Some older footage of Jimmy.
Riptide: What's inspired this 'Into The Wild' style adventure of yours Jimmy?
Jimmy: Basically some epic past experiences. I’ve done a little bit of travel, both overseas and in Oz, but there just seems to be no place like home - by home I mean Australia. Every time I venture down to the South Coast, South Oz and the West it just seems to blow my mind. Despite the waves we surf, it always delivers and is always a thrill.
My experiences have mainly got me amped, but there’s other things such as boog flicks like ‘The Road’, music and mates which keep me motivated to slave at work each day and save my money for something so distant.
Can you run us through the van you're going to use and how you're going to deck it out?
The van is a project in itself. I decided I wanted to do this trip this time last year. I worked way too much and saved up enough to buy an everyday, late-model Toyota Hiace. Since then week by week with each paycheck I’ve been slowly turning it into a camper with the latest addition being a fridge. Over the next few weeks I’m going to fit two single beds, an awning and other essentials for survival.
Is your main goal to score waves?
My main objective is to have a good time and that scoring waves seems to deliver the best of times. We won’t be anywhere, but in the ocean when the waves are on, but as expected there will be days and weeks without waves and getting skunked. These weeks I don’t want to be laying low, I want to skiing some slopes, skydiving, having a beer at semi-abandoned pubs and even cage shark diving in SA. All-in-all I want it to be a crazy adventure.
Who else is jumping in with you?
My best mate Eric. Eric and I share the same interests… scoring waves, undertaking adventures and getting the hell away from the Gold Coast for weeks at a time. We talk and plan this trip day in day out, coming up with new ideas and get ourselves more and more eager to leave and get totally lost. There could not be a better person to travel with and the exposure of his surfing abilities are way overdue . He’s going to push me for sure. He’s a happy kid who won't get down if we were getting skunked for weeks at a time.
When are you going to kick off and how long for?
I want to leave here for the first good swell of 2013. From that day we won't return until our bank accounts run dry. I want to be on the road for at least five to six months chasing swells in NSW, SA, Vic, WA and Tassie.
Is mapping out a route and having a criteria a big concern or are just going to go with the flow?
I’ve been planning this trip for over a year now. I don’t leave until another year and there’s no plan at all, but it should all go to plan. We are going to follow our noses. Waves, wind and weather will determine where we are day by day, but I’ll be disappointed if we don’t get to experience waves around the entire country.
Every time I’ve ventured away from home for waves there has been time limits, boundaries and financial restrictions. This trip is going to have none of that...we're saving more then nessessary, quitting our jobs and splitting this scene.
Anything you want to plug about it?
Our entire trip we are taking turns filming on a HD cam. Stay posted in 2013 for a several part, online series documenting the adventures, discoveries and mega times we come across.
Good luck!
