Box of Light is made possible thanks to these visionaries:
Has the world flipped upside down? This past week was madness on the weather front – almost a foot of snow at Cardona and a souwest system rampaging up the country like a toothy mid-winter weather bomb. Normally this time of year we're happy to see even a semi-lined up wind swell, but groundy after groundy and some wild winds and low temperatures to keep everyone on their toes ... only a surfer could find the silver lining in this sort of weather anomaly.
It's been about sheltered corners and some serious storm surfing moments. The North Coast even came to life for a few days beneath a shroud of mist and rain. If you were savvy you hit the sweetspot before the winds carved the lines to pieces. I managed to arrive just about the same time the windsock hit 40 knots. There's nothing relaxing about paddling around in an ocean mostly whipped white, or taking off blind into what could quite easily be a water blaster. But in amongst the roar and the stinging spray, there are moments that make it all worthwhile and energising.
Thankfully it looks like the sun is back out for the next few days, the mercury is climbing and there's enough remnant swell bouncing around to keep the froth rolling.
See you at the beach ... Derek
PS We have to celebrate Raglan's Billy Stairmand winning his sixth NZ Surfing title at the 2017 New Zealand Surfing Champs held at Piha – breaking the 30-year record held by Iain Buchanan and Wayne Parkes, both of Auckland, and who had both one five each (and consecutively). Huge respect also to local surfer Elliott Brown (that's him below with the crazy hair) who finished third in the Open Men's and was just pipped at the post for a win in the Under 18s – settling for second behind Jonas Tawharu. Elliott impressed New Zealand's surfing leadership so much that he won two prestigious awards: the Overall Performance of the Event award and the newly awarded President’s Scholarship, which will see Brown spend 10 days in Fiji experiencing the reef breaks around Tavarua and Namotu. Epic.
Box of Light is made possible thanks to these visionaries: