My absolute favourite swells are the ones that seemingly come out of nowhere, hit with the intensity of a few rounds with Joseph Parker and transform lineups from playgrounds to seriously intense arenas. This past Wednesday, exactly that happened at St Clair Point.
At first light I paddled out with my kids at dawn – they'd convinced me that a before school surf was a good idea, it was. We surfed in pretty fun 1-2 foot glassy peaks until 8am and then they shot off to school. At midday I checked the surf and there was the odd 3 footer, but mostly those waxy waves in the 2 foot range that make St Clair such a fun playground on still days. By 4pm, same conditions.
At 4:30pm the whole bay from St Clair to Karetai had a marbly blue look and giant rips had formed in several places. The first set had arrived. Twenty minutes later another with about ten waves rolled in, long period swell adding a little extra grunt. St Clair Point welcomed the swell angle, which has to be just right for it to break properly. This swell was bang on. Happens maybe a handful of times each year.
In between sets, the surf dropped back to 1-2 foot and provided a chance for surfers to paddle out – and paddle out they did – in droves until the point was packed beyond capacity with a very wide range of abilities and etiquette. In amongst the chaos of ditched boards and people getting pitched and paddling for the shoulder, some great rides were had. JC Susan was stomping a 5' board around the lineup like it was a playful hipster beachie. Jamie Civil paddle out on dark as if he was late to the main event and immediately picked up some of the best and biggest runners. Despite the crowds and chronic drop ins, it was a great session at the point. The following day the intense hit of the swell had given way to smaller conditions.
On Thursday it was Raglan's turn and by all accounts they got some incredible waves. Now that's what a pulse is all about. We hope you managed to catch some of it. Here's to the next one.
See you at the beach ... Derek
PS We got featured on the AIPA Find a Photographer page. Check out the story and some of our favourite pictures from 2018 here. And here's a link to Derek's professional photography page with AIPA.
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