Friday, December 31, 2010
Rabbamoana and Rubanesia....Happy 2011 !!
>Cracking the whip and moving straight into this new decade I thought I would start with a reflection of last tuesday's huge windswell. Heavy rain, massive slips and the biggest floods in 150 years in Golden Bay , this storm also brought with it one of the largest swells we have seen in couple of years although unfortunately it mellowed out quite fast due to a blustery souwest change although it was this combining factor which set Ruby Bay and Rabbit Island on fire with a blaze of offshore cylinders that had everyone rubbing their eyes in disbelief infact I even broke the arm off my sunglasses from taking them on and off so many times and had a sore arm from pointing at the ridiculous non-sensical barrels spitting up and down Rabbit Island. This is no joke. Anyone will tell you this was Rabbit Island on steroids.
(above): Ruby Rights
The swell had peaked earlier at about 11am with (in hindsight) solid 8-10ft waves breaking along The Boulder Bank, then after midday as the souwest came up you could see the spray coming off the back of the waves from the highway between Nelson and the Glen giving you an idea of the size.
Not to be out-done the sleeping beauty Ruby bay awoke with some real size leaving everyone stunned in its wake.
Classic Quotes from "Big Tuesday": "This is just like Aramoana"- Andy Riley reffering to Rabbit Island....."I thought I was in Indonesia"- Rachel Hills reffering to Ruby Bay...
(above): Left hand runners at Rabbit Island.
Not sure about Ruby Bay as it can get amazing during Cyclone swells but everyone I have talked to agrees hands down this was "The Best Day Ever"at Rabbit Island, the quick offshore changing leaving the swell still broken enough to explode onto the sand with spits literally huffing left, right and centre.
(above): Leif Christenson riding a mini-mal and slotting into a Rabid gem.
(above): Ruby Lefts.
* Photos supplied by James Marshall and Rach Hills ANYONE WITH MORE PHOTOS PLEASE SHARE !!
Love it or hate it, you cannot deny that when there is a good swell running in Nelson, you wouldnt want to be anywhere else in the world! You know this!!
Thanks to everyones support for this site/blog over the years (6 years now) The sitemeter quite often averages around 55-65 hits a day believe it or not.
Your only on earth for a short time so why not share the fun instead of being all uptight!! (puns directed!) and wasnt it great how Huey chucked a slip across the road the other day so none of those Blenheim boys could get here!!!! Apart from Richard Norton who was here already and tearing the bags as normal.
Wishing you all a Happy New Year once more!!
now lets see these Cyclones ,yeeewwww -peace!
Monday, December 20, 2010
Seasons Greetings from Ana and Conal!!
We had a lovely weekend. On Friday we spent the day at Punto de Lobos; Conal surfing and me lazing on the beach trying not to get sunburnt. On Friday evening we went out with another couple from our hostel (French guy and Mexican lady) for a few beers We sat at a table by the roadside and watched the scenes go by. Then Adriana offered to cook us a mexican dinner back at the hostel so we went to the supermarket to buy supplies.. While there we experienced our first South American earthquake - only a short sharp one, but the earth moved nevertheless and I didn´t like it one bit. Anyway, back at the hostel we had Chilean wine and Mexican quisadillos (tortillas stuffed with cheese and vegies) and Irish salad (in other words, I made a salad). It was a good night and we got to bed at 1.30am. Our new (younger) friends went out to a club but told us the next day that it wasn´t that great.
The night life doesn´t get started until about midnight here. Conal and I are usually tucked up in bed but because our room is directly off the living area, the front door and the outside deck we here all the comings and goings. We usually sleep okay regardless but I´ve been awake at all hours and enjoy listening to the chatting, the laughing and even singing. The place usually gets quiet at about 5am and then we´re the first to rise - at about 9am we make our breakfast and go out to sit on the deck and watch the world go by.
On Saturday night it was La Ola Cultural here (The Cultural Wave Carnival). It started at 6pm with groups of drummers going through the streets. There were 3 different drumming groups, dancers and balloons - very colourful, noisy, happy. The drummers were having a great time and everyone on the streets were tapping their feet, dancing and smiling. It was fantastic. At about 8.30pm a series of bands started playing - I think they were all local bands judging from the way they were talking with their friends in the crowd. They were all good - one sounded contemporary/traditional, one was PUNK!!!, one was heavy metal, the last one to play were a bit jazzy. We really enjoyed ourselves, it was a great atmosphere - and all free entertainment.
We had another small earthquake yesterday. Afer the big quake that hit Chile in January a tsunami hit the coast here and the sea surged up the street as far as our hostel - the locals are still a bit jittery about it and I don´t blame them.
We cook for ourselves most nights. Last night we had a big pile of potatoes and omelette - the potatoes were lovely.. There's a great bakery near our place where we buy amasados (bread rolls) fresh from the oven - fantastic. We've been eating them with honey, nutella, peanut butter, etc - no vegimite:( We have a supermarket nearby too so we pop in there most days to buy stuff for dinner - rice, lentils, cheese. We haven´t eaten out much yet because we don't know what to order and there don't seem to be many vegetarian options but we'll get the hang of it as our grasp on the language improves and our confidence to talk to people! The empanadas are great and at only 1000 pesos each (about $3.50), a good snack.
So - that's all from us for now. We've updated the blog and mangaged to put one photo up. We'll keep working on that - we think that some of the computers we use are pretty ancient, very slow and uploading photos is a bit beyond them.
If you don't hear from us again before the weekend, we wish you all a happy Christmas and send our love from peachey Pichi.
Ana & Conaldo xx
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Sh!T Story!!
http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/features/4459766/Behind-the-sewage-plants-big-stink
Here comes Santa!
Congratulations to everyone that sat through what must have truly been one of Nelsons longest flat spells ever! It seems the theory of relativity is about to work in true fashion as every action has an equal and opposite reaction with the weather maps starting to line up almost dreamlike for the festive season. infact, one could almost become suspicious that someone out there is playing a cruel sick joke on us poor Nelson surfers!!!
Now, touching wood and not giving too much else away I decided to flick back through the photo albums and put up some classic photos to wet our apettites.
Just a quick note that Dean and Matt Duncan have opened a new skatehop in Hardy Street near Everyman Records, be sure to pop in and say G'day as the boys have opened right in the heart of Nelsons prime time retail boiling pot~!!
Rumour Mill:
>>Which Delaware Bay local sleeps through the glassy morning session eventually awoken by his brother because the internet told him it was going to be flat the night before despite basically being able to see and hear the surf from his house???!!>>Who is the local surfer/artist who once again leaves town right when the surf begins to pump??!!>>>Which Wakefield surfer likes to surf right in front of the carpark at Snappers just so everyone can see him and he can be closer to the smell of the ponds??...and last but not least, the "hand-board bandit" has been sighted so beware of talking heads!!!,,,
Santa Claus is coming to town and this time he's bringing a surfboard.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Why have a Club??
How does this relate to Nelson??, there has been a couple of near misses for the local surfbreak over the last couple of decades none of which I will go into now but one thing to watch importantly in the news right now is the problems they are having with the sewerage settlement ponds at Snappers. I was stunned yesterday to see a dfozen or more men in white "nuclear" coveralls patrolling the area and hand releasing buckets of chlorine out of an aluminium dinghy into the ponds.
Without scare-mongering it wouldnt take much to call the whole area major health risk and shut the gate at the main road. Something to think about and as always I welcome your opinions, voices and concerns so please feel free as I will publish nearly anything!!!
Sometimes its not just about flash cars and cool stickers.
Jokes aside,
Many Thanks.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Andy Irons R.I.P
R.I.P Andy
Andy Irons Tribute by Surfer Magazine
Monday, December 6, 2010
A Change in The Air??
Its definately been a long time between waves for our local shores but thats not to say we havent been getting out and about with local crew spreading far and wide throughout both coasts. Liam Buttner and Joe Thornton have been doing covert West Coast missions along with Ashleigh Trainor and Tali Vidal whilst Joe Leeper, Marco and Jacko were seen hanging out with Boy-Racers along the tip-head strip. Jackson has just bought himself a 20 seater bus so look out for a dodgy tall guy selling icecreams in the Snappers carpark. Keni Duke-Hetet and myself have been keeping the arms in check doing afternoon paddle missions up and down Tahunanui beach and looking like Baywatch stars as we enter and exit the water whilst Bruce Wilson has been doing missions over to the Blenheim area just so he can drive really fast staring into the rows of Grape Vines as they "flicker" by!
Expect to see a strange guy with flippers and a thing stuck to his hand out in the surf now the water as warmed up too....
Last but not least we bid farewell to Karne Harmon who's off to Auckland to drink as much Monster Energy drinks as he can and Conal A.K.A "Con-Dog" and Ana Parkes who embark on a 6 month long "holiday" to South America. To keep us in the loop Conal is trying his luck at Blogging and to follow their mission follow this link here
Adios AMigo's
Blog also available in "Favourite Blogs"
Bring it on
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Silly Buggars.
What began as a joke turned serious when Joe found himself struggling to get back onto the beach to which he described as a totally humbling experience.
Respect the ocean.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
The Other Side
In hindsight it has been hard to deal with but there is almost a definite end in sight with the first significant change in this weather system beginning early next week. Keep the faith.
(above): Keep the faith! (There is actually someone in this tube if you click and enlarge)
With all this non-action here in Nelson its great to see everyone getting out and about and one particular area in mind has been getting its fair share of good waves of late and a few good photos are starting to filter back. Remember its not that much of a mission to "The Other side" be it either west or east and sometimes you never know unless you go.
(above): Un-named east coast break going Nato.
(above)Scott Rewi demolishing Korimiko cheese factory lefts!!
(above) Photos courtesy of Bruce Wilson and Sarah Potts(pictured in front of heaving lefts!). Thanks again,.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Flatville Continues.....
Anyway, moving along there is still hope with the sea surface temperature climbing so rapidly it is easily 3/2 weather and an interesting looking system hatching later next week off Woolongong,Sydney right in the "Weather bomb" nursery.
The tropics are already active with near Tropical Cyclones forming already and I mean hey, Its only November!!!
If you dont know Surf City, Nelson by now then you will learn that it loves to play these games with your head only to rain swell when you least expect.
Looking outside the box an incredible looking east swell starts lapping the east coast mid to late next week so keep that in mind if your feeling the itch.
If unfortunately like myself you are injured than laugh it up because wedont really care that theres no waves now do we!!!
please Click on Bill Evans's awesome Collage below to enlarge!!!
Thanks.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Club Photo
Friday, October 29, 2010
De-brief....
Aloha people and welcome to yet another exhuberant rant about the surf-city we all love to hate. Firstly just a run down on whats been happening in on the surf front and this aint gonna take long because thats NOTHING!!! Its been flat!! The only real news I have is that early last week Stefan Menzies and Simon Pooley went for a leisurely grovel at Delaware Bay and whilst sitting their chatting Stefan eyed a long black shadow lurking beside him and just before he had time to poop in his speedoes' next to that shadow a good 20-30 foot of water began to rise as "Big Mother" Orca gave the boys the big crinkly eyeball as they power-pooped there way to shore.Once over the initial shock the guys watched in awe as the pair (mother and calf) cruised the bay and gently returned to deeper water.
Without getting too down about the current state of surf related weather in Nelson , NIWA and Metservice are both predicting an early summer directly related to the persisting La-Nina weather pattern meaning above average sea surface temperatures over summer with the increased chance of Tropical Cyclone or ex-tropical cyclones making landfall in NZ. CYclone analysts predicting at least 12 of the grunters developing in the south pacific this season!!! ....
If its ever gonna happen again,, its gonna be this summer!!!!
Cape Classic Result - Last weekend saw 6 Nelson/Blenheim "nelsonboardriders" surfers compete in the Cape Classic with some good results going down. The first day saw tricky conditions in the 4-8ft range whilst the sunday settled down to a lully 2-4ft with some exciting surfing action.
For full results check the SISA website and for the Nelson crews results check below and theres also some good photos there too courtesy of Raefe Murray.
Open Mens: Igor Ishida Coura and Jason Hylkema (equal 17th) Mark Nichols (equal 9th)
Senior Mens: Hamish Simpson (equal 9th) Mark Nichols (equal 5th) Junior Mens: Marco Edwards (equal 9th) Masters: Hamish Simpson (equal 5th)and finally THE MAN of the day Mike "Ratty" Lindstrom finishing 3rd overall in the Cadets (u/17) division. An epic result and a taste of bigger things to come and incredible incentive for all the young Nelson/Blenheim groms
(above): Rip-Bowl at NineMile.
(above) Peanut Gallery on the Rocks
(above): Beauty and the beast
All photos courtesy of Raefe Murray
>
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Hogeys Container Clearance!!
The massive Container Clearance starts tomorrow 1pm. Come nab yourself a bargain... Everythings 50% to 70% off. Jeans for both guys and gals $60 or 2 pairs 4 $100. Mens Knits $50 or 2 4 $80. Bikinis from $29, boardies, tees and sings. School bags, wallets, caps and beanies, all 50% to 70% off. All the big brands, inc ONeill, Electric, Quiksilver, Roxy, and more... Two weeks only. Open daily next to the Bead Gallery on Hardy Street. Make sure you get in quik cause it's gonna sell out!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Stop Press: Strong Nelson showing at Cape Classic
Stay tuned.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Bored River !
A couple of weeks ago Aaron Lyttle and Ben Fontaine decided to take their boardrideing skills to new levels hooking up to the Nile Street bridge during heavy flooding and catching a few stationary waves!! Rumour has it that on one wipeout Aaron got tumbled down the rocks for a good 100 metres or so , hence the helmets.
Looks like heaps of fun and im sure there are heaps of spots where this could be done yet keep in mind the extreme dangers of a flooding river and always prepare yourself even anchoring a rescue line downstream as a backup.
~ (above) Ben Fontaine backhand snapback!!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Rapid Fire Update:
(above): Inside Mangamanu doing its thing!!
Good morning Rabid-Frothers and welcome to this weeks spill about Surf City and the like.
On the Surf front there was a semi exciting windswell last sunday/monday which saw some awesome grovelling going down from The Glen, to Delaware and to The Cut with harsh Northwesterly winds corrupting the swell. Leftovers on monday saw some average Snappers being surfed and a couple of other spots firing. (above): Olin Pilcher Craning for the pit whilst Russ Bruce cracks the top off another cold one!!
Last friday a gang of Nelson boys invaded Mangamanu in Kaikoura and scored the goods whilst a few days before that Aaron Lyttle and his airport crewman tried their luck off the Nile Street bridge. Enjoy the photos and I wish you all a safe and enjoyable Labour Weekend.
All Sick Photos: Courtesy of Jeremy Pooley.
Peace.
Froth-Dog's Predictions.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Its all Happening!
(above)UPDATED MONDAY Latest map for Saturday's first day of Cape Classic.
forecast glorious weather and a final reminder of the 20th anniversary Cape Classic. Next weekend, Labour Weekend, 23-24-25 October.
Its going to be huge with about 20 or so people from Nelson heading down.
The long range weather forecast shows a big fat high looming over the country so expect sunburn, too much surf and possibly the most awesome time you can have before the Mayan calendar ends.
On the swell stakes, last Saturday morning saw a chunky windswell roll through with everyone getting waves at various different locations. Its great to see people exploring their options. Rumour has it some science guys were ripping up the cut early saturday!! Rabbit Island was surprisingly good also and standout of the day was Russell Bruce, talk about an energizer bunny...... !! Say no more!!
On saturday night Nick Bygate and the rest of his "BoyZone" mates decided it would be a great idea to ride a mountain bike really fast down the church steps in town with most of the boys ending up with one injury or another. Nearly as good as the time Nick burned his skateboard on a fire to summon the next days surf but when the surf was crap the next day couldnt go skateboarding.....
Anyhow,enough meaningless dribble looks like waves late weekend, and Summer is looming!!
Froth it up.
Photo of the Month(s)
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Photo Apology
Saturday, October 2, 2010
The Flatness is upon us........
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Cape Classic Entry Forms Now Available !
Please visit the following link to download entry forms.
http://www.sisa.co.nz
Monday, September 20, 2010
Around the Grounds.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Pelican Island
- Graeme's crayfishing brother had often told us of his missions through Cook Strait in rough seas and his stories of secret reefs and fabled point had often tantalised our taste buds and finally on Sunday we broke free of city that binds us and went in search of the mysterious "Pelican Island". Everything seemed so wrong leaving Nelson whilst it was recieving a solid swell but at the same time we were all very excited at the prospect of finding something new....
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Weekly Re-Hash!
Just about everywhere was pumping with Rory Dubz scoring Cable Bay all morning to himself as if he had found himself in some kind of surf utopia!!! A few crew scoring some average Delaware but Snappers once again reigning supreme with some solid 4foot plus sets rolling through with standouts being Neil Tyson and the dual wave riding of Scott Rewi and Bruce Wilson.
The Nelson girls College crew dominated Tahuna as Julian Clark and Rachel Hills dominated Rabbit Island.
A few crew also tackled Rincon that morning including Scotty Edwards and Chopper Shipwrights.
Another large disturbed Northwesterly pattern oin the way so hang on to your hats as it starts to get angry on friday!!!
Quicknote: Buller boardriders will be hosting a boardriders comp on OCt 10th and have invited Nelson Baordriders and Blenheim boys for a bit of a pre-Cape Classic practice session. Entry fee is a couple of sausages and a loaf of bread.
Later Bols
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Cape Classic Reminder!
A quick reminder to everyone that the 20th Anniversary Cape Classic Surfing contest is being held on Labour Day weekend late October. Roughly about 7 weeks away so for everyone who is keen to attend and/or compete NOW is the time to start organizing with entry forms and flyers becoming available next week from Hogeys Surf .
This is destined to be The Biggest surfing event ever held in the South Island as 20 years is quite an accomplishment for any event.
Stop Press: Old video clips released.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Crazy Times.
Surf News:
-On the surf front we are still bathing in this glorious La-Nina weather body and the frequency of swells is almost unrivelled as it has barely been flat for 4 days over the last 3 months.
Keni Duke has arrived back from the Nth Island after a 3 week holiday and also bringing home with him a fresh new quiver of boards. Ben Robertson has also returned back from Wellington commenting on how much he enjoyed watching the swell forecast for Nelson over the last 3 months whilst he was stuck in Wellywood...NOT!
Basically there has been so much surf going on I dont even know where to begin nor itemise individual surfs but I guess a couple of surfs out at The Cut definately worth a mention, some good days at the local Snap-Attack and The Glen has been a haven for grommets of late.
Buoy-Bank at the western-end of Tahuna has seen an invasion of learners which is awesome to see them utilising such a great beginners wave. Everyone has been getting their share and nw as the water warms up its damn near a Surfers Paradise!!
(above) Tali Vidal scratching over a chunky Snappers Peak
Rumour Mill:
>>>>>>Who is the local grommet, that no matter how good the surf is, still manages to sleep through his alarm every time??>>Who are the Nelson College Girls who put the boys to shame tackling 8-19ft Wharareki??>> Which god fearing local church pastor just leaves his board at The Glen on the grass then drives away hoping to return to find a new one in the morning??>>>>WHo can actually afford a 4500 dollar wooden malibu??>>>> Which Blenheim surfer keeps pushing for a Blenheim Vs Nelson surfing contest despite only having 4 Blenheim surfers to Nelsons 50..!!?? and last but not least......Which local maori surfer is ripping up his floorboards to make a hungi??? The truth is out there... (above): Nelson Girls College showing the Boys College how its done!!
(above): From now on we leave eachothers cars alone huh boys?
Just When you thought it was over someone grabs you by the cucumber 🥒
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