Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Happy Easter!


Good morning all you Nelson wave warriors and hoping you all have made some plans to score some waves this Easter weekend.

Always a great time to get one last binge of surf before the colder water temperatures start to creep into play. So, whats on the cards for waves we ask?. Its a bit of a mixed bag this weekend with the east coast looking good early on but then the west coast looking good later on!! Of course if you are a die-hard Nelson lover like myself, then you are absolutely sure we are gonna get waves in Nelson on monday or tuesday!!

It was great to see some more swell last wednesday with some small leftovers thursday.
Barry Fitzgerald is now a "true believer" whilst Russ Bruce is left to ponder "what if?"....TWICE!
Julian Clark and Rachel Hills surfed empty Rabbit Island at a chunky 3ft on wednesday evening whilst Keni, Fitzy and a couple of others snuck around to Cable Bay to herd goats.

With Easter , brings school holidays, so beware the returning scarfies and dont give em'an inch!

Happy and Safe travels!!!

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Oh my god Its raining!!

Well folks, not only has it begun raining from the sky this morning it seems as though our fortune may just be about to change as our third day of conceivable swell is upon us and it looks like we'll make 4 days in a row at this rate.
Time to turn that frown upside down!

After pining for a cyclonic groundswell over the weekend it was "all frothers go" come monday morning with an earlier than predicted swell arriving in the bay during the morning. Jim Tyson and a couple of other keen crew got straight to it scratching all over some rather windy looking Snappers. By 1pm it was 4-6ft on the open Boulder Bank whilst still really fluey myself, Andrew "Skip" Ridderhoff and Jason Hylkema chased down some Inside Cut managing to uncover a few gems.

Later as the tide dropped it was all hands on deck as the wind dropped and every surf starved Nelson wave warrior headed out to chunky 4ft Snappers. Conal and Pete, Fitzy, Gary, Rich Barry, you name it, they were there, with the highlight of the evening being a close tie between Chopper throwing a Boulder on to his surfboard after a frustrating surf and Keni's carpark au'Natural intimidation tactics.

Tuesday morning the leftovers were all gobbled up by Geoff Noble , Rich barry, Skip, Rachel and a couple of other wave starved fiends. Rumour of an epic Malibu session going down nearby have not been verified.

Anyway, the crystal ball is on fire and lets hope this change in situation is gonna stay.
See you out there!

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Johnny and Java Blowing Up!!

(above): Johnny Noble , 5 years old and killing it at Tahuna.


Over summer its been great to see lots of young kids on the beach getting into surfing.
lucky for these little ones they can pretty much ride anything!!
Check "feature photos" for some great action shots of Johnny and Java Noble's extreme
Tahunanui summer sessions.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Local Surfer wins Nz Surf Mag "Letter of the Month"

Nelson "New-Comer" Bary Kingston wrote this heart-felt letter to Nz Surfing Magazine a couple of months ago and ended up recieving a prize for letter of the month.
_________________________________________________

Dont ever say that you're "Done" with surfing. - Barry kingston

Auckland 1970, I lived and loved surfing, I was 17 and my Dad told me to "get the f^#k out of the family home".
What better excuse could there be for going to live at Whangamata !
Where has the time gone? 34 years pass by and surfing became a mere memory.
That burning flame that woke me each day to check the weather and swell conditions had gone out. (Had to know how to read Isobaric maps those days)
2005 my daughter gives me a book, Gone Surfing, The Golden Years of Surfing in New Zealand 1950 – 1970 by Luke Williamson.
Forward by Gary McCormack writes;
I will never forget the first couple of rides - surging forward on
a wave!
It was such a wild idea. Nor should you forget, if you have had the good fortune to experience it.
It will be the defining moment of your life.
Even if you succumb to the pressures of a family or career and drift away from surfing, it will come back to haunt you. You will either curse the fact that you left it behind, or take it up again.
How true this is, where there is smoke there is fire…….
the sight of waves in blue dresses and white frilly lace, dancing before the land, the smell of the wax on your board wafting with the sea mist, the salty taste on the tongue and the feeling of indescribable exhilaration paddling out through walls of water…….. was just smouldering under a pile of damp disbelief waiting for that puff of oxygen to ignite it back into life.
Its 2009, I’m 56 years old and totally addicted, with an inextinguishable desire for surfing again.
Now swell maps and surf cams are priority web sites visited in the morning before other less important activities like business,
(I still check the Isobaric maps).
I’m so obsessed, I have a board at Mount Maunganui (business trips in the North Island) and one in Nelson where I live.
Mangamaunu on the Kaikoura coast is my favourite spot.
I get a real rush going out with the young guys, becoming totally
absorbed in the moment and lost in the time.
My advice is "don’t ever say you are done with surfing. Keep your board, wax it from time to time, get the NZ surf magazine, ready for that day when the flame ignites, your blood rushes, adrenalin pumps and once again you become in tune with the power and serenity that comes with being back on a wave".
_____________________________________


 
 

Thursday, March 11, 2010

More Eastside!

Just when you thought it was safe to hide your head back into your latte at the Nelson market Birdy and Frosty have thrown some more photos my way from wednesday of last week.
"Somewhere" between Blenheim and Gore Bay.......

Please see "Feature photos" for more mouth watering action.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Eastside....

(above): A little bit of birdwatching...

With everyone starting to rave about how good the "Westside" has been of late it was only a matter of time before an el-nino spawned low reminant of a former cyclone began to spiral its way uncontrollably down the east coast and thats exactly what happend last weekend....

With the charts and swell maps forecasting a sudden rise in swell on sunday afternoon it was split minute decision that saw myself and Jase Hylkema bailing Nelson and hitting Blenheim, pulling into 4ft rebound slabs at North Rarangi late sunday afternoon.
Come monday morning time it was the seasoned veterans such as Graeme Bird,Bruce Wilson, Keni Duke, and Justin Fletcher hitting the semi secret breaks surrounding the Blenheim area with some good photo evidence to boot.

Further south rumour of Rob Holmes and Jeremy Pooley haunting Kaikoura with their trusty thrusters kept the lake locked boys back home in Nelson disgusted with themselves.

Basically, a really crappy start to the year for swell in Nelson. A below average year last year and looking forward over the next week or so there isnt even a glimmer of hope or maybe there is...... If that high can just slip onto the right side of that cyclone then.....possibly...maybe....


(for more "eastside" shots visit feature photo's above)



..Thanks again,




Just When you thought it was over someone grabs you by the cucumber 🥒

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