The flat sea conditions experienced today would have been ideal for the survey team working on the Opunake artificial surf reef. The data gleaned from this survey is going to be used to fine tune the existing reef structure to produce a consistent right-hander wave off the Opunake main beach.
Within moments of acquiring it, we were speeding down the coast to find a wave to ride it on. Now the conditions weren't flash but we did eventually find somewhere. Plenty of locals were out already and showed great form on the tricky left-hander rolling down the point.
Despite this surf being Swanny's first one with the board he got off to a great start. I looked up and saw him screaming down a nice wave, obviously he was having no trouble adjusting to the feel of a shortboard!
Set waves were knee to waist high and a tad straight for the break resulting in random close-outs. It didn't matter though, it was just good to get wet!
---
| SURF DATA - Thu August 20, 2009 | |
| Location | Coastal Taranaki |
| Time in/out | 11:00/13:30 |
| Surfboard | 6'0" shortboard |
| Swell direction | WSW |
| Swell height | 2.1m |
| Period | 13 seconds |
| Wind | 0-3 knots SE |
| Water temperature | 14°C |
| Air temperature | 17°C |
| Weather | Sunny |
| Tides | Low 03:13 0.26m High 09:23 3.52m Low 15:34 0.17m High 21:46 3.79m |
The blue/white 7'6" shortboard belongs to Des and the green/white 7'0" shortboard is Gerald's, each sporting a thruster setup with FCS M-5 fins.
---
The wind was blowing from the north east this morning so South Taranaki was on the cards for a surf. Dave arrived from town and packed his "Moggy" into the back of my wagon, then we headed off down the coast. The first spot we looked at wasn't that flash and the wind was a gusting cross-shore, so we promptly left to continue the search.
We stumbled across Arnie down the next road we checked. After a quick discussion about other possible breaks in the area it was decided to jump in where we were. Arnie led the way and got stuck into the surf before we knew it; the major hold up for Dave and myself was the bitterly cold wind making it less than than desirable to change into our wet wetsuits.
We finally got in the water and paddled out to the main break where Arnie was but the wind decided to blow a bit harder creating large troughs through the face of the waves.
Dave didn't take long to get the moggy going on the bumpy lefts heading straight into a gusty headwind. I took the rights as they were slightly less bumpy on take off and actually had a nice clean wall a bit further down the line. The occasional set produced a few fun sized waves but nothing particularly large.
By the time we caught our last wave it was mid afternoon so we drove into Opunake for a well earned coffee from the Dreamtime Surf Shop.
Back beach has collected a fair amount of swell lately, but this is what happens when the wind shifts to a strong Northeaster. These surfers did managed to grab a few rides but the quickly sectioning waves refused to give up anything decent, bummer eh!
"This is a picture I took back in May 2005. It shows a surfer clambering over the rocks at Belt Road, in New Plymouth, with his brand new custom made shortboard… which has been snapped into two pieces by the gnarly 4m waves he was trying to ride! The expression on the groms face in the photo says it all.Gerald's new shortboard is green and will be ready by the end of the week, photos to come.
When I spoke to the surfer minutes later, he demonstrated how disgusted he was at folding his board by impaling the front half's nose through the rear section's deck and destroying any chance of it being repaired."
I picked up my new shortboard from the FHS/Del Surfboards factory this morning. Robert Walsh crafted this board for me and incorporated features like an extra layer of cloth at the foot pad to reduce pressure dings from my back foot whilst riding, and a safety nose (the point is flattened off to prevent injuries out in the surf).
I received an email from Allen Pidwell yesterday with some photographs attached. Here is a snippet of what he wrote:"Called in at [mystery spot] this morning on a return journey. Although the tide was getting a bit low the conditions were fabulous and the long period swells gave a great break. You can see from the line-up shots that on a high tide the place peels off forever."
In a further email Allen explained:"I discovered this place in 1966 and it still remains little known and uncrowded although its fame is growing as a Raglan in reverse. But it does need a long period swell to get in."
It just goes to show you that there are still a few uncrowded gems out there.
---
The surf forecasts looked brilliant this week with endless SW long-period swells pulsing their way up the Taranaki coast but the reality was something different. Clean 2-3ft sets made occasional appearances along the coast hitting some breaks and totally missing others. After spending a bit of time searching I luckily found a wee wave and got it to myself for a while but word soon got out. It was a fun longboard wave that had an exciting section over some inside banks that were sure to thrill. It was only after the tide had filled in too much that I finally got out, absolutely glowing with the stoke of a good session.
---
This photograph was supplied by motley crew member Allen Pidwell and shows some of the Weld Road motley crew. Starting from the left is Dave, Des, Porky, Andrea, and Gerald.
This photograph should serve as a reminder why booties are a good idea when surfing over reef. My other foot got shredded on the heel too. It was only a couple of months ago I was nursing both feet from when I got kina (sea urchin) spines embedded in the flesh.
---
Somewhere along the line the moggy became transformed from the thruster configuration that its shaper gave it to a hybrid quad fin setup. And lets not forget the tail modification that added an additional two inches to the overall length. As a quad it rode quite well but something didn't feel quite right so after a bit of thought another tiny fin was fitted to make a 4.5 fin set-up.
Now this board is no looker but it goes. I had the opportunity to ride it and got the surprise of my life... it was easy to paddle, set itself on a wave seamlessly, turned without effort, and when ridden on any steep sections, it accelerated like no other board I've been on. So if you find yourself surfing with Dave and the moggy ask for a go and see what all the fuss is about.
Opunake was bustling with kneeboarders all last week because of the ISA Kneeboard Surfing World Titles 2009 which were administered by the Opunake Board Riders, Surfing New Zealand, and Kneeboard Surfing New Zealand. The waves poured in almost exactly on queue for the duration of the event.
---
The afternoon trip up from Raglan took me through to Port Waikato. I knew that when the swell was right some awesome waves pop up over the sand banks in front of the village, and this afternoon was no exception. The tide was positioning itself to start producing decent waves on the outer banks when I paddled out on my 6'0" shortboard. Only two other surfers were out there and the waves didn't disappoint. The steep drops were complemented with some of the fastest/squarest walls I'd surfed in a while particularly near the beach break. Only the fading light drove me in otherwise I would have happily spent many more hours out there.
---
My wife and I headed up to Auckland today so I packed a surfboard and a camera for the trip. Our first stop was at Manu Bay in Raglan but we were greeted with a surfing competition and no swell wrapping around the point. The surfers competing put on a great show considering nothing more than 1-2ft waves were on offer.
