Blue Water High is the ultimate teenage adventure in the ultimate teenage environment. Beautiful beaches, crystal clear water, long sunny days. The cafe spills onto the streets, the streets spill onto the foreshore and the music spills across everything. And smack in the middle of this paradise is a high performance surf academy where every year, seven talented teenagers are selected for an intensive, twelve month residential surfing and schooling program. Some have focused for years to get there. Others have coasted in with the natural confidence of those who know they're born to succeed. But once these kids walk through the door, everyone is on a level playing field and facing the same challenges. They know that Blue Water High will determine where they go and what they become. And for two very exceptional students, the year will form the launching pad to the world of their dreams — to surf the pro circuit.
Anna's feeling the pressure and challenges Joe to a surf-off; if he wins, she'll leave. Despite the treacherous conditions, Anna surfs like a champion. She wins the respect of her team-mates, and Bec is grudging approval.
The school competition falls on the same day as a Solar Blue function and Matt puts himself on the line to attend both. Matt's commitment to the Academy is questioned — until Matt points out they have a commitment to school as well.
Fly is homesick and accidentally runs up a huge bill on Anna's mobile. She secretly starts work at a carwash to try and pay it off but breaks the machinery, ending up deeper in debt. She's about to quit when the team comes to her rescue.
Anna's last on the Academy's scoreboard, and despite Simmo's coaching, her surfing is deteriorating. Homesick for Germany, Anna can't see how she'll ever compete with the others. She books her ticket home and gives away precious surfing points until Perri reveals a confidential Solar Blue file. Inside is a letter from her old coach saying she'll never make it — all the motivation Anna needs to stay. Perri agrees to give her extra coaching, and Anna's back on track.
Edge is losing surf competitions because he won't take Simmo's advice to do fewer crowd-pleasing aerials, and more judge-pleasing manoeuvres. Edge goes kite-boarding in rough seas after only one lesson, because he's sure he's got the talent to handle it. After he crashes and almost drowns and Bec puts her own life at risk to rescue him, there appears to be a spark between the two tough surfers. Edge is forced to rethink his attitude.
Heath's failing at school, and copies Matt's project in desperation. When they both lose school marks and surfing points for cheating, Matt feels betrayed. Matt's been mystified by some rare local fish, but Heath discovers their secret. He thinks outside the square, making a project about the fish that wins back Matt's friendship, and their school marks.
Bec's friendship with her brother Joe has suffered since she made it into the Academy. When she catches him stealing surfboards, the team pressures her to call the police but she knows this could destroy their relationship.
A shark scare brings everyone's greatest fear to the surface. Matt's seemingly unshakeable, until his father Ewan unexpectedly arrives. Matt has his own plans for the future but his fear of disloyalty to his father affects his surfing.
Perri's parents have cut off her credit card. When a rival sponsor offers her a modelling contract, she thinks about leaving Solar Blue Academy. The modelling contract falls through at the last minute so Perri's back to square one.
Matt and Edge are vying for top position on the Academy scoreboard and their friendly competition quickly gets out of control. Egged on by Heath, and the arrival of a pretty new girl, they challenge each other to a dangerous surfing stunt. When the stunt almost kills Bec's little brother Ben, Matt and Edge realise there's a difference between acceptable risk and irresponsible behaviour.
Fly's having strangely romantic dreams about Heath, and she's desperate not to give away how she feels. On the eve of her birthday she complains to Anna about missing her friends back home — and about being treated like a little kid. Anna organises a party to cheer her up, making the others take Fly on a surfing trip so it can be a surprise. After a comedy of errors trying to avoid Heath, Fly ends up having to own up to her feelings.
Perri rescues someone from the surf, only to discover that he's an adrenalin junkie who's risked both their lives to seek attention. She's hailed as a hero but is so traumatised that she vows never to rescue anyone again. It's Matt who gives her the confidence to go back on patrol. He teaches her some self-defence techniques so she won't have to risk her own life to save someone else's.
Deb asks the team to judge each other in a surf competition, so they conspire to score each other highly. Heath's keen on the new girl so a jealous Fly deducts points from his score and spoils the scoring plan.
Fly's losing surf contests so surfs to win at a regional girls' competition. The boys are supposed to be support crew, but get caught up in a battle of practical jokes. Perri is not laughing when she's caught in the crossfire.
After pushing herself to the limit with a hardcore training regime, Anna decides its time to be a normal teenager. The others are busy making a video presentation to win sponsorship for some new boards. On a date with Bec's brother Joe, Anna loses track of time. She misses the deadline for the video, and almost ruins her friends' chances for sponsorship.
Perri's diabetes is revealed when she collapses into a coma. Deb's forced to tell Solar Blue, who are nervous about sponsoring a surfer with a potentially life-threatening condition. Matt campaigns on Perri's behalf, and she's allowed to stay. The only obstacle left — convincing Perri that diabetes won't stop her from being a champion.
Edge alienates the boys with his 'win at all costs' attitude at a triathlon event, by not helping Matt when he falls off his bike. To teach him a lesson, Heath doesn't bother to pick up a race marker when it falls over, and Edge takes the wrong path, getting completely lost in the National Park
Edge assumes Bec will be his partner for the school formal. Bec, sick of being taken for granted, invites Heath to be her partner instead. Chasing some big waves just before the dance, Edge takes Heath's jet ski without asking and damages it accidentally. It all comes to a head when Heath sees his dented jet ski. The night ends in a fistfight on the dance floor, and Bec is left wondering just what she saw in Edge.
Bec is invited to a big wave competition in Tahiti, but she's nervous about surfing heavy waves, and at the same time trying to get Edge out of her head. The other girls suspect Bec has been chosen because she knows the competition organisers and give her the cold shoulder. When Edge points this out during a massive fight with Bec, she takes a risk surfing in huge swell and ends up in hospital.
Perri's feelings for Edge come to a head when she's spooked by a tramp hiding out in the board shed. When Edge accompanies her back to the shed in search of a lost ring, she kisses him. Edge is quite confused, but wants to forget it; after all he's keen on Bec. Consumed with guilt, Perri tries to make things 'normal' with Edge, and that's when Matt and Bec find out. The team's training regime is stepped up a notch when they are forced by Deb to train fully clothed in the pool to build up their strength: they are not happy!
Heath is pressured by a ruthless surf magazine editor to secretly take 'behind the scenes' photos of the Academy couples and their romantic antics. Deb's also keeping close watch on the starry-eyed pairs, worried there's too much fooling around and not enough training. Simmo's solution is to throw extra training at the team, in the vain hope they'll be too exhausted for a social life.
Heath persuades Anna to sneak down the coast with him for a kiteboarding competition. Anna wins the comp and is faced with a dilemma. She's also won entry into the Junior team — should she give up surfing and return to her first love?
Bec negotiates for Blue Water to hold the local surf comp. They agree to pay for everything but a band for the after party. The team's own band could play — but Fly's musical ability threatens to turn it into a disaster.
Heath's perpetual lateness affects his year ten certificate exam. Simmo has no choice but to deduct points which means he might not even qualify for the wild card in the comp. The team helps Heath claw back the points he needs.
It's what everyone's been working for — the final competition for a wildcard into the World Championship Tour. Bec and Edge move out to focus on winning, Heath confronts the reality of his exam results and everyone surfs brilliantly!
In the new series, everyone is experiencing the excitement of being at Solar Blue, but like all teenagers, even though surfing is their consuming passion, these kids still have to face the reality checks and challenges confronting them. The new recruits include bubbly Amy (Gabrielle Scollay), determined Brooke (Lesley Anne Mitchell), adventurous Rachel (Taryn Marler), confident Mike (James Sorenson), farm boy Corey (Trent Dalzell) and comedian Eric (Ryan Corr). We will be kept guessing until the final episode about just who will be successful in securing those highly coveted spots (one male one female) on the international pro-circuit. Whatever the outcome, the group will all have grown as individuals and learned lessons about themselves that will leave them well prepared for the years ahead. One thing is for certain: nobody will ever forget their time at Blue Water High. Eric and Mike face off for the last spot at Solar Blue.
Amy decides a boat trip to an island is just the thing for the new contenders to get to know each other. The day turns on its head though when Mike's attempt to create a surprise for Brooke almost leads to disaster. Bec's impending departure creates a job opening and Fly knows the perfect candidate.
The Solar Blue girls are flattered by the instant attention they receive from the boys at Blue Water High on their first day. But the accidental discovery of a blog site reveals there's more to it than they could ever have anticipated. Fly is concerned Heath is taking his new job too seriously.
Rachel and Corey's different approaches to life (science vs nature) clash head on. Neither is prepared to budge but in attempting to prove he's right. Heath turns over the responsibity of assigning house chores to the group. Corey makes a near fatal error of judgement.
Brooke helps out her cousin by taking her place in a body-board competition, the only problem is she has to go behind Simmo's back. Meanwhile, Amy comes to Eric's rescue when he is finding it hard to talk to girls and Heath is worried he may have put himself out of a job by teaching his charges too well.
Fly learns the hard way about the true meaning of leadership while Heath almost blows his chances of getting the dream job he's been hoping for. Jilly returns.
There's no surf so the Solar Blue kids decide to go abseiling. Preoccupied with her feelings for Mike, Rachel's emotions get the better of her and she learns some painful lessons. Fly competes in her first competition on the pro tour.
Eric is on a high when a surfing magazine pays him big bucks to publish his photo. But disaster strikes when he loses his expensive new board and can't seem to make headway with Amy.
At school an announcement is made that year 10 will hold a beauty contest to raise money for new gym equipment. The Solar Blue girls are shocked, they think a beauty contest is old fashioned and sexist. To keep Solar Blue from becoming social outcasts Corey comes up with an idea to keep everyone happy. He decides to enter the beauty contest...
While at a surf club dance Mike reveals he can't dance. The next day in class the team are given an assignment on "the psychology of learning", where they must observe the process of someone learning a new skill. Much to Mike's dismay the team decides that they will teach him to dance for their assignment. It's a gradual process of improvement as Brooke and Mike practise the hardest dance of all; the tango. Simmo decides to challenge the kids' complacency by entering them in to a surf ski competition.
After a plumbing disaster, Simmo decides to get the kids out of the house and take them down the South Coast for a surfing safari. Amy suggests they visit Eric's mum while they are away but Eric thinks it's a bad idea. Unbeknown to Eric, Amy takes a bus to Eric's home town Lindara, and discovers Eric's secret.
Brooke and Mike have been an item for exactly two weeks and three days. Unfortunately, thoughts of Mike become a huge distraction and Brooke's surfing is suffering. Something's got to give. Will Brooke lose the boy she loves in order to follow her dream? Meanwhile a young grommet from school, Nell, becomes obsessed with Amy.
There is trouble on Blue Water Beach when a group of local boys continually taunt the Solar Blue team whilst training. The leader of the group, Troy, wants Solar Blue off the beach. Meanwhile, Eric and Amy strike up a friendship with young surfer Nat and help her improve her surfing skills.
Eric and Amy's relationship is on the rocks. Amy feels Eric is taking her for granted and suggests their relationship should be more casual. There is a special ball coming up on the weekend and Simmo reveals a magazine will be sending a photographer to do a fashion shoot with the Solar Blue team before the event.
It's well into the year at Solar Blue and Eric has mastered the art of slacking off. After a stupid stunt with a training helmet Simmo decides it's high time that he and Eric have a chat. When Amy overhears a conversation between Simmo and Eric she believes Eric is on the way out of Solar Blue.
Amy gets a big surprise when her wealthy parents, Ray and Linda, arrive from the Gold Coast for a surprise visit. Eric lets it slip to Amy that his birthday is coming up on Saturday. Amy, being a party girl, does not intend to let this go by and organises a surprise birthday lunch. On the morning of the surprise party Ray and Linda have a surprise for Eric and whisk him and Amy away on a seaplane flight. Unfortunately the plane has mechanical problems and the group are delayed in their return.
Fly and Simmo are surprised when Edge returns to Solar Blue. They discover things haven't been going too well on the circuit for Edge and he's developing a bad name. Eric, Corey and Mike are eager to surf against Edge in a local comp, but he does a disappearing act when it comes to the final. When Edge is finally tracked down he makes the shocking announcement that he's quitting the circuit.
Brooke should be feeling like she is on top of the world - school is going well and she's surfing better than ever. However, a recurring thought has been niggling at the back of her mind. Brooke realises she is constantly thinking about Mike. When everyone pairs up for a mixed doubles surfing event and Mike chooses Rachel as his partner, Brooke's thoughts run away from her and she begins to believe that Mike and Rachel have feelings for each other.
Living with the Solar Blue team members is beginning to grate on Mike - he's used to being an only child and is craving his own space. All hell breaks loose when Mike deliberately knocks down a house of cards that has been painstakingly erected by Corey. In an attempt to bring the group back together Simmo organises a bonding weekend at an outdoor adventure park. While competing in a triathlon in pairs Corey and Mike are forced to work together - it's a disaster.
It's only eight weeks until the final surf-off and Rachel's peaking. She's totally focused and surfing up a storm. Just when everything seems perfect, Rachel's brother Jay arrives with some bad news. The family business is struggling and they need her help. In a shocking decision, Rachel decides to quit Solar Blue. A reporter arrives to follow two of the Solar Blue surfers for the day.
For the first time in the year Eric takes a long hard look at Corey and Mike - his competition - and realises that he may not be able to beat them and suffers a major crisis in confidence. Will he be able to get his attitude back on track?
While the rest of the team trains down the South Coast, Eric and Brooke remain at home to complete assignments for school. Eric convinces Brooke to take a short break and go for a surf with him. Unfortunately, she wipes out badly and ends up with a sore back. Attempting to keep the injury a secret from Simmo she struggles through training. It's only six weeks out from the final surf-off and she doesn't want to throw away her big chance. Will her injury take her out of the competition for good?
Corey is on a high when he passes school with flying colours and there's nothing standing between him and the Solar Blue final. Later that day at school he is caught in the middle of a flour bomb fight and in a moment of recklessness he throws a flour bomb that hits the wrong person. Corey is immediately suspended from school which immediately disqualifies him from the surf-off. With a little help from his friends and some fast-talking from Amy he's given one last chance to have the suspension lifted.
Amy and Eric's relationship is in a rut. When hot young surfer Connor Davies drops by to give the team a few tips, Amy soon realises she has feelings for him. Is this the end for Eric and Amy?
The end is now in sight for the Solar Blue students and Brooke in particular, is starting to worry about what will happen after the final surf off... Will the six of them remain best buddies? Or does the end of the competition mean the end of their friendships? Fly reassures the Solar Blue gang that this is only the beginning of their friendships and their surfing careers - but Brooke reminds Fly that she won last year, so how does she know what it's like to be unsuccessful and left behind. Meanwhile Simmo has a surprise visitor planned. He's hoping her arrival will prove there is life after leaving the academy. Fly is really excited when Perri turns up, but is shocked to learn that she and Matt are no longer seeing each other - they were so close when they were at Solar Blue! Fly does a little research and finds out Matt will be in the area - one phone call and she's got him stopping by to visit everyone at Solar Blue. Fly's sure that as soon as Matt and Perri lay eyes on each other, their relationship will be rekindled, but when Perri sees Matt, she's upset and makes a point of avoiding him.
t's the day they've been working towards all year; the final, Solar Blue surf-off. Which boy and which girl will win the ultimate prize - a place on the pro circuit?
Cassie is the first to arrive at Blue Water Beach. With high hopes for the year ahead, the day doesn't exactly pan out the way she had imagined. Overloaded with bags, Cassie attempts to contact the Solar Blue Academy but keeps getting the answering machine. To make matters worse, Adam, a teenage boy with a surfboard, asks if she needs some help. She's been warned about strangers like him. Meanwhile, Angus Li the new head of Solar Blue, meets up with former student Bec Sanderson to discuss the re-vamped running of the company. After some clever thinking Cassie finally makes it to the Solar Blue house. The situation doesn't improve on arrival, though. There's 'keep out' signs surrounding the house — not exactly the welcome Cassie had in mind. Then, Adam shows up again! Cassie accuses him of being some crazy stalker. He finally convinces her that he too is part of the academy's intake for the year. They decide to take their luggage off the street and check out the waves. Witnessed by a nosy neighbour, Adam and Cassie emerge from their surf to be confronted by a policeman who accuses them of breaking in. Meanwhile, it's decision-time for Bec. After a reassuring chat with her old coach, Simmo, she takes up Angus's job offer. Her first day back at the academy begins promisingly. She meets the other kids — Charley, Guy, Bridget and Loren — and gets into the swing of things. But then she starts to wonder about the whereabouts of Cassie and Adam...
As the kids settle into the Solar Blue house, decisions have to be made. They start out simply — like choosing which bed to sleep in — but soon become a little more complex. Bec assigns the group the task of picking their own surf coach but faced with two completely opposite candidates, Charlie will have to convince the rest that the best candidate is not the obvious choice at first glance.
As the excitement of moving into Solar Blue slowly fades, reality sets in for Loren. She can't stop comparing herself unfavourably to her team-mates. Firstly it's Bridget, who is super-organised and with the perfect wardrobe to match. Then there's Cassie — nothing intimidates her — not even a blue tongue lizard under the bed. Adam's sense of calm, Charley's belief in himself and Guy's totally unflustered approach to everything. And her real insecurities begin to come out when she starts to compare her surfing skills. Garry arrives for his first week of training. In order to get to know the kids he pushes them to the limits in his preliminary sessions. Loren immediately begins to freak out. Garry not only forgets her name — but singles her out at the end of the session to discuss her posture. Loren's confidence collapses; she feels that he doesn't think that she will ever make it to the pro-circuit. When Loren skips a group trip to the movies, Bec, after some delicate questioning, discovers that Loren doesn't think she'll last long at the Academy. Bec issues Loren with a challenge — one that Loren reluctantly agrees to. There's an afternoon surfing comp coming up with some of the Blue Water locals. As there will be three independent judges doing the scoring, Bec thinks it will be a great way for Loren to get an objective comparison of herself with the other girls. Loren remains convinced she has no way of winning. When her heat begins, her fear is forgotten. Loren surfs well, milking the waves and having fun. After the first two heats, the Solar Blue kids are way ahead. Garry is a bit disappointed at the lack of competition and decides that the final round points will count to the end-of-year scores: three points for first place, two for second and one for third. Loren's convinced she'll be going home so she tries for one last big ride at Blue Water Beach. She heads out the back looking for the biggest and best wave, but in doing so she loses preciou
Training has well and truly kicked off for the Solar Blue kids and the team is finding it gruelling. For Adam, surfing has always been something he's done for fun, but Garry's extreme training regime begins to make it way too serious. Garry's 'drill sergeant' character and 'boot camp' style training sessions drive him up the wall. The more Adam thinks about his current day-to-day existence, the more he wonders if it's what he really wants. It's the hottest day ever and Garry has planned a gruelling bush walk. Adam is furious. After a long drive, the team are handed maps, compasses and told that if they don't finish under four hours they'll miss out on points for their final point score. At breaking point, Adam snaps when handed a bag weighed down with an extra 15 kilos. He refuses to complete the exercise until it becomes evident that Cassie, his partner, will also miss out on the points if he pulls out. Feeling like he's been blackmailed, he agrees to participate, and the three teams set off on their individual tracks. Adam and Cassie are only two hundred metres from the end when suddenly Cassie slips and drops her bag over the escarpment. Knowing that if they don't complete the task with the weighted bag they won't get the points, Adam decides to climb back down the cliff. The kids are all being tracked on computer by Bec useing a GPS and tracking devices placed in the backpacks. Seeing the bag's quick descent, Bec assumes that someone has fallen and makes a panicked call to Garry. He races to the escarpment and finds Cassie anxiously peering over the edge. Fearing the worst, he is extremely relieved to see Adam climbing up with the fallen bag. Realising that they have put in 100%, Garry sneakily allows extra time for Cassie and Adam to complete the course and earn their points. Back at the house, Adam finally confronts Garry, who reveals that he and Bec were 'testing' them all to see if they really have the mental toughness needed to survive on the pro-c
For Bridget, winning is everything and 110% is the least you can give. The Solar Blue team begins their first week of school at Blue Water High and for Bridget everything must be just right. Even after Bec's warning that the other students may give them a hard time, the kids all feel positive — but not for long. As Charley, Adam and Guy find their nominated lockers, they meet Mick and Jimmy, the class 'heavies'. A turf war starts over locker positions but the Solar Blue boys refuse to be intimidated. Charley manages to infuriate the thugs even more when he has the nerve to correct their poor grammar. It looks like a tense year ahead for all of them. Meanwhile, Bridget is more than happy to have been allocated a group assignment with and two other classmates. By lunchtime, she has already organised a group meeting and is enthusiastically allocating tasks to the other girls. Back at Solar Blue, the other kids begin to wonder if Bridget is deliberately trying to 'out do' them. Garry also starts to worry, after telling her that her board turns are fine, Bridget automatically thinks that they can be better and goes out for more practice. She's also getting up earlier than everyone to do extra laps in the pool. Back at the school lockers, Charley, Adam and Guy are still having problems with Mick and Jimmy. Their lockers have now been bashed in with a hammer — and it's pretty obvious who's to blame. Mick and Jimmy see this as the perfect way to get rid of the Solar Blue kids, but when the boys embrace their newly-sculpted lockers and refuse to move, the bullies are left defeated. While the boys have resolved their problems, Bridget's continue to get worse. Her assignment-group fail to show up at their next meeting and she overhears Gina saying that she is "up herself" and that she "has no life". Bridget is devastated.
Guy loves life and life loves Guy. He hasn't got a worry in the world, can always see an upside to everything and luck is usually on his side. However, Guy's luck is about to change — in a big way. In return for some maths coaching, Guy invites Bridget out to pizza and a movie on the weekend. When Bridget sees what he's intending to wear, she's appalled and offers to take him shopping. After choosing a shirt together, Bridget heads off to another store, leaving Guy behind to pay the bill. Guy asks another customer if she knows where the cashier is. To his surprise — she's rude and dismissive and doesn't help him at all. Stunned by the girl's attitude, Guy pays for his shirt and leaves. Just as he's out the door, he remembers his bag and runs back in to get it. Leaving the store a second time is not nearly as easy. The shop owner stops him and demands to search his bag. Baffled, he opens it only to be shocked by its contents — it's filled with the shop's jewellery! Guy's suddenly in serious trouble for shoplifting. News gets back to Solar Blue that Guy has been arrested. They can't believe that Guy would steal anything from anyone — let alone jewellery from a surf shop. To cheer him up, Bridget prints out a photo of their celebrations at the café from the day before. As Guy looks closely at the picture, he recognises the rude girl from the store in the background and is convinced he was set up.
For Cassie, school is fine, training's good and her surfing is always getting better. Everything is travelling along smoothly — at least, it was. Suddenly Cassie's balance goes all out of whack. Concentrating at school becomes impossible, she starts to fall behind in training and the wipeouts come to visit as a regular occurrence. This lapse in concentration can only be blamed on one person — Adam. Cassie's infatuation with him hits new heights. When 'Birdwatchers Quarterly' arrives for him in the post, Cassie assumes this strange hobby is all part of Adam's personality. In the hope that sharing this interest will bring them closer together, Cassie hits the internet in search of information about the elusive 'Lewin's Rail'. Not picking up that Adam hasn't the slightest interest in bird-watching, Cassie continues to read and research about the birds, dropping hints to Adam along the way. He clearly doesn't catch on, as Cassie's hobby turns into an obsession. Cassie, with all good intentions, plans a surprise bird-watching picnic for Adam. Loren is horrified and tries to talk her out of it but Cassie can't be swayed. Thinking that Cassie is missing her family, Adam accepts her invitation but is disappointed to be skipping the spectacular waves on offer at Blue Water Beach. Adam is bored stiff at the bird-watching picnic but is doing his best to be polite. While Cassie assumes his quiet behaviour is because he thinks she doesn't know what she's talking about, her obsession to find the Lewin's Rail becomes a little manic. She finally spots what could be the bird, orders Adam to get the camera, and then clambers over the rocks for a better sighting. Suddenly Cassie slips and falls into the water, hitting her head.
Charley has never been one to back down from a challenge and thrives on pushing himself. Everything he does he wants to do to the best of his ability. For Charley, life is a series of hurdles and the fun lies in jumping over them as high as possible. At a third of the way through the year, it looks like Charley's approach is paying off. On the points board — he's sitting pretty on equal top with Bridget. To add to the high, a regional surf comp is on and Charley is pumped. With the first round completed, the Solar Blue boys blitz their opponents. Having performed particularly well, Charley is surprised and somewhat flattered to see that three enthusiastic, teenage girls have formed his very own, personal cheer squad! Slightly embarrassed, but secretly enjoying the attention, Charlie poses with the girls while they embrace him and take pictures. After round two, Charley's new fan club goes ballistic when he is announced the overall winner. Just when life is full of accolades and success, Charley starts to tumble downwards. His fall starts slowly. A few days later when the alarm goes off for morning training, Charley can only drag himself out of bed with severe difficulty. No matter how hard he pushes himself, his body just won't do what he's asking of it. Everything suddenly becomes a major effort — and even his little mind games don't work to motivate him anymore. Bec finally takes him to the doctor for a blood test. Charley assumes he has tonsillitis but the diagnosis is much worse...
Loren's family has always been very closely knit so when her dad makes an unexpected visit to Solar Blue, she's naturally delighted to see him. But the situation quickly deteriorates when it becomes clear that her father is extremely unhappy with the inadequate and inappropriate training he feels Loren is getting. After watching Loren surf, Brian is furious that Garry has changed her style and accuses both Bec and Garry of ruining her chances of succeeding on the pro-circuit. He demands that Loren return home so he can get her a more experienced coach who can give her personalised attention. Suddenly Loren is in the awful dilemma of having to choose between Solar Blue and her family. Feeling under intense pressure, Loren considers the options and comes to her decision. But deciding on something and then communicating it to the people involved are two different challenges. One thing's for sure though, after she does announce her decision, the relationships between all concerned will never be quite the same again.
As the Solar Blue team heads to a new surf spot, Adam's secret fear of sharks resurfaces. Since he started the year he's managed to keep a lid on his anxiety but suddenly and unexpectedly it's back. And the more he thinks about it, the worse his fear becomes. Adding salt to the wound, Adam can't help but observe how well his house mates are able to openly declare and cope with their fears while he has difficulty even admitting his to himself. Even more troubling though is the realisation that — unless he can overcome this fear — Adam knows that he has no future as a surfer. While Adam struggles with his internal demons, Cassie shrewdly guesses his problem and confronts him about it. Reluctant at first, Adam finally admits the truth and so Cassie sets out to help him. Adam is a difficult 'patient' but Cassie is a determined friend who won't take 'no' for an answer. Cassie suggests they enlist the assistance of Bec and Garry and together they embark on a course of action that is simple, direct and hopefully effective. It will require Adam to go on a scuba dive in a local aquarium and swim amongst several sharks. The prospect horrifies him but so too does the idea of leaving Solar Blue and giving up his ambitions to become a pro-surfer. In order to meet the challenge Adam will have to dig down deep into his inner resources. Luckily for him though, he has a great friend in Cassie to help him find the way.
Fly pays a visit to the Solar Blue Academy. Charley is depressed and broods over his 'bad luck'. Before catching glandular fever he had everything to look forward to. Now one, simple, little kiss later he's unable to train and unable to remain at Solar Blue. Disheartened, he figures that even if he is able to return in a month or so, he'll never catch up with the fitness levels of the others. So he decides to resign from the academy for good. Loren is devastated by Charley's news and urges him to reconsider. But it's to no avail, Charley has made up his mind and that's it. As luck would have it though, Fly drops in to Solar Blue on her way to Perth. Loren seizes the opportunity and asks her to visit Charley to see if she can convince him to return. Fly can't promise she'll succeed but she does agree to talk to him. Soon after, Charley and Fly meet and he quite bluntly tells her that nothing she can say will convince him to return to Solar Blue. To Charley's great surprise, Fly announces that she has no intention of saying anything. On the contrary, she's going to take him for a picnic. Charley reluctantly allows himself to be dragged along — only to discover (like many others have before him) that it's very easy to underestimate the diminutive Fly. As it happens, the picnic presents him with an experience that will turn his life around completely.
Ever since Bridget was a kid, her dreams and fantasies have always included a 'Prince Charming'. When comparing herself to the other kids in the house however, she begins to wonder if Guy is that special person. From what she can see, Loren and Charley are definitely together, and Adam and Cassie too, but it doesn't quite feel right with Guy. Her uncertainty escalates when her classmate, Patrick, asks her to the movies on the same night as the Solar Blue team are going bowling. Her confusion is further heightened when she becomes jealous of Guy talking to another girl. Losing her focus completely, she badly wipes out in the surf and decides that she has to confront him about her confused feelings.
t's the halfway point at Solar Blue and all the kids are on track for qualifying for the end of year surf-off. Angus arrives with the prototype of a new surfboard. Solar Blue needs to make a commercial contribution to the parent company, Matsusito, and Angus wants the kids to promote the new board. They're told that they must use it in the next comp, but their first practice session is a disaster. Not only is the board too light, it's seriously unstable and they all have trouble just staying upright. But with the CEO of Matsusito coming to watch the competition, Angus is adamant that they must persist with the new boards — and win! With the future of the Academy at stake, the kids feel that they have no choice but to try and make the best of it. After a disastrous first round, Cassie decides that promoting a product that is no good, just isn't worth it. She convinces the rest of the kids to use their own boards; if this is their last surf for Solar Blue, then they may as well look good! With a renewed sense of conviction, the team blow the competition out of the water. But will Matsusito allow the Academy to remain open?
Guy loves training, loves the whole routine of sameness and certainty. But with the group under-performing in all of the drills, a change is needed. Guy can't understand how modifying the basic training program will make them any fitter and is strongly against breaking their routine. When the girls suggest dance classes as an alternative, Guy is horrified. Being forced to make a change is one thing, but dancing is a whole new problem. Lacking rhythm and with two left feet, Guy struggles to follow the steps. He throws in the towel, ostracises his house mates and refuses to attend any more classes. Bec and Garry read him the riot act and Guy is forced to try again. After taking some private classes with the dance teacher, he realises the training can actually help his surfing. Not only does he readjust his balance, he makes up with his house mates. The surf comp reveals the improvement in all of them. Re-focused and re-motivated, the kids all surf better than they have for months.
Loren and Charley's relationship hits new heights when a picnic at the beach sees their friendship blossom into romance. The problem, however, is that they become so infatuated with each other that they begin to neglect their house mates. Although the other kids aren't upset about Charley and Loren's relationship, they soon become used to them not being around. Loren senses a change in their attitude and wonders why they're not being included in group activities. When Adam calls a house meeting to discuss concerns about Bec and Garry's growing absences, Charley and Loren appear to be excluded. To top it off, when Loren finds Cassie asleep in her bed — she takes it as a sure sign that Cassie and Bridget's friendship has grown closer at the expense of their relationships with her. Suddenly, Loren's new, perfect life is found wanting. Aware that they have drifted away from their friends, Loren and Charley apologise to their house mates for cutting themselves off. Asking if they can rejoin the group, they're welcomed back with open arms. Having isolated herself from the people she cares for the most, Loren realises that having a boyfriend is great but you need to hold onto your friends as well.
According to Charley, everyone has their weird side, even though they might seem 'normal' on the outside. As the kids enjoy a day of surfing, Bernie, an elderly man, watches them from the beach. Back at the house, Charley reads about an old woman, Rosemary Wilson, who's gone missing. According to the pamphlet, she was one of the first women surfers in the area and won the inaugural Blue Water Beach Women's comp back in 1955. During their various training sessions, Charley notices that Bernie is taking an unnatural interest in their activities. Realising this is not 'normal', he confronts the man, only to be asked to spread the ashes of his dearest friend — the recently deceased, 'Rosie' — in the ocean. Perturbed and assuming that 'Rosie' is the missing elderly woman, Charley and Bec take the ashes to the police, but are told that the old lady has actually been found. So whose ashes has Charley been given?
Bridget's delighted by the unexpected arrival of her older brother, James. He's on a mercy mission: their younger brother Ben has broken his ankle, and he needs Bridget to replace him in a skateboarding event being held just near Blue Water Beach. Eager to help her brothers win the race, Bridget tries to convince Bec and Garry that skateboarding is perfectly safe and that there's little risk of injury. James can see this strategy isn't working and secretly tells Bec and Garry that he's hatched a fake plot to get his whole family together for their mother's birthday. Meanwhile, Charley and Guy come home to find two of James's spare skateboards against the wall of the house. Assuming they've been left there for some 'dry land' practice, they take them out for a spin, with disastrous results. Out of control, they skate down the street and crash into a garage sale, creating havoc.
When Adam and Cassie embark on a relaxing day-trip to the nature park, they spot Charley with a mystery girl. Back at Solar Blue, he's evasive about his movements, and for the next week or so, he continually makes up excuses about his whereabouts. Cassie immediately jumps to the conclusion that Charley is cheating on Loren. Her suspicions are confirmed when Adam and Guy spot him with the same mystery girl at a café. Cassie finally snaps and accuses Charley of lying to them all and cheating on Loren. Shocked and upset, Charley storms off. After meeting Loren on the beach, explanations are in order. Back at the house, Charley confesses what has really been happening. Ellie, the mystery girl, is actually his sister. She's run away from school and Charley's been trying to help her. The kids are embarrassed at the lack of trust and respect they've shown Charley. They realise that even when all the evidence suggests otherwise — a friend is a friend — and that's pretty much all that matters.
Everyone's on a high when the Solar Blue team decides to surf a new break at Swordfish Bay. With perfect waves, Cassie, whose confidence is at an all-time high, forgets all the rules. She's sucked in by a rip and lands on a rock ledge. Wiping out spectacularly, she injures her foot and is rescued by Adam. Garry is furious at the kids' lack of surf safety and Cassie feels like a complete idiot. To make matters worse, her foot won't be healed in time for the next competition, so she'll miss out on valuable points. Watching her team-mates training hard and getting ahead, Cassie's confidence goes into free fall as she realises her whole year at Solar Blue is in jeopardy. Adam can't bear to watch her self-destruct and makes her enter an ocean swim race. Reluctant at first, Cassie soon discovers that the swimming training makes her feel great. Finally, it's competition day and she ends up placing in the first ten — good enough to score the points needed to keep up with her team-mates.
Guy completely loses his focus when he meets Natalie, the girl of his dreams. Having done his best to avoid any distractions during the year, Guy's best intentions are suddenly overturned when he is instantly smitten with her. Within days he's learning French and feigning a deep interest in wetland conservation in order to do whatever it takes to impress Natalie. But these distractions soon take his attention away from his obligations to Solar Blue and he fails to put in the required training for an approaching comp. As a result, Guy's poor performance leads Solar Blue to place second and causes a sponsorship deal with their parent company to be cancelled. Knowing he has let everyone down, Guy feels embarrassed and humiliated. But his luck turns — the local newspaper features a photo of Guy, dressed in his Solar Blue t-shirt and taken while he was helping Natalie in her conservation campaign. The parent company is delighted with the positive publicity and comes through with the sponsorship after all. Back on a high, Guy builds up the courage to ask Natalie to the school dance only to find that she already has a boyfriend. The news devastates Guy at first but then he realises he has no alternative but to accept his fate. He determines to put love to one side and go back to focus on his surfing.
With summer approaching, the Solar Blue kids find out what it's really like to share the waves. When Cassie gets hit on the arm by a young local's wayward surfboard, it seems a surf war is about to break out. Adam tries to reason with the offending surfers, but his overtures are quickly rejected and he suddenly finds himself the victim of some blatant racism. Things get even worse the next day at school when he finds an unflattering drawing with an offensive caption stuck on his locker. Down at the beach, the mayhem on the waves is compounded by another group of locals — this time it's the older Malibu riders, and one surfs straight over Adam's board, breaking it in two. It seems the Solar Blue team is being attacked from all sides and Bec has to step in to try and bring some sense to the situation before it really gets out of control. Meanwhile at school, racist abuse continues to be directed at Adam. Realising he needs to take action, Adam surreptitiously gathers some incriminating evidence and confronts the perpetrators. He gives them an ultimatum: they can either formally apologise and go surf another beach or the evidence will be presented to the principal and the police. Will the boys back off?
When Garry organises an adventure training camp for the kids, Cassie sees a whole new side to Adam. As they pile out of the Kombi, they're introduced to Dan, their instructor for the weekend. Tanned, fit and according to the girls, a "whole lot cuter" than expected, his idea of training is to shake people out of their comfort zones. Adam, however, immediately dislikes him. Feeling that Dan is showing unnecessarily close attention to Cassie he becomes jealous and disagreeable. He's especially infuriated when it seems that Dan assumes the mantle of 'hero' after rescuing Cassie when one of their training exercises goes wrong. This adventure will really test whether his and Cassie's relationship has a future.
When Charley states that his whole year at Solar Blue will be a waste unless he wins, Loren is crestfallen. She feels that getting into Solar Blue is a major success in itself. Even more than that, she believes that the relationship she's formed with Charley is also an important achievement and it hurts her to see that Charley doesn't seem to attach the same significance to it as she does. The revelation causes Loren to re-evaluate her priorities. She recognises that to 'own' herself again, she's got to focus on winning the finals - and that means looking again at her relationship with Charley. Meanwhile Bridget is encountering the issue of success on different terms. She's been invited to accompany top surfer, Grant Fabier, to some promotional events. Everyone urges her to accept this golden opportunity. It's not just a leg up the ladder to success, it's a chance to achieve overnight fame. However, Bridget quickly discovers that fame is not all that it's cut out to be. Indeed, if fame means having to hide who you really are and pretend to be someone you're not, then is it really worth it?
Guy decides that in order to stand a chance of winning the finals he needs to become much more competitive in his outlook and approach. As a result he turns everything he does into a form of competition. Whether it's bed-making, sandwich-making or getting to school first - nothing is too trivial to be excluded from Guy's competitive embrace. Charley and Adam soon catch on and instinctively rise to the challenge that Guy's thrown down. The effect means that daily life becomes a non-stop race - and the girls are singularly unimpressed. Things come to a head when the boys are asked to sell cookies for charity. It's the perfect opportunity for them to compete and they jump at the chance to outdo each other. But the results are a disaster and the local main street degenerates into a melee of competing boys and arguing customers that quickly leads to trouble. Deciding that things have gone too far, Garry puts his foot down. He signs them all up for a team event at a weekend surf carnival where the boys will have to work together instead of in competition with each other.
When Cassie feels that Garry is singling out Loren for special attention, she suspects an ulterior motive. Unnoticed by the other housemates, the extra pointers and private sessions with Garry start to grate with Cassie. She feels that favoritism is playing a big part in the week leading up to competition day. Her suspicions are confirmed when she overhears Loren talking to Bec and Garry in the office and it seems unmistakeable that Loren has been pre-determined to win. Cassie is shocked. At Loren's birthday dinner she explodes, accusing Bec, Garry and Loren of cheating. The other housemates are startled by her outburst and Cassie concludes that if the competition is already decided, then she might as well leave the academy before the final surf-off. Eventually the truth of the situation emerges, but not without some negative effects - the major one being whether Cassie's friendship with Loren has been irretrievably damaged by the experience.
It's finals day, and after a whole year of training at Solar Blue, the kids are pumped. It's now time to show everyone what they're made of. But when Angus makes a surprise visit to the Academy, his news throws the whole event into turmoil. Solar Blue is to be closed with immediate effect and there's no money for a wild card or a year's worth of sponsorship. Bec, Garry and the kids are devastated. Everything that they have been working towards has been taken away and there is nothing they can do. Simmo returns as a surprise judge and refuses to accept the news. After convincing a local surf company to supply the team with both the wild cards and the sponsorship money needed for a year on the circuit, the event is saved and the surf off begins. The competition is tight. Simmo congratulates the kids, telling them that it's the best Solar Blue finals he has ever seen. Now, there's only one remaining issue to finalise - which girl and which boy will win the wild cards?
