Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Elder Speaks so you Listen

I have paid my subs so that means ground swells right?

Bigger days (6ft for me now) leave me a bit exhausted for a couple of daysafterwards but I'm OK after smaller days if I'm fit. I have heard 50 yrolds saying they're getting past it but I tell you, keep at it because I am 69 this year and having as much fun as anyone. And I'm not stopping
for a few years yet...
I am a bit isolated from surf beaches in the Sounds but.
Got a good wave at Kaikoura last week and looks good again for 2 or 3 daysnext week so will go down and camp a couple of nights.
I do a couple of surf, visit my daughter at Mahia trips per year which
gives me some variation with some Gissy waves as well.
Nelson seems to be the friendliest atmosphere.

RegardsDave Rothschild


Monday, January 27, 2014

Club Sub

Thats "Sub" not "Sup".
Just sent an email around the troops for annual Sub to club fund. Looking at re-gravelling Snaps carpark and maybe some nice trendy hoodies for winter or locked gate at Boulder Bank drive keypad authority. It seems some emails have changed and/or lost and any of you keen to throw into the hat please feel free by contacting nelsonboardriders@hotmail dot com......... Offers of next club meet address etc. most welcome.
No waves for a while so lets be land lubbers.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Hot To Trot (1977)

Gash of the Month

Gash of the month would have to be this little beauty from last Tuesday afternoon.Gary Miller (pictured) has no idea who's board hit him but he certainly had some non-pc comments to make about it!! Photo: Geoff Noble
For more images from tuesday visit the photos page.


Friday, January 24, 2014

June meets Jan

(above): James "laff" laird, hooking it off the top on a Bannana -  photo: Noble

Admittedly Cyclone June was a funny name for a Cyclone mid January and the above title was created by Geoff Noble who just so happened to pull out his high quality camera for some action shots of Snappers as the swell filled in Tuesday afternoon on a small but still remarkable Cyclone swell. Technically only just a cyclone being born and dying within 24hours she was a baby in comparison to some and the punters were left very worried as Tuesday morning revealed absolute dead flatness but in true Nelson fashion come midday sighns of life in the ocean appeared out of nowhere as instant 2 to 3ft lines began to fill the bay with the only problem being the high tide and nowhere to surf so some quick out of the box thinking saw Keni Duke and Chris Tupu sup-lording the back bar/blind channel Tahuna which may possibly be the best sup wave in the world, whilst myself and a couple of boys ventured east to a semi secret location and met the swell head on.
(above): Emptiness                      photo: Dubienic
While Snappers became more and more crowded in the mid 20's it was strange someone noted that there were 34 cars in the carpark and only 25 people in the water and another thing noted was that despite the large crowd only about 5 or 6 guys were digging deep and catching the 4-6ft sets and with long lulls between sets you kind of gotta wonder what the rest of the pack were doing apart from getting sucked over the falls on top of people and/or blasted to the beach. Without sounding like an egotistical asshole but the feedback from a few surfers and spectators was,,,, sure everyone has the right to be out in the water but if theres only a couple waves in a set and already more than ten guys on it then whats the point?. If it was 2ft you probably wouldnt bother paddling out.
* ( *Sentence revised )
(above): Barry Kingston,left and Frosty right,  Nek Minnit.         photo: Noble

There were plenty of other options on hand and a handful of guys surfed relatively empty breaks with only a couple out everywhere else!! Big ups to those guys for being Black Sheep!!!
Anyhow, another day and another swell.

(above): Marco Edwards solo surfing over the hill and far away.    photo: Dubienic

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Imagine Dragons

'Hard Core is doing it alone when no-one knows, with no jet ski, no life-jacket ... and then not talking about it afterwards'. Miki Dora 

 I think the above quote is very cool, but as I am not Miki Dora I feel I have a little licence to share a wee story from this morning. While having had a sleepover at work last night, I fielded a txt from my friend Marky, (thanks bud!) telling me that there was still surf - 2ft to chest high, so I headed out to Snaps to check it. Rising SW with four people out and head high sets, so I thought ... ummmmm ... no, because I know what the SW does to good surf and drove away. I headed to a rivermouth - no, not That rivermouth - and for the first time in nearly thirty years of surfing this place, the tide was so low that I was able to walk all the way across the river. Got to be a first there ... I came over the dunes and found perfect, peeling, chest high waves winding down the bar with not a soul anywhere to be seen; said a quick prayer for the spirits of the place to look after me and swam out to the bar. I was handboarding and as I swam out, a set of eight waves came through and I looked into the barrel of every one. Not a drop was out of place and even though it wasn't big, it was throwing out as wide as it was high - a two foot swell was hitting the bar out of deep water and jacking to three foot. I counted them. I had 16 clear barrels (I didnt make it out of all of them) and the best, I counted slowly to three while I was in there behind the curtain and came out - I had to sit in the channel for a moment and regain my composure after that one and watch another perfect set come through, without me on it.
 I had this place just like this five years ago and lost count of the barrels I had during that session, but this was so perfect, so extraordinary, so singular that it literally, took my breath away.

After an hour and a half, the tide crept in and the wave moved off the bank, so I swam in. I had no board with me, so I knew I had a long swim back with the big, in-coming tide and reluctantly recalling the story of a local friend, who came face-to-face with a bronze whaler here last year, I thought, I can still do this ... 'Here be Dragons' ... the morning was still serene, fish jumping around me as I swam, the sky had never been so blue, the river current helping me and flocks of oyster catcher and plovers calling to me as I swam past ... and the Dragons stayed away.

Words and Dragons By Mike Baker

Monday, January 6, 2014

Record Consecutive Surfable Days

It all started last Sunday week with the phantom groundswell and whilst the Tuesday was barely
rideable in the 1foot range it was surfable if you were super desperate and from then on in things have gotten
ridiculous in Surf City. Leftover swell yesterday morning saw the 9th consecutive day of surf in Nelson and with another swell forecast to boot this afternoon we may see our 10th day and it may even linger into the 11th tommorow morning. Totally unheard of in Nelson and to even have 1 day of surf at this time of the year is special so I hope everyones been making the most of it as I even have wetsuit chaffe under my arms.
See you out there.

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

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