I am gutted I never had the chance to interview Byrne. He died at just 64 after a motorcycle accident in Bali in 2013.
His passion for surfing was incredible and his motives as honest as the boards under his feet.
“Surfing grabs you and possesses you and says you ain’t leaving,” he said during one his last interviews.
The Byrning Spears founder and shaper grew up surfing in the 1950s here, and blissfully recounted trips to Mt Maunganui’s Matakana Island in the ’60s with the likes of Kevin Jarrett (who appeared in Surfer Magazine holding a bag of apples in one hand while stalling for the barrel with the other, as photographed by Logan Murray).
“It was this wave no one knew existed,” Byrne said.
He was a pioneer in skurfing (a towsport similar to water skiing) and board designs, and the documentary has incredible footage of him poised almost horizontally over a lake while getting towed at high speed on a minute board — not dissimilar to the modern-day wake board or tow-in board he is said to have inspired.
“To this day those parameters were set in concrete.”
Byrne had his frustrations with surfing’s mainstream.
“This drive towards competitions and portrayal to the masses that it is about being at the top of the field and having the right clothes. That is part of the disease of what has happened to society.”
If there is less soul in surfing nowadays, then we all have a responsibility to revive it.
Although I am not a sucker when it comes to the surf industry, I enjoy watching the top surfers compete and can appreciate their skill without feeling jaded by all the advertising.
I am sure Byrne would have appreciated watching Ricardo Christie surf against the likes of Kelly Slater (for whom he shaped boards) on the Championship Tour last year, and would back him to requalify through the 2016 Qualifying Series.
After a good stint here over the new year, Christie is in Hawaii to compete at Pipeline in the Volcom Pipe Pro — his first QS event of the series and No.5 on the tour.
The event started today but was put on hold. He has been seeded into Round 3 and will surf against Spaniard Aritz Aranburu and two others who progressed through the earlier rounds.
Back at home, some of the younger crew — Ben McCulloch, Kobe Johnson, Riaki Ruru and co — are heading to Mt Maunganui this weekend for the first Grom Series event organised by Surfing New Zealand.
A surf lesson for children with disabilities is planned for Sunday at 10am at northern Makorori. A koha would be appreciated. Call Simon on 027 240 2059 if you are keen.
Volunteers are also needed, so if you can spare a few hours to help out, get in touch with him.
For more information go to www.surflessonsgisborne.co.nz/disability-surfing
Conditions are not looking too promising for either of these events.
On Saturday morning it is forecast to be under a metre here with offshore north-westerly winds, but a southerly could kick in later on and last through to Monday.
I am not complaining though. We have had a pretty solid run of waves courtesy of Cyclone Victor.
Next week it looks like north-easterly winds (light early) will return, bringing warmer weather, combined with a new southerly swell just over the metre mark that could arrive on Wednesday.
