Box of Light is made possible thanks to these visionaries:
Last week was a reminder of just how much energy groms have. I started out on the east coast at Papamoa where I'd been filming a wee story on T Patterson shaper Simon Jones (coming soon). I wanted to film some of his team while there, but the east coast was looking more like a lake.
Simon had the idea to get up early on the Monday and shoot across to a West Coast beachie. It was a school day but the shot at a surf trip was an easy call to make. And so we left three hours before sunrise with some outstanding young groms with us: Sol Fritchley, Sage Fritchley, Ffeon Clifford, Haru Marsden and Zade Pitkeathly. They're all high-ranked contest surfers and great humans to spend a day with.
To give you some idea they were babbling all the way across the North Island – excited and planning the airs they were going to lay down. Ffeon was set on a Kerrupt Flip and a Superman. I thought he was joking. He wasn't.
The beachie we arrived at was fully pumping and the winds played the game right into the afternoon. Aside from a few food and drink breaks, the groms barely left the lineup. They surfed until they could no longer paddle into waves. It was impressive. I expected them to sleep the three-hour trip back home, but, no, they never missed a beat.
Back home, I was looking forward to a rest, but a promised swell had me chasing waves with Keo and his mates again. They surfed three iconic Otago spots in one day. Their energy was endless, mine was fading. Oh, to be a grom again. Getting old sucks.
See you at the beach ... Derek
PS Legendary fisherman and Kiwi icon Matt Watson posted a desperate reel to his Instagram recently imploring his followers to submit against Shane Jones's proposed changes to the Fisheries Act. Shane Jones, Minister for Oceans and Fisheries, has the blinkers firmly on and is galloping toward a future that will see wealthy quota owners having unfettered, unregulated access to our fisheries. He's essentially on a mission to privatise this public resource and remove key checks and balances. The proposed changes threaten to reduce our access to fish for food and will cause environmental damage that may be irreversible. LegaSea has made submissions really easy for everyone – it took us 5 minutes. Here's the link. The deadline for submissions is 5pm Friday, 11 April 2025 (that's this Friday – do it now).
Box of Light is made possible thanks to these visionaries: