It's hard to boil down a year of waves into one report – there have been so many magical moments over the past 12 months. But there are certainly a handful of sessions that blew my mind one way or another.
The first would have to be when a bunch of mates including my brother reunited for a surf mission and stumbled across a dredging sandbank on a beach near Raglan. The tide, wind, swell and light all came together at the same moment and for three hours our small little crew had the rule of the superbank.
Closer to Dunedin I managed to witness a session at the heaving, giant slab wave we dubbed The Vault. Put simply, it's a terrifying place – surfed by towing in only. It's merciless in its power and energy. For Davy Wooffindin, James Steiner, Jamie Gordon, Leroy Rust and Tom Bracegirdle that power was all a part of the buzz.
Still in the big power realm Leroy Rust and Jimi Crooks stepped it up a whole other notch in June at Papatowai in the Catlins. These guys had been chasing a session so they could paddle into this giant peak. The June swell and wind conditions turned out to be one of the best combinations for them. They broke new ground on this day paddling into some of the biggest waves ever caught at Papatowai. Towing in for subsequent sessions, Brad Roberts and Nick Smart also tackled some of these giants.
Deeper in the Catlins and we experienced another mid-winter session at a remote reef that relished the biting cold southerly. The snow and rain gushing out the estuary mouth turned the whole lineup chocolate brown, but that didn't stop Dale Hunter, James Steiner, Jamie Gordon, Tim Searing, Brad Roberts, Davy Woofindin, Jimi Crooks and Tom Bracegirdle from riding some deep, dark barrels.
Swapping the 4/3, hood and booties for boardies and a surf all-day vest from my mates at Seventhwave Wetsuits we then headed into the powerful lineups of Upolu, Samoa. Based out of Salani Resort, our small crew surfed many waves each with its own section of consequence. Samoa is definitely no place for hesitation. We got smashed many times, left blood and skin on the reef and nursed battered bodies at night, but in between we also got some of the most beautiful waves I have ever seen.
Back in New Zealand and the final standout moment for 2014 would have to be a lazy session at a beach near Mount Maunganui. We arrived by boat before sunrise and were treated to one of the coolest sessions of the year with some hollow, playful waves and amazing light for shooting photos.
We hope your 2015 has a bit of the magic we've stumbled across in 2014 and we certainly hope we're there to capture some of it with you.
See you in 2015 ... Derek
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