Mr Sharky Says Hello At The Glen

I was pretty impressed to see this guy caught and released at The Glen today. Felt a bit sorry for the big fish but the guys put in a well deserved fight to land him. Moral of the story.... dont surf The Glen, full of sharks!!

Summer 05'- Snappers segment.

At the end of January will see the 10 year anniversary of this site and present day Nelson Boardriders. CRAZY

Respect the Tee-Pee

Can you put something in the Boardriders site about looking after the Tepee please? Ive just come back from there and taken home a ton of rubbish people have left inside - 15 empty beer bottles, two bags of uneaten marshmallows, candles, plastic bottles and other shit. I have left a sign in there asking people not to light fires inside and not to leave their rubbish behind. If they keep lighting fires DOC will pull it down for sure because of the BBanks World Heritage status. I know this stuff is bound to happen with low-lifes and dickheads using it along with other, more thoughtful and aware people, but if surfers at least can respect it and ask other people to as well, that would be a start aye. Thanks Bud, nice to see you guys today! Happy Christmas! The surf wasnt quite big enough to get me in there, but it was close, lol! -Mike

Christmas Roast Part I

Ok lets start this thing...... >>>Not sure what board to ride? Why not have a multiple board quiver, that way you can look great in the carpark while discussing to others the importance of the right coloured matching fins but in the back of your mind you are left in total confusement as to what board actually works for you..........>>> Feeling Cold??, why not wear a hooded vest in the middle of summer......Did someone say facial hair?, grow it, I mean how else are you gonna look like one of the characters from Lords of Dogtown or fit in at the local Cawthron..... Stand on the Boulder Bank discussing how small the swell is but once the swell gets over 3 foot you are nowhere to be seen. Setup a boardriders blog and remain in a surf-less town just so you can feel like you are one of the Alpha-males in the local surf community whilst the rest of your past and present surfing mates live in Indo, Aussie or elsewhere, and if you really cant stand the water temperature in Dunedin then move to Nelson that way you hardly have to go surfing and when you do you can wear that hood mentioned above just so you dont get too homesick. Fake a shoulder injury, thats one of the best ways to totally avoid surfing contact when you really feel like retiring to tramadol, red wine and Tom Waits vinyls for 6months.

mason from Marine Layer on Vimeo.

Let the Festivities Begin.

So.... unless youve had your head buried in the sand or been so busy you dont know whether you are Arthur or Martha it seems we are in for a decent run of swell heading up to Xmas.
multiple systems starting to align with even the chance of waves Christmas Day which believe it or not ... happens more often than not.!!!  A special Christmas Message update to be compiled at the end of the week so stay tuned because if you feel like being offended there is an annual "Roasting" of just about everyone and remember if you cant have a laugh at yourself then, who can you laugh at..... dont say you havent been warned but remember,,,, all light-hearted humour and names will be left out to provide those with sufficient paranoia to fill in the gaps.. wink wink nudge nudge... let it begin!!!
Cheers for tuning in and look forward to the best waves in over 6 months heading our way shortly!

Mega Low No More

It is with great regret that all our hopes and dreams of a super storm in the Tasman next week have been crushed with one brutal 6 hourly forecast shift.  A lesson in pining over 7day charts or a mere glitch in the models?...only time will tell but remember, old school chart reading rules over wave forecasting models every time. Chin Up.

Please Santa, may I have a Freebord

Zac - Attack

A warning to all Nelson surfers... there is a rabid-grommet on the loose at the Glen , heading out every second day on any kind of swell and his ability is escalating. Meet Zac Dillon, he's out there catching everything in sight while most of you are scratching your gnads staring lovingly at swellmap.
At 14 years old this kid is Nelson's performance surfing future and you heard it first here but you are still a pussy over 2ft Zac .... Go Grommet Go !!!

And The Sea Will Tell

The end of the  year is winding down and one of the most significant low pressure areas since Easter's Cyclone Ita still remains lingering off Australias east coast.So, when will it make its move across the Tasman Sea?? This is the question...Can you feel the suspense? I certainly can! Looking ridiculously like 2011's December storm we look set to finally get some rain but lets hope not too much at once. There has been way too much quiet times surf wise, and there is only so many 1 to 2ft windswells a person can handle before they retire to extra-curricular activities such as wind-wanking and professional beer drinking. Everyone is congregating on Nelson from far and wide for the silly season and you can bet the next swell will be met with insanely larger crowd numbers and equal enthusiasm like never seen before.
Its a love/hate time of year for surf-city and I cant wait to see you all out there in the most ridiculously crowded and pumping sessions!!! Bring it On!!

Photo of the Week

Laurence Watts and his GoPro are unstoppable at the moment, however photoshopped the above image may be.... it is still worthy for Photo of The Week!!! Photo tweak credit goes to Ronald Weiss.....

Shingles Freshwater Reef Build

Buller Boardriders pipedream of creating a freshwater reef on top of the existing "Shingles" break inside the  Buller Rivermouth has begun with contractors dumping the first load of rubble yesterday.
This is a super interesting venture and we cant wait to see the eventual outcome.
Nice work boys.

Insta-Crowd.

So without warning, surfing numbers in Nelson have bloomed to an amazing extent where a relatively fickle surf break gets over run with a crowd in excess of 25 people?
After a bit of thought the exact same thing went down last year as schools finish up and those sabbatical locals come back home for the end of year shenanigans. Its always amazing to see the direct relationship between crowd numbers and surf forecast sites namely Swellmap. At the end of the day we all have the right to be out in the water even if were riding a kayak that had sex with a Malibu and its the time of the year whereby If you cant beat em, join em...

I once complained I had no shoes until I met a man with no feet.

What's Really Sup.

Lets talk about feelings: Summer and Cyclones.

Ok so its getting to that time of the year again where we begin to lick our lips in anticipation of the upcoming Cyclone season which traditionally began at the start of this month. As exciting as early indicators were it now seems that up until February we are in for a "less than average" occurence of Cyclones then late season this trend seems to increase to "more than average". frustrating to say the least but predicting cyclones is like predicting lottery balls.

(above): Olin Pilcher with some of the pent-up froth we all suffer from. Photo: M.Baker

Hang onto your hats here in Nelson however as all is not lost with the charts still trending towards more springtime Northwest/Southwest flows with one in particular interesting one occuring "later next week".
It has been a frustrating year in surf in Nelson in general with very few swells reaching over the head high mark and when they do they have either been plagued by the devilwind from the southwest or blown back out to sea by ridiculousy strong easterlys.

There has been waves evidentally but everyone is getting that itch for something that little more.

A couple of sneaky midweek sessions have been going down with a handy crew getting amongst it including Jackson gregory, Nick Bygate and Laurence Watts.
Rachel Clark' solo Cut effort in a kayak board in tow would also have to make the list along with the ever faithful Snappers lords battling the Southwest corregations in an effort to be king of the peak.

It can be very easy to just let it all slip by in Nelson but remember... you have to be in it to win it.
Like the hardy crew that paddled to the Cut sunday night in 40knot winds only to have to paddle back cos it was hardly even average.... same boys scoring epic waves mid monday morning.... food for thought.

See you out there.

Photo of The Week:

Laurence Watts put his goPro to good use mid-week snapping off this gem. 

Friday Funny: Hipsters Save French Tourist

Summer Wetsuit for Sale

Large 2mm Oneill Springsuit (short arm short leg), Excellent Condition $60bux Firm.
ph/txt 02102472729

CPL takes on the Cape Classic

Cool Story here!!! Cape Classic Round-Up

Goodbye Flatville, Hello Swell !!

After some very disheartening last couple of months Spring looks ready to do exactly that as the forecast charts light up with some good old fashioned Norwest Busters.
Not to be hard done by though some Nelson grommets have been hitting up Kaikoura over the last month or so quite regularly with great results. One such grommet in particular is Jimmy Wright pictured below winging it at Mangamanu.
So, dust off that wettie and stretch out those seagull wings and see you out there very soon!!

Photo of the Week !

 Geoff Faloon from Glenduan proudly learning to surf at main beach at the ripe young age of 55.
Remember, its only the age of the person you're feeling.
Right on Geoff!!

Dont Forget Tahuna Bar.

The spit closest to Haulashore Island has got to be one of Nelsons biggest sleeping giants soon to be awakened.

How Not To Get Punched in the Head

And so it rears its ugly head again. The topic of VIOLENCE IN SURFING is once again in the mainstream press, this time courtesy of an article in the Good Weekend. There’s even talk of cops regulating lineups and licenses being required to operate surfboards. In my mind that equals a massive win for KOOKS. Because, y’see, it’s really not that hard to avoid getting punched in the head. Anyone who knows a bit about surf history and culture, who’s travelled a bit, and who enjoys the sport for what it’s worth ( i.e freedom) knows that violence, while part of the culture, is only around if you go looking for it. Follow these simple steps and we guarantee you’ll never end up on the wrong end of right hand ever again.

 1. Just because it was an accident doesn’t make it okay
. Dropping in is the cardinal sin and just because it was an accident doesn’t make it okay. In surfing there are very few accidents. Every act is the result of a decision you made, and if that decision was to not check your inside the second before you took off and it resulted in the burning of some poor bastid, then you owe that woman or man a sincere, face-to-face, heartfelt apology. Unless of course you meant to do it, in which case we’ll get to that. The same applies if you run someone over. It’s not an accident. You mightn’t have meant it but that is of little solace to the guy whose got your fin wedged in his skull. So best not to put people at risk for the sake of a wave or a turn. If you do, then be ready to deal with the consequences.

 2. The world is not fair, and neither is surfing.
 Drop all that bullshit about the waves belonging to everyone. That’s kook talk. Surfing has a tonne of rules and if you choose to ignore them, you choose to run the risk of getting punched in the head. Put simply, surfing is best understood as belonging to those who are the most skilled at it. They get a bit more leeway in terms of the amount of waves they can catch and they’re also often the start point of the pecking order. They are not above the game, however, even know sometimes they think they are. Skill plays a huge part in deciding who gets which waves, the kind of waves and set ups you should be surfing, and how you’re going to be treated at those locations. One of the biggest challenges surfing faces is its lack of formal rules or regulations. Instead it is left up to the individual to decide what their skill level is and which waves they are suitable to surf. Humans are notoriously bad at being honest with themselves, however, and it’s for this reason the threat of humiliation, intimidation and, as a last resort, violence, is sometimes necessary. What else have we got? 

3. Localism: It’s a thing. It’s always been a thing.
 Getting hassled by gangs of affluent white men is never fun. And it doesn’t really get better regardless the colour, creed or incredibly bad body odour (BBO) of the local crew in question. You must realise, however, that they’re behaving this way because they feel like they have something to protect. And that’s understandable in some ways. What I’ve also observed, however, is that while you might be able to protect your own spot, protecting your car, with its beach-identifying stickers on it, when you try and surf somewhere else is much harder. So enjoy your spot, fools. If you’re not a local it’s probably best to lower your expectations when it comes to catching sets. Best bet is to give a couple away even though you’re in the spot, act humble, and hope ‘the boys’ respect your respect. If it’s a spot you plan on going back to, I wouldn’t compete too hard first time round.

 4. Choose your battles
 So you’ve just been burned on a set you waited 15 minutes for. The guy who did it don’t really surf that well, and he’s got tears of ink running down his face plus a giant swastika on his forehead. He also knows everyone in the lineup. What do you do? Easy. You do nothing. Simply join the queue again, keep smiling, keep vibing, and wait for another bomb. Flagrant burns are often little more than a symbolic gesture to remind you of your place in the pecking order. It’s not ideal, but what is also true is that people don’t tend to want violence so if you’re a humble, quiet, chiseller and just keep putting yourself in the spot, eventually the morality of the crowd will bend your way and you’ll be treated fairly. Though there’s also the problem of these guys…

 5. The Outliers
 Humanity always has outliers but you can’t generalise off the back of their behaviour. For every bit of violence there area a million sessions that go down without incident, proving beyond any doubt that our strong sense of culture is all that we need to hold surfing together. The following people, however, really shouldn’t exist. - The local, bitter, angry kook, whose thirst for violence and domination of the lineup stems from his inadequacy on a surfboard. - Straight-up talkin-to-’emselves loonies who are tolerated for no other reason then because speaking out against them would bring their psychopathic thirst for vengeance your way. - The unemployed-local-shredder-drug-dealer who surfs all day every day and has caught two waves in every set since the autumn of ’94.


Article Stolen From TRACKS MAG DOT COM

Cape Classic Reminder: Forecast Looking Sick!!!

Just a reminder of the Cape Classic Surfing Contest in Westport this coming Labour Weekend.
Starting saturday morning at Tauranga Bay with Finals Day on the Sunday.
Anyone interested in entering please upload the entry form from here and get it away before wednesday.
(entry form at bottom of www.sisa.co.nz page.
The forecast is now looking increasingly great in what looks to be one of the best forecasts since 2009.
Cheap accomadation available: For more info feel free to ask ph/txt 02102472729

Nek Minnit of the Week: Graeme Bird

"Surfing along a sweet Sumatran Lefthander ....... nek Minnit"

Do not try and guess the body part.

Premiere:

A Nelson College film project by Jack Malcom, Finnley Meekma and Jimmy Wright.
No Waves in Nelson from Jack Malcolm on Vimeo.

Bruce and Barrons missing Link.

Upon ordering a new custom Bruce Wilson has quickly wound up on Barron Surfboards site
with a couple of Indo shots!! check the link here: Bruce's Barron Link

Remember - Custom is king.

CJ Hobgood faceplant

Could Farewell Spit be Skeleton Bay?

Ive heard a few stories and then I just saw this photo.
It could be possible... just saying...

Cape Classic 2015

A quick heads up that the annual Cape Classic Surf competition will be going down on Labour weekend the 24th and 25th of this month. Any Nelson crew keen to get involved get in contact ASAP... Cheap accomadation available at Bazils Backpackers Hostel in Westport.  Always an amzingly fun event in a town that needs all the support it can get at the moment!!

Daylight Savings: The workers are finally free!

A strange relief when you look at the forecasts and the tide etc, and realise that you now actually have time to slip out for a surf after dinner!! Daylight savings is absolutely amazing!!
The water gradually warms, the days lengthen and slowly but surely your surf time increases!!!
Some blustery old southwesters of late but thats what we come to expect in the height of spring!!

Grame Bird and Bruce Wilson have recently returned from Indo with a shot below and despite shedding a few kilos via the toilet bowl for the first part of their trip they were treated to day after day of pristine right handers at the infamous "Telos".

(above): Some of the terrible conditions Bruce and Graeme had to endure in Indo.

Locally, you have had to be a weather and micro climate genius to find the gold of late with shifting winds
wreaking havoc with reasonable sized swells and with more of the same forecasted lets just hope for more favourable conditions.

See you out there.!!

Photo of the Week

A timeless image sent in from grommet Finnley Meekma from yesterdays wintry souwest blast.

                             THIS PHOTO HAS BEEN REMOVED DUE TO TAPU

Swellmap Vs Nelsonboardriders Round 1

Dear SwellMap Feedback:
Hi guys, just some simple feedback on your forecasting for the nelson area. your forecast changes dramatically every 6 hours to the point of it not really holding any confidence , eg: late last night forecasting a 2metre swell for the morning only to change at 4am to 0.7m.... this has been a trend over the last 3 months both up and down in forecasts and if the foerecast changes every 6 hours then its not really a forecast is it....?? Other swell forecasting sites such as buoyweather dot com are far more reliable at present and its sad to see your forecasts for our area so "out of touch".... please i eagerly await your reply and please include what i have written above so i may publish it, thanks,

Swellmap: Replys!!

Thank you for your feedback. It’s great to hear from people using the website.

We’ve just recovered from a 36 hour outage, during that time the high resolutions wave models weren’t running and you were seeing information from the low resolution models. This is the weather information often used by mobile phone weather apps and is a rough indication of sea conditions. Some weather sites run completely from this information.

We use these low resolutions models as a backup and to seed our high resolution models, however the low resolution models are around 64 km which misses many of the unique features of New Zealand. On the boating part of swellmap if the models fall back to the low resolution version we automatically fail ‘safe’ as the information is not good enough to properly understand the ocean conditions.

I’m happy to report that our high resolution models are back up and running and we have put additional measures in place to keep them running.

It’s quite possible that Nelson is a unique area that the low resolution models don’t predict well.

We are constantly tweaking and improving the models. We’re currently working on a system that will help us measure and record the accuracy of our models over time which will help us improve.

I’m sorry our system predicted a good swell for you and the ocean didn’t deliver. From the sound of your blog a false positive is not a good thing. To help I suggest getting a second opinion from other weather websites. It’s always good to get more perspectives on the weather. If all sites agree then it’s probably more likely. Just don’t get a second opinion from metservice as well - we provide the marine information to metservice so it will just tell you the same thing as swellmap.

Thank you again for your feedback. I wish Nelson lots of swell in the future. We are planning on investigating some seasonal forecasts - predicting long term trends. I’ll let you know if we get that system up and running, and if it predicts more swell for Nelson.

Cheers,

Stay Tuned for more adventures as bitter Nelson surfers wage war on Internet surf forecasters .....

Nelson being Nelson.

Another teaser of a groundswell over the last couple of days with only the occasional head high set in perfect conditions and long waiting periods between sets has left most people a little highly strung with the thought that even though its great to get waves  its almost worse to get marginal waves especially in those perfect conditions, A few people in the lineup spouting the words "worst swell season ever", which got me thinking.... Do we even have a swell season??, would we conclude April-October to be our swell "season"?? Is this the worst 'swell season' ever?? Or are we infact just being pining little moaners as infact, in reality its just Nelson being Nelson......... and so continues the love/hate relationship.
Food for thought, next week looks promising...... and so it goes again.

A late congratulation and apology for oversight to another local surfer Mr Wes Smith on the birth of his baby boy Toby!! Both Wes and Gary doing their part in sustaining Nelson's surfing populous.
and A MASSIVE BIG HAPPY FATHERS DAY TO ALL YOU DADS!!!!!!

See you next swell season.

Get some Spring in your Step.

(above): Enigmatic, Richie Barry swoops into a heaving Snappers left.   -Photo: Bill Evans

Whilst the water temperatures sits precariously at its lowest point of the year, as the on and off snow falls then melts then falls again, rest assured, our days are finally getting longer. Surfable from 630am til 630 at night, the weekday working warriors now even have a little wriggle room at the end of each day to get amongst it.

(above): Poised for takeoff, Unknown backs himself to go right.   -photo:Bill Evans

A big congratulations to local surfer Gary Miller and his wife Jess on the birth of their little girl. Im sure Gary is looking forward to his first surf as a dad!! ( it always makes for more solid turns! ).

A fun little groundswell last week looks set to be backed up with another similar over the next few days and as long as the devil wind south easter stays off it we could be set for more ice water howlers.

See you in the source.

Curiosity can be a Cat Killer.

The anticipation of a swell in Nelson is what makes it one of the most interesting places to live as a surfer. Quite often I get " I dont understand why you love surfing so much and remain in Nelson".... or "Why dont you move down the west coast or to Kaikoura, they'v'e always got waves"...
It has lead me to the realise after residing here for just on 12 years now, that infact, sometimes the thrill of the chase is actually better than the kill itself.

Meeting at an undisclosed dairy under the cover of darkness you could almost smell the adrenalin of everyone as we proceeded to load the boat up with boards and wetties. The four of us, Skipper Mark Chamberlain, Joe Anderson, Jimmy Wright and myself,  would meet up with local Blenheim surfer Mike "Ratty" Lindstrom at the boat ramp at 7am and thats when our adventure would become reality......

Punching through some confused swell for a good half n hour as we left french pass we were told some crazy story about the tides there including one of a 6metre osprey boat nearly getting its nose pulled under whilst spinning in a whirlpool and as we passed a dead seal with giant teeth-marks in its side we were all starting to feel a little clammy. As we hit the open ocean swell and with our destination in site the awkwardness was pushed aside by pure stoke as we hooted and screamed as our pot of gold at the end of the rainbow shined brightly.

As humans we have a "need to know" complex and however hard it was to leave behind pumping waves at home we broke out of the mould for a day, went exploring and had a great time with absolute solitude.
Upon return to Nelson it was evident we had "missed" a great days surfing with reports of all local breaks firing it was a case of "damned if you do, damned if you dont".

I only ever wanted what I could never really have.



Words: Mark Nichols
Photos: Jimmy Wright

Springy Feeling

A bit of a nasty flat spell over the last couple of weeks but at the same time some bitterly cold overnight temperatures have kind of made it not so hard to sleep in for that little bit longer and not have to worry about dawn surf checks or anything silly like that. Remember, its the working mans surf town !

The days are gradually getting longer, about seven minutes a week at present and if the forecast weather charts for the coming week have any say in the matter we may well possibly sneak out and under from this winter like MacGuyver sliding under an electric roller door.
A small low is forming in the Tasman and  expected to push a few lines our way early week , but later on, and into weekend warrior land we see some good old fashioned Spring weather with gusty Northwesterlies set to blow and perhaps on the backside of these all is not lost for the snow bunnies out there.

You already knew this anyway because like most of us you check the 7day charts like an obsessed , compulsed froth-head.

(above): The view not many of us have the time to look from.... Cable Bay...   Photo: Jimmy Wright.

Barrel Seq. Of the Week.

(above): Mikey B's Belly Freeze, as he shoots these hand-gunning delights!!!

Nelson Surfing Documentary Coming Soon

Nelson college boys Finnley Meekma, Jack Malcolm and Jimmy Wright have spent the last 3 months doing a school project making a Nelson surfing documentary,,, with interviews from old surfers to young this is one not to be missed and we may even have a premiere night and boardriders gig on the big screen,,, stay tuned,

Miss Something These School Holidays?

(above): Absolutely Picture Perfect    -photo-Mike Baker

The above title may infact be a lie with a groundswell that started last Tuesday, gradually building throughout the week and culminating Thursday afternoon till Saturday morning in the solid 5ft range and slowly dissipating over the weekend. Great waves were had at Snappers all week with it really turning up the heat on the Thursday and then Friday saw some all-time Cable Bay and likewise Saturday morning with a couple of out-of towners showing up including current South Island champion Levi O'connor from Kaikoura who lit up the inside section at Cable Bay leaving a lot of folk with there jaws dropped.

(above): Backdoor Slingshot, -photo- Glen Aspin

There is a heap more photos posted to the photos page so check...... it......... out.........!!!!

Looking forwards into the crystal ball and it looks like Huey is gonna make us pay for our week of spoils so do your part and put that nose to the grindstone as we summon another swell into Nelson surf city, the working mans surf town..... but if the surfs on,,,,, you dont wanna be working !!!!

Ciao

Photo of the Week

(above): Marty Clark flying solo at the Cut last saturday morning - Photo: Bill Evans

The Forgotten Break

Generally out of laziness, this place doesnt get surfed that often and your timing has to be absolutely spot-on... otherwise you miss the boat, literally!! Yet with a little forward planning it is still possible to step out from the square and go get some empty waves with just a couple of mates....

In the thick of it.

(above): Belgium import David Pon with some subtle heel-toe pressure. Photo Mat Goodman

Thats right fellow surflings! As we ripped through June it seems that our beloved "surf-city" is truly living up to its name and perhaps we do have a "swell season" after all. With the south pacific bordering on El-Nino we have seen a steady northwest front/southwest high transition over the last few weeks and this seems set to continue for at least the next couple of weeks. This is great news for us as it virtually means 2 to 3 days of swell , on a weekly basis. Water temps are slowly falling but so far we are gradually starting feel a bit of a sting on the hands upon entry.

(above):  Great Photography / Strange Manouvere - Marco Edwards getting cheeky . Photo: Mat Goodman

Looking forward into the future and it seems another Northwest blast is sneaking up on us so make the most of the dry weather and free up some glide time and what better way to wind up everyone on a sunday with some good old fashioned rumour mill....

Rumour Mill:     ...which local surf-ski fitness freak was out catching 6ft waves in the dark, 7:00am on thursday morning with his mate off the back-bar... both on surf-ski's ( what the ), apparently they dont like turning very much!!  ................. Who won the 60cm pro last saturday?..... Who called Snappers thursday morning 6ft meaning the guy who surfed the glen by himself  the night before at 10-12ft?....more strange the local musician surfer that called snaps 2ft that same morning and the night before 4ft .. remember its not the size of the wand but the magic within .and last but not least.... after claiming their keen-ness the day before, who were the group of grommets absolutely nowhere to be seen wednesday evening when the swell got "real"....

Peace Frothers.

Photo Of the Week !

After not surfing in 8 months I was nearly crying with joy as we witnessed Aaron "noddy" Lyttle hit the water for the longboard section of our club get together only to start destroying the lefts laying rails like Al Pacino in Scarface it was truly a goosebump moment.

The Schnaps Class of 14

Organising a surf club contest is relatively hard work, but then try organising it in a town with no surf!!
Well, with the help of some dedicated folk we somehow pulled a rabbit out of a hat... then a carrot and then a Watership Down "Bright Eyes" single cassette.
Analogies aside, Friday night the paranoia set in as the forecasted slight swell seemed almost wishful thinking and by daybreak Saturday morning there was still an element of doubt as the sea remained "slight".
After reviewing weather maps and imagining surf forecasting before "swellmap" and "buoyweather" and going back to some old man of the sea coastal forecasts of 25 plus knot winds out to sea I took a giant gamble and called our Snappers Classic 2014 club competition ON !! with a midday start.

Marco Edwards took out 1st place with some slick slicing and dicing.

At 10am the decision to run still seemed a little optimistic but then as if it had been scripted, by half ten, the swell had kicked to a reasonable 2ft and a couple of the event "roadies" got out there with the free surf session an hour prior to kick off actually yielding some great waves with everyone keen to "Strut their stuff".

(above): Ben Winmill performs "La-Cockarocha" during the longboard final

The juniors kicked off the event followed by the opens and then the longboards and then the 3 finals of all divisions..  Some drama in the longboard semi final with Jackson Gregory scoring a perfect 10point ride and another high 8point ride only to get an interference call in the dying minutes with a drop in on Ben Winmill handing Ben and Geoff Noble a ride through to the final and Jackson knocking himself out wondering how it could have happened!! A special note to this longboard division... this was high standard longboarding even at a South Island National level and I know because ive seen it,,,, top effort boys!!

(above): Geoff Noble on his way to back to back longboard titles.

The contest was hotly contested in both Juniors and Open but the real winner at the end of the day was Nelson Boardriders surf club. After laying dormant for nearly 2 years the participation in the event was astonishing and with a large turnout and a somewhat "official" prizegiving at Geoff Noble's Tahuna Studio later that evening everyone left the evening with a smile.
This was no ego-tistical alpha chest pumping surf measuring tape type thing but  merely a surf club crew getting together being surfers and using any excuse possible to spend the day at the beach.

Special thanks to Mat Goodman for photography and Pat Griffin alongside Scott Edwards, Ian Richardson and Jason trotter for guest judging and all the crew that turned out and "kept the faith".
Thanks to the Sponsors - Tahuna Bar and Tavern. - Hogeys Surf - McCashin's Brewery - R and R sport,
Nelson Packaging  and Pit Stop.

Full Results:   Open - 1st Marco Edwards
                                2nd Rachel Clark
                                3rd Mark Nichols
                                4th Dave Pon

                  Junior-  1st Jimmy Wright
                               2nd Jack Malcolm
                               3rd Finnley Meekma
                               4th Jesse Forsyth

              Longboard -   1st Geoff Noble
                                    2nd Ben Winmill
                                    3rd  Graham Clark
                                    4th  Aaron Lyttle

*Of course none of these results actually mean anything apart from the fact that we all pretended to be pro surfers for the day and all had a freaking excellent time doing it!!!

See you late spring for the Rabbit Island Pro  ( wink wink )

BONUS !! Mikes Amazing GoPro Grabs

(above): Geoff Noble getting touchy, feely....

(above): Maia Hegglund, Ruatoria Swag....!!

Mikey B's been at it again capturing some awesome angles from last weeks swell!!

(above): Russ Bruce's special "meeting" with the lip.

(above): Takes a while to get your head around this captured moment.