Casting back to a full house at Pinnacles North Telo in July, with two amazing New Zealand families – The Scotts and The Lampens – and an epic couple from Oz, Nicole and Steve Cottell, as lovely as they are stylish.

We’re all about every surfer having the time of their lives, so this trip we often split into two groups: “The Rippers” (that’d be the frothing fearless groms) and “The Big Dogs” (the dads and daughters). We delivered the Big Dogs to user-friendly sessions with sky high wave counts, and The Rippers, well, they attacked whatever Telo threw at ‘em.

And Telo threw a lot of swell at us. Classic, hefty July-in-Telo stuff: Le-Ba, Pinnacles, Max’s Left and even GTs where young Josh Scott threaded a seemingly endless barrel.

Anyway, there’s a whole lot of ripping and frothing good times to get into here. So let’s meet our Big Dogs and Rippers.

Stephen Cottell // Aussie Steve and his wife Nicole were the only guests who weren’t part of the NZ gang of families, not that you’d know it, however, because everyone got on like a house on fire. Steve, who came on mate Brett Morgan’s recommendation, was pumped on any wave he got and especially loved his session at A-frames.

Andy Scott // Big Dog Supreme. Also a Big Dog in the telecoms game. You won’t meet a nicer, more genuine fella. Super fit bloke who took to Le Ba and rode waves with a big smile plastered across his noggin. Andy’s wife Rhonda was a similarly uplifting Pinnacles presence!

Jake Scott // It may be a number of weeks since this trip occurred, but there may still be spray coming back down from the backhand hooks performed at maximum velocity by this top young human. Kid rips on his forehand too, but that backhand – sheesh.

Jess “Waxy” Scott // Not scared is Jess! Super switched-on and receptive to advice and suggestion from the surf guides. Jess left the Telos a dramatically improved surfer. Earned the nick-name Waxy after her extraordinary flower pattern wax job.

Simon Lampen // Fellow Big Dog. New-Zealand CEO fella, mellow, measured and great to be around. Always stoked. Wife Penelope a mother figure to the whole group, nurturing and kind, and very easy to talk to. What delightful creatures!

Sebastian Lampen // Tall man with a great wingspan that paddled him into some absolute bombs, which he rode with style and courage.

Quinn Lampen // The cheeky younger brother. If you ever need to find Quinn and his pal Josh, they’ll be on the inside, getting a million waves, laughing and yakking and basically having the time of their grommet lives.

Josh Scott // See above. High energy grom. Quinn’s partner in froth. Josh distinguished himself with some barrel riding at GTs beyond his years. Mean forehand hook too. Yeah lad.

Julian Lampen // Super-quick witted and humourous goofy-footer, who surfed with a flowing style. Thoroughly enjoyed the Bintang Classic (more on that later). Actually, might have enjoyed it a little too much.

Jess Sheldon // Jake’s partner. “Donny” is a charger, and her competitive nature pushed her surfing, particularly at the Le-Ba raceway, where she nailed some epic rides.

And that was it for this pumping, happy family trip. As the trip wound down “The Bintang Classic” surf comp was held at our backyard break of Pinnacles on the second last day. The format was two waves on a longboard per person in two-surfer heats, and whoever did the weirdest, craziest thing would progress. It was a memorable afternoon, and one or two of our sponsor’s beverages may have been (responsibly) enjoyed… Thanks for coming out guys, it was a blast to host you all!