Box of Light is made possible thanks to these visionaries:
Before every big storm we seem to get a window of great waves. This past weekend saw clean glassy waves on Saturday at Blackhead then an arvo window of offshores on Sunday that aligned with a little pre-storm pulse in swell. The banks were average, but the occasional peak offered up some great barrels. It was one of those sessions that looks great from the beach, but actually, even though it is just 2-3 foot, is surprisingly punchy.
I saw a stream of injured surfers leaving the water when I hopped in for my swim. At least one had to go to the hospital – thankfully I have since heard that he is okay. The banks, being so straight, committed a lot of suitors to a nasty end-section tomb. It was super shallow in places, the waves drawing up glassy as the water drained off the sand at times.
Nixon Reardon was leading the charge early on and got so many barrels – so much travel time. He was joined by Ruben Peyroux, Jack McLeod, Connor Tomoana, Kahu Kaan, Jeff Patton, Ollie Charlesworth and a bunch of others. Even Davy Wooffindin, equipped with a brand new hip, was throwing himself over the ledge on a few nuggety ones.
Ollie ended up paying a hefty price after connecting with his board on one hard-clamping wave. He cut his cheek open and had to end his session early. Aside from the carnage, it was a pretty fun session with some pretty cool waves ridden. Good times for those who managed to spot the window.
See you at the beach ... Derek
PS Next up: a giant south swell will be filling in throughout today and will get to six metres at 16 seconds at St Clair (that's big and powerful). If you're thinking of chasing the big wave spots then forget it – the winds are going to crank to 55kmh plus from the southwest. Papas is forecast to see 7.5m at 15 seconds with an energy forecast of 22,931 kJ, for context anything over 10,000 kJ is scary. Wednesday might be a better option as the winds ease. More info here.
Box of Light is made possible thanks to these visionaries: