That swell this past week was one of the first of the big-wave season in New Zealand and it was a cracker. The second pulse delivered waves from 6-12 feet high at all our big wave spots. Some reefs broke for days on end.
I managed to get some time in the Catlins and a session or two with Doug Young, Kenny Kennedy, Sam Hawke, Tane, Oscar, Smithy and got to watch Paul Harrison pull into his first giant barrel.
Our first session was a brutal one as each of the surfers tried to wrangle a reefbreak that didn't want to play nicely. The extra west energy in the swell meant it pushed up the reef with more force than usual. So when Kenny got clipped by one he got flipped inside the cavern and sent deep into the abyss. He surfaced just before the second one detonated right on him. It was a scary wait until he reappeared clearly ready for a rest and some oxygen.
Moments later Sam Hawke wore a section around the shoulders and disappeared beneath the boiling water. He reappeared just in time to see the second, bigger wave lurch over on itself above him. One of our best big wave surfers, Sam copped one of the hidings of his life under that one. Doug dragged him back to safety and a well-needed rest before he was able to return to the lineup. A fin ripped out of the tow board meant we had the normal surfboard left to tow on – not enough to deter Doug who grabbed a handful as the sun set the stage ablaze in golden light.
The next day, with the tow board repaired, we journeyed into the Catlins in search of some big paddle waves, but the swell had backed off after peaking overnight. So we retreated to a nearby reefbreak and discovered it about as big as you can surf it. Dougy dominated the day, finding the biggest and wildest waves and made it look easy – even once we'd destroyed the tow board for the second time (this time completely).
"It felt like being inside at Chopes – it was the biggest and most open barrel I have had out there," admits Doug.
"Destroying that board – I'm just gutted. We broke the nose, the tail, all the fins out. It was the last tow board I got off Allan Byrne and it's been through hell. I just had the biggest barrel out there on it, but now there is nothing left of this board. It was such an epic board."
That didn't stop Doug from jumping on a strap-free surfboard and riding some more monsters until eventually he snapped Paul's little 5'11" Lost clean in two.
"I was surprised how that Lost performed inside the big barrels," explains Doug. "It was just hanging in there and actually felt good, even without straps."
"It's either complete carnage and no success at these waves, or some carnage and some success – like we had this time, but never complete success," he laughs.
A big standout on the Friday was local Dunedin surfer Paul Harrison, who took on the reef for the first time and rode straight into one of the biggest barrels of his life. When I asked him what that felt like to be engulfed by so much ocean he replied, "it was surreal – everything slowed down and I knew what I had to do".
And perhaps that is the key to surfing waves like these – if you give way to fear and overthink them – as many of us would – then your chances of survival diminish rapidly. When I first saw these waves I couldn't stop thinking about them for weeks. Right now, I'm guessing Paul is doing exactly the same.
See you at the beach ... Derek
PS It's a team effort getting these photos. I owe a huge thanks to Kenny for driving me on his shiny new Yamaha ski and also to Paul and Smithy who kept me in the zone when the washing machine was at its peak. And thanks to Doug for never flinching, not even once, out there. Take your time with this week's photos – there is a lot to take in.
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