Box of Light is made possible thanks to these visionaries:
The forecast was dire, made worse by the arrival of surfing royalty into Dunedin. We're talking about New Zealand's most successful international surfer Paige Hareb, Olympian Billy Stairmand, joined by the prodigiously talented Paul Moretti, and rising stars Caleb Cutmore and Taylor Hutchison with team manager Darren Celliers, who also just happens to rip.
So a forecast that looked like constant onshores buffeting around a minuscule southwest wind swell that was barely more than a wake was driving me mad. We'd done this trip twice before and scored amazing waves. This time it was the worst surf of the entire 2023. Normally I'd take them straight from the airport to an incredible marathon session ... to blood them for the week ahead.
This time we went straight to Emerson's Brewery instead. A session of homage to the beer gods would surely change our fate. We dined like kings as we sipped our way through some of Richard Emerson's finest brews. The forecast remained unchanged.
I realised many new things during the next few days. Firstly, surfers of this calibre can make any wave look amazing ... and they did. Secondly, I realised that the best surfers in New Zealand are amazing humans. Despite the waves being soft and small and the temperature hovering around the "feels like 4°C" we had a lot of fun and laughter. The stream of campfire banter was constant and goodwilled, making the in-between tides just as entertaining as the surf sessions themselves. It was heartwarming to see that even at the very top level, a love of surfing and adventure pervades.
When recounting the highlights of the trip Billy was quick to admit that his favourite moment was an impromptu surf event with Dunedin's groms at St Clair. About 30 surfers joined the team in the water for an hour of expression session, followed by pizza with the pros (thanks to SCBRA for opening the clubrooms for us), and a bunch of spot prizes handed out as the crowd put a few questions to the Backdoor Team.
Billy said he was grateful for all the support he had received over the years and loved to make the most of any chance he had to give back. Along with wisdom from Paige, Paul, Taylor and Caleb, a bunch of groms went home more stoked about surfing than ever – each with a direct insight into what drives our very best surfers.
That's something that feels great to be a part of.
See you at the beach ... Derek
PS Thanks to all the groms who made it to St Clair on Thursday night to surf the channel with the Backdoor team, despite the stiff southwester. It was a pretty cool opportunity to meet and surf with Paige Hareb, Billy Stairmand, Caleb Cutmore, Taylor Hutchison, Paul Moretti and Geoff Hutchison. There were such good vibes in the water and the Backdoor guys were impressed with the level of surfing and great attitudes. To say thanks, they've arranged for you to get access to all the photos from the grom session for free! Awesome. Here's your link. Just select any of the images you like and hit the shopping cart icon and you'll see a Free Download button. Too easy.
Box of Light is made possible thanks to these visionaries: