WHILE most people will welcome the early arrival of summer this week, surfers are not so impressed by the accompanying tiny waves.
Small waves are forecast for the next few days. They will be clean, though, so a few sessions on the fish or longboard could be on offer.
The summer conditions will also provide a warm welcome to our two surfers returning home from competing in the 2017 International Surfing Association (ISA) World StandUp Paddle (SUP) and Paddleboard Championships in Denmark last week.
Despite the poor waves on offer, 15-year-old Stella Smith did the region proud, placing seventh in the SUP surf division.
Tairawhiti waterman Sean Hovell, who really excels in the big stuff, did all he could in the small, mushy waves but came in third in his Round 1 heat.
Stella’s Burleigh Heads-based elder sister Jasmine came close to winning the women’s prone paddleboard race but just lost out to 11-time gold medallist Jordan Mercer of Australia.
“I came here to win, obviously, but I’ll take the second place,” Smith said after her race.
The New Zealand team finished third overall.
Our next international surfer to look out for is Saffi Vette, who will soon be off to Japan with the New Zealand team to compete in the ISA World Junior Surfing Championships.
Vette will be competing in the under-16 girls’ division of the contest, which starts on September 23 and finishes on October 1, at Okuragahama Beach, near Hyuga City, on the island of Kyushu.
Our other international surfer, Ricardo Christie, is in Europe waiting for the World Qualifying Series (QS) 10,000-point-rated EDP Billabong Pro Cascais 2017 in Portugal, beginning on September 26.
Christie is sitting in 15th place on the QS. He will need to finish the year in the top 10 to qualify for the elite 2018 Championship Tour.
On the local scene, the Gisborne Boardriders Club shortboard series is about to resume after a winter hiatus, with the New Wave competition No.7 on September 23.
New Wave Surfboards has sponsored the event and donated prizes.
The waiting period also continues for the Mike Lewin Shapes Surf Competition, on hold indefinitely for a weekend with the best waves possible.
However, with micro waves forecast again this weekend it is highly unlikely that event will get the green light.
Looking further out, GBC’s GromLab 2017 runs from October 2 to 5.
The four-day surfing development camp offers young surfers an adventurous and fun-filled experience.
It is held in the first week of the October school holidays in the lead-up to the Surfing New Zealand primary championships on October 7 and 8, and the Surfing New Zealand secondary national championships from October 9 to 13. Both will be held in Gisborne.
See you out the back.