December 17th 2024: Grom lab

Well, the groms have grown up. For years now a small cohort of grommets have learnt the art of surfing and explored our coastline – mostly under the tutelage of their mums and dads, but also the wider surf community. Like a slow-boiling frog it seems like all of a sudden they're all adults. They're taller than their mums and dads and throw down turns in the lineup that would make most surfers envious.

I shouldn't be surprised. As much as Dunedin's surf is tricky to learn in, once you get past that initial hump (that takes anywhere from 3-10 years for most of us) the quality waves enable a pretty swift learning curve. It's the perfect environment to go from good to great if you want to really give surfing a nudge.

Being a cohort makes a big difference, too. They surf together, push each other and chase the best waves they can imagine. Among them is Alexis Owen who is world number four in his age group and many of them have been inside the top five in New Zealand at one stage or another. That's a recipe for excellence across the board. A bit like the Coolie kids, Dingo Morrison, Joel Parkinson and Mick Fanning who all went on to be World Champions or near enough to it on the Gold Coast all those years ago. No pressure there ...

But, it bodes well for surfing in Dunedin – especially when nipping at their heels is a fresh group coming through with a similar fervour for surfing amazing waves.

Surfing in Dunedin is in a good place right now. Watch this space.

See you at the beach ... Derek

PS We ship all our books and prints with New Zealand Post Couriers, which means you have until December 20 to get your order in if you want them to arrive in time for the big white-bearded fella's arrival. We still have stock of our surf books and a handful of our high-country station ones, plus the great big pie book that is going nuts ... order direct from Box of Light and I'll even sign them for you.