March 9th 2021: Fresh blood

Over summer our waves are chased by the usual crew – some hard-core locals, some friendly ones, the groms, the sea lions, some people trying surfing for the first time. It's a real mix and so sparsely populating our peaks that there are plenty of waves for everyone. This time of year that all changes.

We get an influx of students and the lineups quickly fill up again. It's a bit of a shock to most locals, but I quite enjoy seeing who has turned up to study at University of Otago or the Otago Polytechnic. The savviest student surfers from throughout the country always find a course to study here. It's a very compelling proposition: world-class tertiary providers, a guaranteed off-the-hook social calendar and some of the best waves in the world.

We caught a few of them in action this past week when that east swell fired up along the city's beaches. The ambition of surfers like Ollie and Sam Charlesworth and Jackson Crone was impressive and they each came away with some pretty incredible moments. Especially during one very heavy St Kilda session. I love seeing our waves of consequence being surfed by surfers who rise to the challenge in those conditions.

Not sure if you have seen the amount of swell brewing in the Southern Ocean right now. My pick is we're going to be in for some pretty early season monster swells this autumn. Bring it on ...

See you at the beach ... Derek

PS The Emerson's South Island Surf Champs are on April 2-4 (that's Easter). It's going to be huge with Surfing New Zealand sanctioning it as Event 4 of the New Zealand Surf Series and Event 6 of the NZ Grom Series. With the quality and consistency of Dunedin's waves it's always one of the best events on the calendar and attracts our very best surfers. Mark it in your calendar. See you there.