Brett had called it. A few days earlier he had picked the tide, swell direction and size, and a window of favourable winds. Then he'd circled three-hours on his calendar that, in his estimation, would provide an incredible surfing experience at a small beachbreak in Raglan. Yep, we'd be going right for a change.
We entered the arena first thing in the morning – greeted by a becalmed sea apart from glassy blue walls marching past a bombora and folding in two on a shallow sandbank 100 metres later. It was an impressive arena with some heavy, hollow waves peeling all the way down the bank to the beach. Most of the waves were rifling off so fast that they were outrunning all but the best surfers. Floridian Ben Lacy was a standout of the session – flowing through the barrels as smooth as silk. Lyndon Green, back home from the Sunshine Coast for the holidays, stroked into some of the bigger bombs and surfed them like it was his local.
Then my bro, Aaron, and my good mates Brett Wood and Kent Inglis took turns taking off late, turning hard off the bottom and positioning for tubes as round as they were high. There wasn't a drop of water out of place.
We surfed until we were depleted. It took all our strength to climb back into the boat, but we were all smiling knowing that what we'd just experienced was possibly one of the best sessions of our lives. What a great way to catch up with mates.
Keep an eye on the North Coast to kick off 2014 with some swell on the South Coast at the end of the week. If you're in Raglan, like us, then your hangover cure is already on its way.
This is our last report for 2013 and we'd like to thank all our readers (that's you) and our advertisers for making this weekly report possible. There are also a lot of people behind the scenes who help to make it all happen, so a big thanks to my family, the assistants, Blair Hughson from Core Development, Eugene Tan for his guidance, the surf communities that help us reach our goals, and all our friends and supporters in the mountains.
Okay enough of this soppy stuff – it's time to party!
Derek
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