June 29th 2021: Before the storm

There always seems to be a calm before we get a really decent storm – light winds, warm water and air temperatures that tell nothing of the story of what's to come. I'm okay with that. To be surfing at the end of June in one of the cleanest south swells we've had for a long while ... and in full sunshine ... well, that's a bonus this time of year.

The icing on the cake was that the north east winds from the week earlier had blasted out a lot of sand in the south corners and some old diamonds began to sparkle again. I managed to surf a few different waves away from the madding crowd and, well, there is something so good about sharing a break with just a handful of mates.

By the time you read this all these breaks will be transformed once again by the giant south swell that rages along our coastline today. This one's a beauty with a fetch that is sucking the cold air straight off the Antarctic ice shelf and delivering it directly into our wave arena. We have 6m swells in the Catlins right now and at 14 seconds, that's something to behold. Well, it would be if it wasn't accompanied by winds in the 24-36 knot range.

Regardless, the ocean today is going to be frighteningly beautiful. Stay safe out there.

See you at the beach ... Derek

PS We just released our first podcast over on New Zealand Surf Journal – last week we sat down with Paige Hareb and Saffi Vette who were both in MIQ after representing New Zealand at the ISA World Surfing Games in El Salvador. You can listen and download the podcast right here.