Shot!

Not sure who took this photo but its a beauty!!! (above): Presumeably James "Laff" Laird ...charging

More days, More waves...

Kia Ora and welcome to Spring 2010!! - It seems our wishes were granted around May this year as a consistent swells and above average air and water temperatures have left us thinking that this winter is right up there with 2008 and even rivalling the "back in the day" era where rumours were that the surf was super consistent all the time......"man""!!
Since early May the longest we have been without at least a 2ft swell is 15 days and seeing as that 15 days fell smack bang amongst some really cold weather it was not like we wanted to go surfing anyway now was it!! So now as the temperatures begin to rise both in and out of the water lets hope our good luck continues! (above): over-rated wave...

Rumour Mill: Olin Pilcher and Rob Holmes both have welcomed newborns into their families and somehow still managed to slide a few waves in and many congratulations to them both>> Neil Tyson 'tip-toes' out of house for the earlies making sure not to wake grommet son Jim, nice work Neil!!>>Take Maeda ( snow patrol bus) wears a 3/2 throughout winter, now thats hardcore!! >> Russ bruce blows fins out doing bottom turns >> Distraught surfer crucifies surfboard but now doesnt have a surfboard to ride>> The ever elusive Rich Barry has been seen tearing waves to shreds on all sorts of equipment>>Pregnant surf chick has a heaving chunder in the Snappers lineup>>various people spend 2-400 bucks on season passes to Rainbow only to go up for one day >> Scott Rewi has returned from Indo but is now to scared to enter the icy realm of New Zealand waters,,,and last but not least No PADDLEBOARDER FOR 75 DAYS!! Hoorayy!!!

(above): Scott Rewi slipping into Indo''s version of Snappers!!

Laters!!

Im a Surfer

Nelson vs Blenheim: A surfing contest??

(above) Jeremy Pooley, kickin it Moose Style

Expressions of interest are welcomed after Blenheim surfer Hamish Simpson approached me in regard to perhaps holding a Nelson Vs Blenheim surfing contest to be held either in Nelson or Blenheim depending on where the swell is that weekend and before all you non-contest types get your hair in a mess the logistics of how and if it could be done in Nelson has been sorted and you most likely wouldnt even notice a thing...

Hamish assures me he has a few guys interested so Im putting the idea out there and perhaps this could be a warm up for the Cape Classic.

20th Annivesary Cape Classic

An early heads up that the 20th Anniversary Cape Classic will be staged in Westport late October (labour weekend) This is set to go down as the biggest event the South Island Surfing Circuit has ever seen with organisers already laying down extravagent prizemoney with 1st place opens rumoured to be a lazy 2grand!! This event is sure to attract attention from more mainstream North Island competitors and media in general with dollar amounts like the above mentioned but not only that the widespread entertainment planned for this event is amazing clearly making this an event not to be missed. Buller boardriders cordially invite everyone to make the trek down to "The Bay" and help celebrate a truly wonderful achievement and with commentary once again from Westports own Julian Young....why would you wanna be anywhere else!!

Super Photo of the month,,,

Just to let you know that August's photo of the month comp will double up into Septembers as Chris from Cheapskates has sourced a super special limited edition burton Open t-shirt and has generously thrown the photo comp's way. Remember to get your shots in before the end of next month and be sure to read the terms and conditions to make sure the shot meets the criteria
*Imagine, with your very own Burton tee you'll be able to remember what it used to be like when it snowed in New Zealand ... haha !!!!!

Spring is in the Air !!

"Spring is in the air" - Literally!! : After a leisurely paddle in the middle of the day yesterday I was horrified to see the amount of pollen in the air as it hung around in yellow clouds over the back of Hira and Rabbit Island. Daffodils are up, Camelias dropping flowers what a great early start to Spring made more enjoyable by the fact that there is very little snow and the water,, well..... Its not even that cold!!!
Last sunday saw one of the best sessions of the year going down at Snappers with the swell holding true overnight and at first light was basically "as good as it gets" with sets in the solid 4ft plus range literally barreling all the way through to the shore. The session made all the more enjoyable because it was Grommet-Free after the various college balls the night before!!
A couple of Christchurch blow-ins were definately gobsmacked and everyone basically surfed themselves to death. Barry Fitgerald and Rich Barry getting the lefts all to themselves having their own little private pipeline masters!!

To top it all off monday still had a mild 2ft pulse then amazingly the swell jacked again on tuesday to 4ft and stuck around in the 2-3ft range on wednesday bringing the swell count to 6 whole days in a row of quality waves in Nelson.

Surf City, we love ya.....

Outside Squares and Funny Photos.....

(above): Snappers Point, Nelson.

A few chunky lines over the past couple of days and a couple of interesting missions going down... So I hear!!Friday saw the closure of rocks road around midday with some massive sets rolling through the cut. Scotty Edwards snapping his board and Leif Christenson offering moral support as a random hero paddled for help with Josh Hamilton chipping in with some handy media skills. (see photos below)!!

(above): Rocks Road Full Noise

A good swell Saturday with some raw Snappers keeping everyone paddling whilst elsewhere James Laird fell out of some bombs at Low Tide Cut whilst Frosty Paddlestick surfed 200metre long rights at the Lighthouse. Rumours of stand up tubes elsewhere unsubstantiated

(above): Sequence of events.

*Special Thanks to Josh Hamilton and Dave Duncan (harbour master)

Quickfire Update..

Aloha surf-nazi's and fellow frothers alike.... heading towards the end of another week and the weekend warrior swell cycle continues with what looks like the 3rd consecutive weekend swell due to hit tommorow. Realistically you gotta love the warmer northerly airflow and lack of frosts as it seems we may almost bypass winter this year as we head toward spring. The La-nina weather pattern currently influencing our conditions is forecast to last right up to the end of the year so lets hope it does and continues its swell producing form. With that verbal spill I shall now run straight into some good old fashioned,,, Rumour and Gossip Mill.....
>>Which bloodnut Nelson college grommet gets a new wettie to last him through winter only to snap his foot skateboarding??? and who is his mate who goes for scenic drives in the wilderness with his girlfriend whilst the surf is on???>>>Who wears 5 wetsuits but at least has a flash surfboard??>>>Who is the super ripper from Titahi bay seen blowing up at snappers and Tahunanui beach??.(oh hang on its wellington boardrider Brandon Kingi!!)>>>What makes the Hira shop a hangout for gays and cross-dressers?? and last but not least....... who is the wellington metroid/former nelson surfer who just flys down to Nelson for one particular session...???

-Anyhow folks have a great weekend its obviously gonna be good because Geoff Noble is heading to Kaikoura and we all know what happens when Geoff goes to Kaikoura.....!!.
I look forward to a few photos being produced,,,,looks like a good day or two for it!!

The mystery of Whangamoa...

-I thought perhaps it was about time to give some attention to a lesser known surf spot in the Nelson region. Kokoroa, or Whangamoa Bar or however you like to say it seems to be the place everyone seems to go when its not quite big enough at the local breaks.
After a bit of a myth-busting sunday it has left me with burning questions in my head..
What does happen over there when there is decent swell in Nelson?...

Does Hori Bay actually have a slabby right hand reef similar to 'Ours' in Sydney???

Or is this merely just a secret backroad for deviate men to get dressed in rubber and run around in the bush....

(above) Scott Edwards - Myth..Busted...

The Truth is out there.....

July Photo of the month!!

Congratulations to Astrid and/or Geoff Noble (not sure who took the photo) for this absolute gem of a shot sent in for the July photo of the month. Johnny Noble 5 years old and tearing up a Rabbit Island shorebreak. Remember this a monthly comp and there has already been heaps of photos sent in for August. There are 4 different judges making sure there are no biased decisions so dont be afraid to send your shots in and remember to read the criteria on the "comps" page to make sure your entry qualifies. A free T-shirt courtesy of Cheapskates could be on its way to you..............

Froth Dog's Predictions...

Froth Dog prediction:
"Expected babys, broken legs and travels to North Islands - extreme frothable conditions likely" - Froth dog Red Alert!!!

Lets get down to business!!

(above) The Glen, pushing the 8ft envelope.
-Big Sunday: The 1st day of August bought us the biggest frothiest surf weve seen in a while with the first real northerly storm weve had in months. The keen/crazy few headed over and tackled the cut with the highlight being Jim Tyson getting smashed off the ledge no once but twice with the second attempt resulting in a momentary knockout. This left Jim rattled and along with Jackson Gregory and Marco the young grommets were left humbled as they watched the bigger boys with hoods pull into some heaving wombs. Hooded crew included myself, James Laird , Olin Pilcher and Rob Holmes, who were both expecting babies at any minute and had to keep checking their cellphones after every wave. Julian Clark was missing despite rumours of his big wave prowess scoffing at people surfing 1foot Snappers. The grommets ended up scoring waves on the back of the island on the return journey and the swell just kept getting bigger culminating at around 3 oclock in the arvo with solid 8ft wind waves out in the middle of the bay with the spit breaking out past the cut !!!!

(above): Russ reaching for the heavens.
-Monday Morning: The much anticipated monday morning aftermath was classicly over-called by swell forecasters as the overnight wind speed did nothing but shear the top off the swell leaving a confused messy windswell in the 2-4ft range.
Some fun waves were had at Snappers as well as over the hills with the morning session dominated by Scott Edwards facial expressions and Jamie 'mini' Sumner's horizon paddle.

(above) Steve Brown, pig in mud.
Highlights from the Snappers session monday morning from the hearsay were Russ Bruce taking it apart along with Conal Parkes and Stephen Brown revelling in the fact that half the usual crew were elsewhere. Keni Duke made an appearance despite his own rumours of being sick and poor Rachel Hills also down with a bout of the flu forced herself to sit and take photos. What a legend!
-Afternoon and after school sesh was a full on grom-fest and was great to see the young crew braving the winter temperatures. Gavin Stoned laughed at the cold in his brand new PychoFreak and Jimmy Mckay wrestled his beast of a board like Steve Irwin on a croc!!

(above):Sometimes you've really got to wonder.
*Photos courtesy of Rachel Hills and Jonathon Shone