“WORST run of waves ever” seems to be the consensus among surfers about this un-Gisborne-like spring.
That may be a tad dramatic and surfers will always agree the grass is greener, wherever it is, even if it is definitely brown.
But we can all admit this spring is not why we choose to live in the land of waves and honey.
Sure, the last few days offered some (very) light relief but this weekend will make it five weeks since the last swell of some sort of significance, well, clean swell at least.
In that time we have had small bumps and the odd maxing-out swell from the strangest of angles to give us something to play with.
Those sessions all seem to have coincided with funny winds or jumbled swells, with too short a period to produce the real goods.
A lack of waves can do strange things to a surfer.
At the lower end of the scale it can make us a tad agitated, kind of like when you skip your morning coffee or somebody cuts you off when you are driving.
At the upper end, anything is possible but it will almost always involve a hefty amount of travel, alcohol and some pretty drastic life decisions.
Looking at the week-long forecast, aside from a small spike from the south early next week, I am sad to say it looks like a drought is going to need to be declared and we might need to dip into those emergency funds for a bit of relief . . . somewhere.
Let there be wavesFor sanity’s sake, please let there be waves, and soon.
Luckily there are no local competitions on this weekend.
The Tauawhi No Violence Longboard Classic was postponed to Saturday, December 2 due to last weekend’s poor conditions.
It is open to all ages and costs $40 for open and older surfers and $20 for those under 16. The speedos/bikini event is free.
The major spot prize is a longboard while other spot prizes will be awarded for best Hawaiian shirt and wildest hat.
Register at Tauawhi Men’s Centre, 71 Peel Street until December 1. Registrations can also be made on the day.
Gisborne/Mahia surfer Ricardo Christie’s dream of requalifying for the 2018 World Surf League Championship Tour (CT) took a hit after a tough Round 3 loss at the Hawaiian Pro last week.
Conditions were far from ideal — solid overhead but messy waves — but Christie needed to get the job done at the 10,000-point-rated event to give him a good shot of cracking the Qualifying Series (QS) top 10 and guaranteeing a spot on the 2018 CT.
Gold Coast-based Christie slipped from 19th to 25th in the rankings as a result.
His final hopes of 2018 CT requalification rest on the QS 10,000-rated Vans World Cup at Sunset Beach, beginning tomorrow.
A third place or better finish will most likely be enough to get him over the line although it will be a tough ask, with many CT surfers competing as part of the Triple Crown, which culminates with the Pipeline Masters in December.
At this stage, the swell forecast looks promising. Overhead waves are predicted for the opening day and there is the potential for a solid swell later in the waiting period.
If everything comes together and Sunset gets double-to-triple overhead waves and big, open walls, there is no better place for it all to come down to for Christie.
Growing up in Mahia, he honed his game on similar powerful right-handers.
In small waves he can be indistinguishable at the top level but in waves where he can unleash his power surfing and rail game, he is right up there with the best in the world.
Kia kaha e hoa. We’ll all be backing you.
See you others out the back.