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smorgasboarder
long live the shack
words: jeff morris
My friends and I grew up as part of the Long Reef
Boardriders Association back in the 60’s and 70’s.
Our “away” surf trips were mostly up the coast from
Sydney to the Boomerang/Bluey’s Beach area. We
stayed in tents, caravans and beach shacks - they
were shacks back then.
We even had our own shack back at Longy,
imaginatively called the “Shack”, someone’s old
abandoned holiday retreat that we made our own
for a few years. It brought us all together when it
was cold, wet and surfless.
More than 30 years ago, when we were all getting
married, having families and mortgaging our first
fibro castles, we decided to have a week/end
(depending on how long you could get a leave pass
for) surf trip back to Boomerang. It was so good we
just kept doing it for the next 30+ years.
We’ve stayed in a few beach shacks in the area
since then and had a good time in all of them.
My favourite is the one we have booked for the last
10 or so years, with views up and down the beach
from a sensational surf watching, beer drinking,
bullshit-talking balcony. It’s not the Ritz but it ain’t a
shack either.
Saturday nights all right for BBQing and there’s
usually at least 15 of us, a large percentage doing
their bit towards the culinary event of the year.
Not everyone from back then makes the annual
trip, it’s not everyone’s thing. For those of us that
still keep coming back, it’s probably more about the
continuation of a great life, still hanging out and still
doing dumb stuff, occasionally surfing and having
fun with guys who you’ve known for 45 plus years;
guys you grew up with who feel more like family
than just mates.
Long live the beach shack, whatever form it takes
these days.
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