA tour event for the year.

Waves are still pulsing into Mexico with globe-trotting ripper Adam Hart reporting consistent and empty heaving barrels and bowls.

The Indo season is about to begin and there are some new waves to be explored this year. If you want to try something different to the peeling perfection of Padang or Supersuck, Aussie bodyboarder Dean Fergus now owns a travel company exploring Sumatra. If you're keen, check him out on the net.

American bodyboarders on the West Coast have been enjoying some swell in recent weeks. The wedge in particular has been pumping, putting up some of those huge airbowls that Chad Barba made famous.

And finally, the much anticipated flick Visions 2 has been pulled off the shelves after the inclusion of an unsavoury event in the extras section of the DVD. There are reports that police, lawyers and the Child Protection Agency are involved! Luckily for Visions fans, the DVD looks set to be re-released after the offending material has been wiped.

The prestigious 'Riptide Experiment' trip is underway in Oz. In this episode, three photographer/rider teams are sent around Oz on the hunt for glory over a three week period…guaranteed quality action! Teams consist of Lackey, Rawlins and Tim Jones; Lester, Winchester and Phil Gallagher; Brad Hughes, Jason Hazle and Mickey Smith.

Hometown hero Mickey Smith did an epic stint to WA's north-west, getting back to his roots with fellow lensman Andy Lawrence and twin brother/Riptide editor-in-chief Nick Lawrence, where they had 10 days of epic waves and sunshine to warm their pasty skin…a nice change from the chills of the UK winter for Mickey.

Chris White has been busy filming for his latest and perhaps last video of the Tension series - Tension 10. His latest gig is a tow-out boosting session…lit up by floodlights. Sean Virtue, Dave Winchester, Brad Hughes and Ben Player were launching and flipping at 3am in the morning at one of Perth's most popular beaches - their only spectators were Eric Tungsten shooting stills and some drunks going for a skinny dip, classic!

Chad Jackson will be back in the water after a ridiculously bad run of injuries which has seen him stranded on land since he returned home from Hawaii in February. With fresh sponsorship from Morey, Chad hopes to bounce back harder than ever.

The Shark Island Trials begin in mid-June in the lead up to the biggest and most prestigious world tour event of the year. With 20 Aussie grand up for grabs and a country full of talented rookies, push will come to shove with only six trialists guaranteed to make the cut into this year's main event.

Mitch Rawlins has officially launched his campaign with the new board company VS - the brainchild of master shaper and owner of NMD boards Nick Mesritz. Named the Versus project, the new company aims to combine the best shapers with the best riders in the world - namely Mitch and Todd Quigley to begin with - to create the best custom style stock boards available on the market.

The body of 40-year-old Lord Jago Eliot, heir to the 6,000-acre Port Eliot estate in St Germans, Cornwall, was discovered by his wife, Bianca, one Saturday afternoon in April in the farmhouse they shared in the grounds. The eccentric, party-loving aristocrat was found dead in his bath. The earl raised funds for his many exotic round-the-world trips by busking and performing magic tricks in Covent Garden. He travelled the world to pursue his love of surfing, which he took up aged 12, but had to stop after he hurt his hips in an accident. He turned to bodyboarding, at which he excelled. He won first place in the Spanish national bodyboard championships and a ticket to the world championships in Hawaii, where he represented the UK and came 17th out of 96 entrants - the highest-placed European.