Box of Light is made possible thanks to these visionaries:
The humid, tropical air that stretched from Northland to Nelson laid the perfect runway ahead of Cyclone Dovi's arrival. We were in Whangamata for the second round of the Billabong Grom Series when the ex-tropical cyclone made landfall in the Waikato. Waves surged over the boulders at Raglan and littered the carpark at Manu Bay with rocks. Trees that had been standing for many, many years snapped like matchsticks.
The organisers contemplated calling the surf contest off at Whanga. The gusts kept coming and bunches of pohutukawa leaves rained down across the beach. Paddling into the waves meant spray and sand stinging the eyes and blind take-offs. Adding salt to the wound was the offshore that massacred the swell almost instantly.
The finals played out with a minor respite in the wind – a drop from 35 to 25 knots like a welcome slap in the face with a warm fish. The best surfers did their best and the best got awarded.
Tao Mouldey, of the Mount, won the Under 16 Boys, Natasha Gouldsbury, of Taranaki, won the hotly contested Under 18 Girls and Bill Byers managed to beat form surfer at the event, Navryn Malone in the Under 18 Boys.
Then the swell stopped and we bailed for Raglan where the swell had peaked as an ugly 6-8 foot churn a day earlier to a reasonable 2-3 foot point. We drank greedily from the walls at Manu Bay and Indis. It felt like we had earned it.
Next stop: St Clair, Dunedin.
See you at the beach ... Derek
PS Want to read more from the 2022 Billabong Grom Comp at Whanga? Check out our 40 Frames Feature here.
Box of Light is made possible thanks to these visionaries: