Friday, June 29, 2012

Surf City Alive!!!

Its all on people!! It seems we are in full surf-city mode with 3 day swells arriving on cue after every high pressure system cycles through. However daylight hours and water temperatures are the trade-off as the water temp continues to plummit. Mid year exams has seen the return of some our forgotten youth with the likes of Joe Leeper (above)terrorising the lineups with his ever improving skill level no doubt the by-product of lots of hard "study" in Dunedin. Last weekend also saw the return of Brandon Kingi, just for the weekend though as he chased a mystical break "over the hills" from Nelson however his entourage never made it past the local surf pub, the ever sociable Snappers. Mike Baker was mysteriously spotted on a surfboard, stranger than fiction we know!! Whilst a couple more crew have been persuaded by the irrepressible Frosty into buying themselves SUP's convinced they are reaching the point of no return. Its worse than religion I swear!!! Thats it from me, see you in the frothy soup.
(above): Brandon Kingi Drifting.......... All Photos by Deane Briggs: FITZYS WETSUIT ADVERTISMENT xl phyco freak 5/4/3 built in hood excellent condition hardly worn surf all day kaikoura mid winter warm as. genuine reason for sale. 500 or near offer contact nelsonboardriders@hotmail dot com ANDY LUKEY NEEDS YOUR LIKE
Please Click this link Then "Like the Photo" to give me a vote for the competition If you can share this with your fellow Nelson Boardriders I would be grateful. Cheers Andy

Friday, June 22, 2012

Nelson Crowd Depletion?

As with most winters you always sort out the keen from the not so keen but this winter seems to be mysteriously uncrowded.... The guts of our surfing youth has moved to Australia whilst the others have gone to university in Dunedin and Wellington... and looking through the ranks there really doesnt seem to be too many young surfing punks left in Nelson,,, Could it be that we are going to see a drop in numbers in our lineups??? As for the elders, perhaps the 3 to 4 months of painful flatspells truly tore the hearts out of those who couldnt see the light and they too have left our shores. Maybe its just a natural process of evolution and along with the peaks you get the lulls.. Whatever it is..... there has never been a better time then right now to get out there and get into that feeling that can only be can be described as the one and only, Nelson - Surf City.....

Saturday, June 9, 2012

The Crazy Offshore

Looking back through the week brings a chuckle and a tear with wednesday's swell possibly one of the best solid consistent size swells in the last 8-10 years with the sets relentlessly rolling through like a machine. Cable Bay was rather good in the morning before the wind got up with Ross Burdon, Jeremy Pooley, Richie Vass and a few Kaikoura boys hooking in, however, it was not to be the best day in recent memory as a hideous easterly wind reared its ugly head late morning and by early afternoon there was a solid 40knot offshore blowing with gusts in the 50-6oknot range. Absolutely tearing the bum out of everything as I drove to check Snappers on the dropping tide my spare tyre cover got sucked off the back of my car and as I reached "sewer-side drive" I was uncomfortably met with 1ft windchop on the poo-ponds breaking and spraying my car with vapourised e-coli spray and the scene in the carpark was even worst with squalls of "poo-mist" vapping their way through the carpark. The waves were in the 4-6 foot range but the offshore was horrendous (see below)) The wind did back off a little in the late afternoon and Jeremy and Ross sneakily snuck into a few howlers at Snappers to themselves. Thursday morning saw some heavy snow dumped throughout the South Island including Nelson and there was even snow on the Whangamoas and the hillsides behind Hira... Snappers was in the 2-4ft range with an "insta-crew" attacking it although there was a sense of frustration in the air at the lack of consistency most likely bought on by the heaving offshore on Wednesday. This is where things got strange...... Friday morning, Gary Miller after returning from a weeks work out on Durville Island turned up to Snappers friday morning to find it empty with 2-4ft sets rolling in unridden!!. Gary Surfed this to himself for a solid 3 hours with his only witness supposedly being a lady in a green jacket with a dog!!! After lunch the swell almost seemed to be increasing and by 4pm in the afternoon I alongside Gary and Greymouth/ChCh import Steve Blenkeron and cameo appearance from Wes Smith taking a 4ft bomb on sunset had a crazy uncrowded smoking empty Snappers session.... Stranger than fiction I know....yet the truth, is out there.... Just before I go my personal condolences from myself and the entire Nelson Boardriders surf club members to resident surf photog Bill Evans on the passing of his sister and noted Nelson artist Jane Evans. R.I.P

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

What’s really going on .....