Box of Light is made possible thanks to these visionaries:
We've made the incredibly long journey to the 2023 Nationals being held at Piha only to have Keo and Rewa knocked out of their Under 16 and Under 18 heats after just 15 minutes in the water. That's contest life. It's cruel sometimes. They both still have their Under 14 and Under 16 divisions to come as well, so hopefully not more bad news tomorrow.
The upside is that we've had some super fun waves around the contest site and Piha, well, it's such a beautiful place. Spending time here is always a special thing.
We're staying at the Piha Campground in the Salty Slug and we've been told that Cyclone Hale is due to arrive overnight. Given our proximity to the river we'll get a knock on the door if the river floods and then we will have to exit in a hurry. That same cyclone should be bringing swell to the Coromandel Coast so our goal is to get through tomorrow's heats and then make a beeline for Coro. Wednesday could be all time ... or the cyclone could be too close to the coast to deliver something worthwhile. But if we don't go we'll never know.
So, the next 24 hours will be exciting for us, one way or another.
See you at the beach ... Derek
PS We released our annual (kind of) Top 10 Best Surfers in New Zealand this past week. You can read the full story here.
Box of Light is made possible thanks to these visionaries: