Boat Lyfe

.... or Sea Campers as my bro Kent and I prefer to call them. It's a laugh of course, but it's funny 'cos it is true. A lot of electrical and plumbing systems in caravans and campers are the same innovations used in boats. 

I've always been in love with the idea of accessing surf breaks from the sea. I'm lucky, my grandfather Jack Walters got Ces Watson to build him a 45 foot Kauri hulled, bridge decker launch in the early 60's. It's a cool story; Ces built the boat in Jack's engineering factory. Jack, being an ex marine engineer, did all the motors and engineering fit out himself. 

Boat Lyfe hard out

Will Bailey catching dinner 

Horrible place to be

Terrible 

The Almitra has stayed in the family, it was my father Lance's pride and joy. And now my brothers Rhys and Kent continue the legacy of curating Big Al [Almitra's nick name]. I know that Lance [and Jack] would be proud of how the lads are maintaining and upgrading Big Al.  They honour the family legacy with their thoughtfulness and care. And it is a very special thing that now, Rhys's three boys are growing up as Kent and Rhys did; Sea Camping around the Hauraki Gulf and beyond. 

Kent's sea gull impersonation

Ange emerging from the depths

Kent the dugong

This week was my first outing on Big Al since Lance passed just over three years ago. Time goes fast.  As ever, Big Al looked after us well. We surfed, fished, swam. Mungies off the fly bridge roof, too much BBQ, too much fun and laughs. 

From The Book Store

The Big Little Beach Book is dedicated to Lance. He made many of the images in it possible while he was sick. He and the Almitra have a few cameo appearances. You can check out more of the book HERE



Surf Guiding

Surf Guide -slash- directory books sit in a strange place in our culture. We all love to hate them. We hate that our personal favourite spots [even though they may be well known] are 'exposed'.  But sure enough, when it comes time for a roady, the surf guide is laboured over and consumed with delight of what lies ahead.  Surfing is filled with contradictions. 

Back in the day my boss David Hall wanted the NZ Surf mag staff to do a NZ Surf Guide. It was totally understandable from David's viewpoint. The Mag had an awesome archive of images, we were going to surf spots all around the country shooting. In fact, a reason he employed the staff he did was because we had a better than average idea of where to go. And we had the magazine to market the book. 

We all refused point blank. We explained that we needed to keep going back to these spots make magazines.  That having positive interactions with the surfers that had chosen these places to be their home was vital. Producing such a book would alienate us from the core. We just didn't want to be 'THAT GUY'. 

And then Pete Morse and Paul Brunskil did it. Decades of surfing knowledge and then years of compiling and research.  They produced the little brick of book The New Zealand Surfing Guide  . They did an excellent job, way better than we would have done at the Surf mag. 

David Hall was not happy. As far as he was concerned, we'd missed a golden opportunity to make good money and consolidate the business. Of course he was right. But the fact remained, that as staff members and photographers of the country's top surf mag we were very visible. There was no doubt it would have made our jobs, ongoing, very difficult. I talked to Pete Morse about it at the time, he confirmed he'd had to field some horrid conversations. Threats of violence and worse.  

The NZ Surf Guide has gone on to be NZ's top selling surfing book by a country mile. Paul Brunskil is cagey about the numbers, but we're talking tens and tens of thousands of copies over the years. 

Paul and I started work on the comprehensive South Pacific Surf Guide. And this is a book that you will never read. I wrote and collated the whole damn thing, spent months on it.... and then dropped nuts... again. While doing the research and talking to a lot of the surfers up in the Islands, I realised I was trying to cash in on a resource because I needed income in the short term. 

This week I got paid for my contribution to The World Stormrider Surf Guide. It's a gnarly book, weighing in at 2.5 kgs and 450 pages. I doubt I'll get hate for the images they used, for the spots they 'exposed'. They are hardly off the beaten track. But you never know, us surfers, we are a contridictory band of misfits. 

From The Bookstore  

The South Seas Revised Edition, no maps drawn here! The South Seas is all about celebrating the great surf we have in NZ via some of the incredible Kiwi photographers and their work. While the South Seas first edition, reprint and revised editions are in no way nipping at the heels of the NZ Surf Guide sales wise, it is kind of nice to be the distant second most popular NZ surf book. Check it out HERE

The Nats Back In The Naki [finally]

The Naki Nats 

Clip c/o Surfing NZ and Damon Mead.... Meady slaying the content output yet again

I've officially got full blown FOMO. For the first time in a VERY long time the Nationals are being hosted by Oakura Boardriders. This is an awesome thing, hopefully a healing of the long standing rift between the Taranaki Boardriders' Clubs [Not just Oakura] and the National body. It has been a coup in many ways, prior to the week of competition Stent Road was firmly off the menu; Locals had agreed to let the competition be held at any other break except Stent, which in my opinion was fair enough. Then, in a massive concession Stent was opened.

This week's Nationals have scored some of the best waves a competition has had in years. NZ's top surfers are being showcased in world class waves, and they look good. To add extra spice to the event Ric Christie was granted a concession from the WSL to be able to defend his 2017 Open Title. It's a coup too for Surfing NZ's new General Manager Ben Kennings, his first Nationals at the helm is looking tight. [From the outside anyway.] 

Check out Surfing NZ's Facebook page for more videos HERE

Want to Own

New Zealand has a rich surfing history, which is slowly being recorded and preserved by books like this. Ian is one of the Mainland's pioneering surfers, so this book should be the real deal. I've got mine on order now, but I couldn't wait to review it to share it with you. 

Here's the official blurb; A definitive history charting the early development of surfing and surfing culture in the South Island written by someone who was there, Kaikoura surfer and writer, Ian Surgenor. This book has been thoroughly researched with each region, including Kaikoura , having its own chapter and is packed with detail and good yarns. It contains over 250 photographs including many that have never been seen before from the private collections of early Mainland surfers. A must for any surfing enthusiast.

You can get yours HERE

From The Bookstore

The South Seas Revised Edition does start with an extensive overview of our history too. There are first hand accounts from Kiwi surfing pioneers like Denis Quane and Mike Court. Check it out HERE

The CPL Top 20 of 2018...or so

2018 was a good year in CPL land, I hope it was for you too. For the last few years the CPL E-Bomb has started the New Year with a look back at the visual highlights and lateral likes of the year that was. It's kind of a way of cleaning house and setting up the next year. Compartmentalising. In somewhat chronological order, let's get into it. 

Matt Newdick slicing past at the Logger Heads Late January 2018

Who cares that Matt's hand is cut out, how gnarly crisp is the shot and that style. This is was taken in the water at the Annual Logger Heads Comp, which means Matt was super close. The Logger Heads 5 is on again this January, come check out NZ's leading proponents of traditional log riding. Here's the details. 

Ok, this image was actually taken the year before, BUT, in February Canon New Zealand used this image as their website homepage and did an 'In Focus' interview with me. I didn't get any new Canons to play with though, but it was a stoke to be selected/regarded as one of their pro's.

Hashtag ishootfilm...still. As part of a group exhibition at Lopdell House I went bush and made a series of Panoramics using the 6x17 Fotoman Camera. The exhibition was an action to highlight Watercare's plans to decimate 10 hectares of mature natives at Waima, Titirangi, including multiple stands of Kauri. Sadly a lot of these Kauri now have Die Back. 

We had an awesome summer season of waves out west in 2018. Everyone surfed A LOT.  March was a bloody good month, and the most favourite little corner of the coast turned on. Napes was there most days... hehehe...so was I! 

I got an e-bike, a fat bike. for getting along beaches. Thanks to the absolute legend Neil Bridgens for building such a fun machine. As stated in the intro, there's gonna be some laterals and this is one of my favourite images hands down, it represents fun and mini adventures. 

In late March the gorgeous Ange and I went on a tiki tour around the Eastcape. We got absolutely shunked for quality surf. Apart from me having a tanty half way through about being on the wrong side for surf [Taranaki was pumping the whole 10 days] We had an epic adventure in the Cambulance. 

We shot lots of film, had some mean beach bike rides and nearly got stuck on dodgey roads a few times [the Cambulance pulled through everytime of course and we probably shouldn't have been trying to do what we were doing.] Tologa Bay Dawn, shot on the 617 camera and then drum scanned fricken HUGE. 

Post epic non surfing adventure, and locked into roady mode, it was time for Far North east swell chasing. This five day mission was one of the best I've ever done...ever. The swell exceeded expectations, but also behaved exactly as the swell models predicted. The goal was to shoot and surf as much as physically possible. It was all about energy and injury management. I returned a happily broken man with a full quota of waves and images.

Arty and so on trend right now, fricken LOVE It!!! 

Sundowners everyday

May days are always good out west, it's kind of like the last of the summer wine. My neighbour Mike Mulcahy going hard on the end section of the Bar, which actually showed some pretty good form in 2018 at different times... I mean the Bar, not Mike; he's always in rare form. 

Winter is coming on and things are starting to slow down. That's a photo geek dad joke. This is Elliot Paerata Reid at North Piha using a slow shutter and panning the camera. 

Years in the making! At this stage, and I hope it's not true, the last and therefore current issue of Damaged Goods Magazine's main feature was a piece I did for them on the '90's. The whole issue was bookended with a '90's theme. 

It was super fun to do the feature, and really nice to see images like this one of Joel Tudor I shot at Pipe in 1999 used again.  

And den.... The gorgeous Ange and I did a quick trip over the ditch to try out a pop top Troopy. We kept it simple and did 5 days somewhere neither of us had been, Hervey Bay. It was pretty random, there are no waves there. 

The Troopy trial actually put us off changing campers. We were seriously thinking about buying and importing one of these from the rental company. But as well as them being terrible to deal with, the way the interior was designed and constructed was pretty poor; super hard to access the storage and just generally badly fitted out. It was still fun checking out a different part of Oz and ruling out this company as a potential camper source.

The low of 2018 was tearing my left hamstring. A word to the wise, don't do this, it hurts quite a bit. Thanks again to Greg Faunce and Steve Hill for chairing me up the beach to the carpark, you guys are legends. 

Hamstrung, there was nothing I could do except shoot photos right? 

Taylor Hutchison scored the wave of the day. Wanna see more shots from this winter session? Check it out HERE. It was rad. 

South Sumatra

I like rain

We got great waves... 

Like... real good! 

What makes a good surf trip epic is the crew you go with and these GC's sure as hell made this trip one for the books [or blog, or whatever is current] This trip was my first back to Indo in 10 years. I was burnt out on Indo, but more than that I just wanted to do different stuff, The States, Mexico, the Pacific ...and exploring our own coasts [having camper vans]. Even though the hamstring restricted my primary goal- a surfing holiday where I go surfing, this tour reignited the love of Indo culture and waves. 

And then Cale Tolley  and I unveiled our plan for global T domination...NOT... but we did roll out Trophy Tees  they are stocked by Northbeach Nationwide and Backdoor in the Mount. Check them out, they have gone really well, we're both stoked. 

The Bar got good again. It goes away, it comes back. This is one of the best waves I've seen on the Bar is a fair while, it was perfect. I frothed out on it and loaded to the website. It's HERE. 

In November I got asked to supply an image for The Auckland Primary Champs. I decided to have some fun with it and make up a bunch of mythical Auckland surf breaks. It was easier than originally thought to be honest, but the highlight wasn't the photoshopping...ok that was pretty fun... but making up the captions for the surf breaks was hilarious. They created a huge amount of chat and, I hope a bit of a laugh. They are all in this blog

December;  potentially life changing... nah, not really. We bought a new camper....

After the Troopy Trial earlier in the year, we figured out the pro's and con's of pop tops... pros; lower roof line, more stealthier, and with the right one, weight/load bearing. The con's ... cold, not good in bad weather, bloody expensive to get the good ones.  I found the hard top, ex Britz Camper, Storm Trooper in Otago, Ange wants to call it the Super Trooper, either way, first trip in and we're loving it. It is a downgrade in size from the Cambulance, and this is really proving to be a challenge. Stay posted for 2019, there's gonna be some adventures in this camper! 

Thanks for reading the E-Bomb/web log and other social media put out under the PhotoCPL banner. You guys rule. 

From The Bookstore  

The reprint of the Big Little Beach Book has gone really well- pheeeww. What, you know nothing of this little winner of the book? Check it out HERE

The New Kid On The Block

Because I've been working in surf media for 25 years I get involved in conversations about the state of surf media all the time. I like these chats. It's fascinating, whether it be talking to a mate in a beach car park, catching up with a fellow surf writer/photog or bouncing off ideas with old colleges in the surf industry. Everyone has wide and varying opinions- that is the only surety. 

Just so you're under no illusion of my stance; as a sweeping generalisation the majority surf journalism you find online is pretty shit. For the most part it's thinly veiled Public Relations copy for a brand, that generally if you scrape a bit further, you'll find it’s FROM the brand. There's nothing wrong with that, you can garner information and entertainment from it, but it’s not balanced. The best example of this would be the WSL website. Yes, you will be informed, but the source is highly biased to positively promoting it's own brand, its events and its supporting companies. 

Then you have sites like The Inertia , Stab Mag and Beach Grit , while somewhat independent, tend to thrive on the sensational and opinion pieces. Again, mostly there's nothing wrong with that, but you have to make the distinction between what is an opinion and actually a well researched robust piece of news. 

Nationally we have had nothing for a very long time. 

Surf2Surf used to have news and blogs on it, but for a long time now Paul Brunskil, its owner and director has focussed the site on it's knitting- surf cams and surf reports. The 'News' on Surf2Surf is largely re-sourced press releases. And that's ok, Paul's running to the business model that works for him. Then you had Surf.co.nz and GoSurf.co.nz, both now defunct sites that largely followed the Surf2Surf template.

In full disclosure, I was the editor of GoSurf until its demise. What we were trying to do with GoSurf was create a platform and portal that had surf reports, forecasts, surf cams, international news and locally created content, including our own created reportage and content. It failed. It failed because it was under capitalised and trying to do all that was too ambitious; plus a whole lot of other behind the scenes crap. It did not fail reaching NZ Surfers, at it's height I believe we reached 300,000 unique visitors per day and it was growing.  

Now there is a new kid on the block, and I am cautiously excited. NZ Surf Journal is founded by former NZ Surfing Magazine editor Derek Morrison. The Otago based photo journalist has lofty credentials, as well as the aforementioned, he's also been the staff photog and Deputy Editor of Australia Dirt Bike mag, contributed to many surf books, written and published books. Maintains and writes his own popular website Box Of Light, from which he sends out a weekly mailer [like this very one you're reading] to over 7,000 subscribers. Last month Derek won NZ Geographic's highly prestigious Photographer Of The Year as well as Wildlife Photo Of The Year. 

Derek has asked me to contribute to NZ Surf Journal. I have started with submitting content some of you have already read. There are also independent book reviews of The South Seas and NZ Surf; The Collection Vol 1.

So check it out, already there is a massive amount of news, views and information, written from a local perspective. My hope, and I think Derek's vision,  is that we will finally have a Kiwi Surfing website with local news that will be the community connector. Our perspective on the surfing world and our stories. Here's to the future. 

 CHECK OUT NZ SURF JOURNAL HERE
 
 

From The Bookstore

Want to stoke out on Kiwi Waves, or need that Chrissy gift for the surfer in your family? Well you need the South Seas Revised Edition in your life. Check it out Here 

The Storm Trooper

#Camplyfe #Troopy #Vanlife 

The gorgeous Ange and I love our Chevy Silverado 4x4 Cambulance. We've owned it now for three years, before the Chevy beast there was the Toyota HiAce 4x4 Camper which was really good too. The Hiace was a test of the waters, to see if the idea of being on the road and camping was really something that we'd enjoy. Truth be told we don't enjoy it... we fricken LOVE IT! 

I've especially loved the Chevy. I've loved getting in there and making modifications, as my Dad Lance would've said, a constant state of improvement. We've done a ton of work and learnt a lot along the way. Probably the thing I'm most proud of was doing the work to get the Cambulance certified self contained. But apart from tooling around on the Cambulance, it's the proof that being away camping has created epic moments. It's helped with photography. A big highlight of that would be travelling around the Mainland for a month finishing off the images for The Big Little Beach Book .
The Cambulance didn't miss a beat and created a luxurious base to work from, I honestly could have done another month no problem, I wasn't ready to stop. 

The Cambulance, at Karema, Westcoast prior to the awning and new rims being fitted.

Despite all this, and I could rattle on for ages the pros of the Cambulance, we've bought a different camper. And even with both sitting in the driveway right now the jury is out as to which is better. We're downscaling. And we are totally in two minds. 

Meet the Storm Trooper, aka a 1996 Toyota Landcruiser 75 series Troopy. Converted from new in 1996 by Britz Campers. It's going to be a challenge downscaling, but there are very valid reasons for the change and maybe not what you'd expect. The big reason is that the Cambulance is maybe too big, while it drives like a dream on the open road and around the reef at Shippies, around town is challenging. We're not quite ready yet to be motorhome owners. People are surprised when both Ange and I say it's not the petrol bill. Yes it's a 6 litre V8 Petrol, but it is a modern [2002] V8 with EFI, and it's not like it's your day car. 

The Storm Trooper has more. More electrics, better connectivity, solar panels... ultimately it could be a better off the grid wagon. But it is more compact too. And that's a big [little] motivation for the change. 

Apologies for the self indulgent email this week, but it has been a big week of changes, exciting and even a bit stressful. We've got a new toy to play with!!! 

From The Bookstore  

Want to stoke out on Kiwi Waves, well you need the South Seas Revised Edition in your life. Check it out Here 

Auckland; City Of Surf

A couple of weeks ago I was asked to donate an image for the Auckland Primary Surf Champs. Together with the organisers it was agreed the image should be fun. This got me thinking about Auckland Breaks... the lack there of... and of course the rare mythical set ups that all Auckland surfers mind-surf and dream of. So why not have a bit of fun with that. Here are the UNREAL line-ups from Auckland; City Of Surf. 

The poster that started this weird and woolly path of deception and dreams.

Devonpoint. In the post Trumpocalypic Auckland, the world has settled on it's new West/East axis and the old Poles have melted. Both Great and Little Barrier have been mined  to the sea floor for their copper and guano as part of the Soviet economic bail out.  While the Greenies gnashed their teeth over the decimation of the two islands, Auckland's surfers wrung their hands with glee. The new Barrier Trench created the swell window they had dreamed of for generations. All the inner harbour reefs that had only previously showed in the wake of the Kestral now fire up on every south swell [which is the new east] 

Mission Rights; which is actually not one of Auckland’s better waves but most popular. The long walls offer a fun wave that’s easy to catch on any section. Ironically just around the coast past St Heliers is the mythical right hand slab Achilles Point with its easy roll in, to drop out bottom death pit, to being spat out into the deep channel. Achilles Point is almost always double the size of Mission Rights, but not surfed as much. Auckland surfers stating the cafés and soy double flat latte decafes being far superior at Mission Bay. 

The man made Te Atatubes.  As explained before, the new Barrier Trench created the swell window we had all had dreamed of for generations. 
But this did create an issue in the further reaches of the Waitemata Harbour, the swell created by the Barrier Trench pushed silt back into the harbour. The answer was simple, the Auckland City Council wisely [see told you it is factitious] put in giant man made swell generators up the harbour to create water movement which flushed the harbour. Once the natural swell had disapatied the Council engaged the swell generators located at West Harbour and The Old Chelsea Sugar Works [now defunct as sugar has long been regulated as an A class drug] to push the silt out. Logical.  
Some of the silt had already created the new massive sand dunes on Te Atatu Peninsular, which was deemed uneconomic to shift and a great tourist attraction.  In turn the Herald Island generator pushed refracted swell around the sand dune creating Te Atitubes, Auckland’s premier left hander. Although the hardcore still prefer the ledges at low tide Meola reef. 

Fisherman's Reef, Northcote. When the swell generators were put in place at West Harbour and Chelsea Sugar works, it created so much swell in the harbour that many of the old ferry stops had to be ripped out and relocated. Northcote point was one of these. With the pilings of the wharf gone, swell from the Chelsea generator hit the point perfectly. Fullers in cahoots with the Auckland Council dropped in some floodlights and created the world's first public wave park with night surfing. To be fair, the intense barrelling left is probably too heavy for the European backpackers who flock to the point lured by the possibility of getting tubed through the Harbour Bridge. But the local Northcote Point Boardriders love the situation, prowling on the tourists under the thin guise of 'surf instructing'. Northcote Kindergarten was forced to become trilingual in English, German and Russian. 

North Reef, Takapuna. Of course Auckland's more consistent breaks like North Reef turned into swell magnets with the new Barrier Trench.  Once heavily regulated by local families like the Harveys, Claytons and Robinsons in the 80's and '90s it was the spawning ground for National Champions. But now with waves on tap nearly every day of the year the once treat of a peak is seldom crowded. It often gets overlooked in favour of the Bombie and O'Neill's Point just a block up the coast. Many surfers flag North Reef nowadays citing the razor sharp lava reef as too hard to walk over at mid to low tide.  

From The Book Store



Enough of these hoax and dreams, wanna stoke out on some real Kiwi Waves? Well the South Seas Revised Edition is the book for you. Check it out HERE

Off Shores

Ok, this week's post is totally running on the premise that a picture tells a thousand words. And there is the best reason in the world for this. The surf is good, the tide is moving into the right place...I'm going surfing!!! 

Bit early for that sort of carry on isn't it mate!

Yesterday was the start of our first off shore run in a very long time. Everyone was/is frothing, where's the banks, when's the tide... where's my board!? Here's the images from yesterday...

Napes finding his own lines as per

The alluring corner pocket

Greedy's Lefts minus the man himself

New Father Mark'Coff Dawgy dog Jnr' Coffy holding down the takeoff warp

When the sets roll in, don't stand there

The beast starting to show

This is an image I've been after for ages- stoked to get it and now offering it as a print HERE can you see the dragon head?

Kye Bedford on the peak and charging the ones no one else wanted to know about

Yeah, don't be there

I'm making it out to be bigger than it was, it was only 1 foot

See, definitely only a foot

Ok, maybe head height! #bestdadjokeEVER

There were some absolute perfect bombs rolling through. Case in point, so good it has been added to the print gallery too HERE

So, cool story; Lewis here paddled up to me and introduced himself as an avid subscriber to this very Blog. Thanks for your kind words bro and stoked to meet ya! Unfortunately a couple of waves later…

Lewis got clipped by a solid lip…oooch to the wallet!

moments of glory

This is what I love to shoot, the detail and the push of the west coast. This has also been added to the Wave Gallery for your purchasing pleasure HERE

It is super exciting being a part of the Friends of the Sea collective, you can read more about it HERE
November 22nd we're shouting you Sal's Pizza and a tasty Corona to wash it down with. Friends of the Sea are putting on a group show at the Sustainable Coastlines Flagship. [it's the same venue the South Seas book launch was] 

Check out the Facebook invite HERE for more information 

From The Bookstore

The Big Little Beach Book sold out in June. Then a couple of big store orders came in, so it has been reprinted. There is stock again, so if you missed out, you haven't!
Check it out HERE

IT's Beer'n'Pizza Time!

It is very exciting to be a part of an exhibition. All types of exciting. Personally, I'm a prepper. I get excited about making a plan and then getting all the components in place. The event is the fruition of that preparation. I can't lay claim to the prep this round, Greg Straight and Hannah Bancroft are the producers. Then comes the nervous excitement of the night. I like the idea of hosting an event, but truth be told it is pretty nerve racking. I like being behind the camera, behind the scenes, -hopefully getting stuff done. I'm not a front guy.

It is super exciting being a part of the Friends of the Sea collective, you can read more about it HERE

November 22nd we're shouting you Sal's Pizza and a tasty Corona to wash it down with. Friends of the Sea are putting on a group show at the Sustainable Coastlines Flagship. [it's the same venue the South Seas book launch was] 

Last year's South Seas launch at the Flagship

There will be art work from  Reuben James, Greg Straight, Al Wrath, Ant Green and me. It's in a range of sizes and price brackets. The idea is to make the prints accessible to everyone. Here's the big deal; 20% of profits will go to Sustainable Coastlines in support of their valuable work improving the water quality of our loved kiwi coasts.

You get free Sals Pizza, you get free Coronas, free Pheonix sodas, free Yealand's wines. You get to view some beautiful prints. And if and only if you decide there's a piece you really like, you'll be contributing to Sustainable Coastlines. So come along, hang out! 

Check out the Facebook invite HERE for more information 
 

Barkers' X Surfline V2

One of my favourite gigs is the Barkers' X Surfline shoot. Check out the Barkers' website HERE  for some of the images they have already used from the shoot just a fortnight ago. I love the brief; while it is all about the watershot and the use of the camera in the water-housing, the goal is to highlight the garments. It's a very different mindset and approach from swimming out to capture surfing... of course there's that being done too. Last time the images made got used very nicely in an 8 page feature in Barkers' magazine 1972 which goes out to 60,000, the star shot also got used across the Barkers' stores like this...

NZ Surf- The Collection Vol 1 

This week, in fact just yesterday, saw the very last of the book stock leave the building. We have sold through in under a year. If you want one there's only what is in the surf shops now left. If you own one, thank you. Thanks for making the project better than Warren Hawke and I could have hoped. The quick sell through means that we are both amped to make Volume 2. 
 

So, what are you doing on Nov 22nd? Yep, you're having Pizza'n'Beersies on us!  

From The Bookstore

Speaking of sell outs. The Big Little Beach Book sold out in June. Then a couple of big store orders came in, so it has been reprinted. There is stock again, so if you missed out, you haven't!
Check it out HERE

Someone Stole My Shaper!

Soph, Hayden and the kids during the pack..and that's not their house in the background

A couple of months ago Hayden Chamberlain asked me what I thought about him moving up to Ruakaka. The first reaction was selfish. You can't do that! Where am I gonna get boards from!? What about the T Double A Surf Team? [We are/ were neighbours in the same Piha Road, which has a large amount of surfing families dotted along it.]

I was there when Hayden's parents dropped him off at the Fresh Squeezed Factory, Shadee Lane, Piha [yes that's a real name] to start his shaping apprenticeship when he was 16. We've been mates since. I've interviewed him and stitched him up with terrible portraits since waaay back. He's part of the Piha fabric. 

Declarations become reasoning, why, why would you leave us? How can you justify this heinous thought? 

'Family bro, both Soph's and my olds are still in Dargaville, and we want the kids to be nearer to their grandparents.' 

We talked it out. The concern of leaving his client base in West Auckland for the more sparsely populated fields of Northland. Of leaving swell rich Westside to swell challenged East. I appreciated that Hayden valued my opinion. But, in my books, Whanau always trumps the pros and cons. I knew he was going even if he and Soph thought they were on the fence. 

Roger Hall Stole My Shaper

Roger and Hayden in the Surfline Shaper’s Bay, Ruakaka

Roger; 'Well it's a win, win situation I think. Hayden joins us here at Surfline, it brings us back up to four, which seems to be the best working model for us. Over the last few years it has been difficult to get skilled workers. So Hayden's coming in with his vast set of skills to help build the boards that I do. And he's already pushed ahead and trained up Bryce Barton from Piha to do the glassing.

But of course beyond that Hayden is bringing he whole HC operation north with him. So he'll be doing everything that he was in Auckland, except he'll be doing it here. ' 

A concern could be that the brand HC Surfboards could just get assimilated into Surfline. 

Hayden; 'No, I don't think that will happen. Not at all, if that was a worry I would not have done it to be honest. 'Cos I've spent a lot of years building up my brand and I don't want to get it just pushed to the wayside you know. '

Roger; ' And that's certainly not what I meant either. I am excited about having Hayden in the factory helping with my boards. But in reality that's a bi-product of him being here. As far as the general public are concerned there will be two distinct brands coming out of this factory. 

Hayden being younger and me being ummm err older... He'll be looking to grow his business while I'm wanting to concentrate more on my shaping and spending more time in the shaping bay. Having Hayden here building the boards allows me to do that. '

And what about egos, will there be fights over shaping bay time? 

Roger; 'I'm looking forward to it, of seeing how Hayden does it. I'm sure he'll be interested in seeing how I approach it. And vice versa- I don't think there's any egos involved. I think we're both going to have a good time doing what we are both passionate about. '

Hayden; 'I'm really keen to learn new tricks, 'cos Roger's a wealth of knowledge. I'm a bit of a sponge, and I'm always keen to learn some new stuff. '

Roger; 'We've both evolved quite separately to each other. The types of boards I do and the customers I do them for ...and Hayden's doing some quite different stuff.  And I don't really go the places Hayden goes.'

Hayden; 'Yeah, we've got two totally different markets, which I think is a healthy thing. '  

We talk of leaving that Auckland client base. 

Hayden; 'It was a huge concern. It was the biggest one. But just over the last few weeks as people have found out, it has become clear they are not that fazed about me leaving. That has been encouraging. The performance market is a big market and there are a lot of players in that. I'm actually quite happy to be out of that big frying pan of Auckland and distance myself from that competitiveness. I think the loyal ones will follow me and for those that don't, well, I'll pick up new ones. '

Roger; 'And geographically you haven't moved that far, Auckland's still highly accessable. '

Which raises the fact that Roger and Surfline has always been a very national brand.  He's always had customers in the Far North to strongholds in Otago and Canterbury. 

Roger; 'Well interestingly, when I get out and about, it doesn't seem to matter where ever I go, there'll almost certainly be an HC board there. So your boards are far and wide as well. So that will continue.'

Hayden; 'Yeah and I think that will help me concentrate on being better at marketing. Rather than just worrying about that little nook I had out in West Auckland.'

Roger; 'Yeah the isolation actually works for you if you use it. Like you go 'I need to let people see what I'm doing, so you have to become more active in that.' 

Of course the rumours had already started about HC and Surfline's movements. 

Roger; 'Yeah I think it's fair to assume that there ended up being a bit of disinformation and confusion about what we are doing. But really what we are doing is carrying on as we were, we are just doing it under one roof.  Hayden's not changing anything he's doing except for where he's doing it. And I'm not changing a whole lot a part from the fact that Hayden's now here bolstering the numbers back to that fourth man needed to work the factory.

There were all those rumours that Hayden was taking over the factory and I was retiring. But that's not what is happening.'

Hayden sums it up well. 'The thing is I'm only 90 minutes up the road or a phone call away.' 

I feel better, I've been counselled by the shapers. I order my new summer board, and by doing so get bragging rites on being Hayden’s first order under the new roof. Everything is going to be OK. But as I leave the factory in Ruakaka there is the realisation. While I haven't lost my shaper, I have still lost my neighbours and the T Double A Surf Team is a strong member down.  Damn you Roger and your rational reasonings. 

Check out the HC Website Here 

Want to join the T Double A surf team??? Well check out these stunning images of your new home must have been a pretty damn good photographer that took those huh :)

Hayden and Sophie's TradeMe Listing 

FROM THE GALLERY

One of my favourite images from this year. I can't recall capturing the spit of the barrel so well before. Check it out and buy it if you like it Here

Boomtown Brats

Spring is always a hard time for West Coast surfers. The Equinox of the changing seasons never makes of good winds on our beaches. 

Decidedly summery...shot on the new geek out Mercury camera with a medium format Leaf digital back

We turn into spoilt brats, complaining about the lack of water time, the lack of quality banks. It’s either gloom or boom. We forget how surfed out we were over summer, autumn and winter. This last week has been a stark contrast to that. We've had back to back days of beautiful weather and more than reasonable surf everyday. 

Taitomo and our beloved Keyhole

Chris powering down the line

Meanwhile there were deceptively nice looking peaks ready to push you to the sea floor

So, do you know the guy that does The Raglan Surf Report... Luke making ready

wave selection on point Luke :)

Former Senior National Champ Ross Martin

Low tide runners

Luke Cederman's power game is always a pleasure to witness

Jami Parkinson quite rightly having a mental health arvo

Luke and his shadow

Shay Rainger in the box seat for Luke's spray show

Yep, it has been a wonderful summer tease, bring it on!

From The Book Store

It has also been a big old week here in CPL Land; The new reprint of The Big Little Beach Book has landed. Just a cheeky 1.8 ton of paper and ink... wanna come help move some boxes?  All Photo CPL Media product is printed with soy based inks [no toxic petros] The printers are FSC, ISO 9001 and 14001 environmental certified. 
 Check them out and buy HERE  

Photo CPL IS OLD!

It has been a trip this book lark. This is the tenth year of Photo CPL Media being in existence. It started in 2008 to get the PhotoCPL book out. Which means that book is old, in fact this is it's release month, so that actually is a birthday. 

It has been said before, it was a hail Mary of a project. The goal was to just get it out there, so it was done. If it went down in a ball of flames and there ended up being a garage full of unsold books, so be it. It cost over 30K, self funded, it was a huge gamble at the time. 

The PhotoCPL book did well. It got good reviews and the sales followed. I'm grateful to everyone that helped me and those that stoked out on the book.

It ended up being the launching pad for the 7 titles that have followed. As well as the projects like postcards and print sets. It's kind of gnarly to realise I'm been putting ink on paper for 25 years. You'd think I'd know what I'm doing by now, wish I did!

I'd hope all the books have their merits, but there are personal favourites.  Of course there are parts of each project I'm unhappy with. That seemed like a good idea but didn't translate well. I'll give you an example; the subtitle of PhotoCPL is New Zealand Surfing Photography 1991- 2008. Spot the blunder? By capping the date period i.e. having 2008 on there,  it instantly dated the book. It just should have been  1991- onwards. We even toyed with having an arrow after the 1991 or a fast forward sign.  

I'll let you in on another one; in the back of Beached As Vol 1 there's a photographic notes page. Well, I'd now never ever shoot to the methodology explained in there- it's wrong. As this is typed out the mistakes come flooding back- they haunt. 

A favourite project is The Big Little Beach Book. The images were shot on film cameras, digital cameras, water-housings and different formats. I got to campervan from Cape Reinga to the Bluff [not in one go]. The mistakes made in Beached As 1 and 2 were addressed, the formula was refined. These are some of my favourite images from The Big Little Beach Book;

Nins Bin, Kaikoura. Shot on a Canon 5Dmkiii with a 10 stop ND filter and grad to create cloud blur

Punakaiki Rocks, West Coast. Shot on Velvia film with the Fotoman 617 Panoramic camera

Matauri Bay split view. Shot using a Canon 5Dmkiv with a fisheye lens in a waterhousing...kind of important for the camera that waterhousing bit

Little Bay Tractors, Coromandel. Shot on Kodak T-max 100 film with the Fuji GSX690 camera. Kiwiana as!

Waimarama Beach...well motor camp, which has sadly since been closed to the public. Shot on Kodak Extar 100 film with the Fotoman 617 Panoramic camera

Whitebait stations at Haast. Shot on a Canon 5Dmkiii with a Zeiss 50mm lens

Maybe a surprise choice, but I love the long shadows and that there's so many interactions happening. Mission Bay, Auckland on a typical summer mid week evening. Shot on a Canon 5Dmkiv with a 16-35mm L lens.

In June The Big Little Beach Book sold out. That is pretty good, sold through in 18 months. The default is still 'Well there's not a pile of cartons sitting in the shed- so that worked!' It was going to be left there. Insert dad joke here- y'know, like the end of that chapter, book closed. 

ANYWAY! The bloody retailers kept ordering the thing. So there was a yeah, nah bro... which quickly got flipped into a 'hold on, people still want this book huh?' 

Next week the reprint of The Big Little Beach Book arrives. It arrives to solid orders. So once again there is a huge amount of gratitude to the support the retailers give and youse fullas who like the stuff made under the Photo CPL Media banner. Thank You, like it says at the start, it has sure been a trip so far. 

From The Gift Shop

All Photo CPL Media product is printed with soy based inks [no toxic petros] The printers are FSC, ISO 9001 and 14001 environmental certified. And The Big Little Beach Notecards are most certainly a product of that. Instead of doing a few images from the book, there are 20 different images used, and there's a couple of extra envelopes chucked in for good measure.
 Check them out and buy HERE  

Dirty Deeds Done

I was listening to the Ain't That Swell podcast the other day. It was the one about Surfing's greatest beefs and barnies. It is really good by the way. It got me thinking more nationally about some of the epic beefs and barnies I've been a part of and witness to.  
 
You see kiddies, what you read in the surf media is what you're meant to read and not all that goes on is reported. More often than not there's nothing wrong with the sanitised version.  Some things aren't fit to go in a magazine that is directed at highly impressionable tweens. The distance of time mellows the impact. Here's an example for you;

Chrissy Malone at Rarawa for the Billabong Challenge late '90's about to take my scalp

Back in the late '90's Billabong NZ's Scott Casey came up with a concept event called the Billabong Challenge. It was a noble idea. In fact it was a bloody cool plan. Billabong NZ, straight after the Nationals, grabbed NZ's top rated surfers for an all expenses paid roady. The roady was premised with the idea that there would be a couple of rounds of heats run and then the winner would walk away with the cash prize. 
 
It was a forward thinking concept to break away from the standard competition format. And Scott readily admits it was based on Billabong's epic Desert Challenges in Western Oz. Remembering this was 20 years ago. 
 
Billabong also assisted members of the surf media to travel with the surfers to document the goings on. I was editing and shooting for the surf mag, so I was there. Some of the other media tag ons were pretty tenuous at best.  One such tag along was an Aussie cameraman who shall remain nameless. No one really knew just how he got on the gravy train, even Scott had no idea. But he seemed harmless enough. 
 
Billabong got everyone up to their Head Office where rental vans were waiting. From there the powers that be revealed the region where the surf would most likely be best for the next three days. We headed to the Far North. Billabong had block booked the Backpackers house in front of the Ahipara Bay Motel [it got demolished long ago for apartments]. 

As pictured the surfers are from left to right Emerson Tucker, Justin Souter, Ben Kennings, Mark Dovey, Blair Stewart, Andrew Robinson, Jos Kennings, Damon Gunness, Chris Malone and Daniel Kereopa.

Then you had the entourage which was made up of Judges, Billabong staff and that dodgey mix of media types I mentioned earlier. In all there were over 20 of us in the spacious Backpackers house. Everyone had beds, but a couple of the tag alongs were on fold-outs the living room. 
 
The surf didn't quite pan out as Scott had hoped. We were lured by the promise of epic east swell and both Rarawa and Hendo's being on the cook. BUT there were fun waves and there was a job to do.
 
Lion Red was the official beer of everything surfing in NZ then. This meant for anyone in the industry all you had to do was put up your hand and Lion Red would courier out a pallet of red cans.
 
The scene set. A group of twenty young men away from their homes with free accomodation, food and booze. With no early start or much pressure. It was only natural that the handbrake was well and truly off come Saturday night.  We had a bender of stellar proportions. 
 
As the evening progressed the Aussie Cameraman started recounting tales of dirty deeds done to his mates back home. Boldly boasting about his tally of scalps and eyebrows he'd claimed from passed out friends. We've all done it, or worst still, been the victim.
 
It's all a bit vauge.  At some point he started explaining in great detail how you should only ever shave off the inside half of a brow. It's a double banger. First the victim has to deal with the new man-scaping. Then they have to come to grips with the fact they are going to have the shave off the outside half to even it up. It's actually pretty brilliant. 
 
As the night continued the twang of the Aussie's voice faded. Much to everyone's surprise, he'd tucked himself into bed, in the large living room... in the middle of the party. 
 
If it wasn't my idea, I apologise to the ring leader. After such a detailed tirade and highlighting that you should never pass out at a party. Here was our Aussie gatecrasher doing exactly what he boasted not to do. Mark Dovey found a razor blade, Ben Kennings got the shaving foam and I found the Aussie's video camera. Which I think was a masterstroke.  
 
As per the Aussie's description we made our own little documentary on his camera about the art of brow work. To this date I think Mark Dovey has missed his calling as a TV presenter.  
 
Job done, we took off both inside brows.  Lots of Lols and Rofos all around the crowded living room. 
 
I can't recall the Aussie's reaction in the morning, we were in a rush to get up to Rarawa. The swell was good, but the banks weren't great. It was a fun 2-3 foot. There was work to do and someone was going to win some cash and bragging rites. 
 
I swam out with the camera and got nothing, caught in shitty rips and not lining up anyone with the shifting peaks. Luckily I'd shot the shot of Chrissy Malone on the Friday evening straight after the drive up. Blair Stewart won, which was a worry 'cos his Dad Doug was the judge. But in fairness I think Doug was actually being harder on Blair as an over compensation. 
 
There was a bit of controversy over the criteria. Doug, who was NZ's Head Judge at the time, had been very vocal about his dislike of airs. Yes, that is right, in the late '90's the ASP criteria deemed airs non functional manoeuvres! 
 
In a flip, for this event Scott had made it clear innovation was to be rewarded. Blair won by doing some massive fin wafts. The controversy was that some of the other guys didn't believe Doug could actually judge innovation so they stuck to rail game. 
 
The comp was over, it had been a big day in the sun, up the north end of Rarawa Beach. We were assembled back at the car-park by the stream and Ben Kennings was tee'ing off. Someone had shat inside his brand new Oakley shoes. It was disgusting, apart from ruining his new kicks, the rental van had been marinating the stench all arvo. Then Mark Dovey went to put his Dirty Dog Sunnies on, he stopped, sniffed and realised just before putting them on the arms were coated in poo. Mark was beyond livid.  Everyone was in shock... everyone except the Aussie who was rolling around in laughter on the ground. 

No one else... and I mean no one, saw the humour in spreading human defecate over some one's gear. The Aussie's retaliation was akin to answering a firecracker with a neutron bomb. The red mist descended on Mark. The big problem being that no one felt like stopping Mark from thumping the Aussie. 
 
The Aussie tried to justify his actions, it only made things heavier. By this stage Mark was standing over the Aussie who was cowering in the dirt. He tried to stand up and I warned him to stay down. There was no doubt that if he had stood up Mark would have put him back down. It was really heavy. The Aussie tried to apologise, but no one was having a bar of it. Eventually Mark's anger dissipated enough for him walk away. The only thing that saved the Aussie from a beating was that he stayed on the ground.  
  
Now, you can criticise all of us in this little tale for a number of actions. We all could have been more responsible at different junctures. But we didn't, the hand brake was off and we were having a good time...until we weren’t. To this day I have no idea why the Aussie didn’t implicate the person, ie ME, who was filming the whole incident on his camera- the very evidence he used to identify Ben and Mark. And trust me at the time I did a very intensive audit of my own gear. I always felt stink that Ben and Mark got nailed and I escaped the ....ummm.... shit storm.  
 

From The Bookstore

All Photo CPL Books are printed with soy based inks [no toxic petros] The Printers are FSC, ISO 9001 and 14001 environmental certified. And The South Seas Revised Edition most certainly a product of that. Over 80% of the images are changed from the original edition- it really is a different book. Check it out and buy it HERE  

The New Venture

We've made an ethical T-shirt. Well, that's not entirely accurate, we've made five, and we didn't actually weave the garment or sew the seams. 

'We' is Cale Tolley, the founder of Copious Apparel  and I. We've been good mates for over twenty years and worked on different stuff together over that time, including shoots for Copious. 

The idea of Trophy Tees has been knocked around for a couple of years now. There are other Kiwi souvenir T's out there, some really good ones too. But it was an idea that just didn't go away. So we've finally done it. 

See what we've done here; Lee Ririnui sporting the Mount Dusk One Tee at the actual spot the image on the Tee was taken 

Mount Dusk Two Tee

I dunno if the buyers of Trophy Tees will care if the garments are ethical, but we do. The T shirts are made overseas, but the factory used is audited and has WRAP and Oeko-Tex Certification. Ok, fancy sounding - could mean anything right. 

WRAP is the world’s largest independent factory-based social compliance certification programme for the sewn products sector. It's 12 Principles cover: compliance with local laws, prohibition of forced labour, child labour, discrimination, harassment or abuse, compensation and benefits, hours of work, health and safety, freedom of association, environment, customs compliance, security. WRAP provides for at least annual unannounced audits, which include allowance for off-site employee interviews. From this, corrective action plans are put in place as well as follow-up audits to resolve any non-compliance before certification is awarded.

Oeko-Tex, very basically, means the materials used in the garment are non toxic, no dodgey stuff like Azo colourants, formaldehyde, pentachlorophenol, cadmium or nickel are used. Don't have the Oeko-Tex Certification, well, do you really want any of that crap rubbing on you?

Added to these certifications our garment supplier is committed to traceability of the cotton used, which means the cotton ethically farmed. 

The Mount Tube One Tee  proving to be the most popular one so far

Mount Tube Two Tee  the whole picture

Fit and Quality. It's all fine and dandy having your social conscience eased, but the garment has to fit well and last. It could have the best graphic in the world on it, but if it fits weird or wears out fast, well, that's just a waste of everyone's time.

Our Tees are a regular fit, crew neck. It's  heavy weight, 200 GSM 100% carded cotton. With neck ribbing [the neck will retain its shape well]  side seamed, shoulder to shoulder tape, double needle hems and preshrunk to minimise shrinkage. Both Cale and I know what makes a Tee a favourite is how it feels and fits. 

The New Zealand Tee in white

This week Trophy Tees first orders were shipped out to the North Beach Nationwide, Backdoor Mount and Papamoa stores. We timed the launch of the Trophy Tee website and social networks to the deliveries... she's been a few big weeks!  
 
I've got some favours to ask; even if you don't want a Trophy Tee yourself, help us get the name out there. LIKE the Trophy Tee page and [ideally] SHARE it on your own home page or even share it with a couple of friends you think may like the Tees. The Facebook Page is HERE 

Please check out the Trophy Tee's website, where of course you can enjoy the convenience of ordering your Tees direct from the very device you're in front of now. 

www.trophytees.co.nz 
 
 

From The Bookstore 

It's not just the Tees that are ethically minded. All Photo CPL Books are printed with soy based inks [no toxic petros] The Printers are FSC, ISO 9001 and 14001 environmental certified. And The South Seas Revised Edition most certainly a product of that. Over 80% of the images are changed from the original edition- it really is a different book. Check it out and buy it HERE  

Man Down

Suicide. 

Quite bizarrely  the New Zealand Press recently went through a cycle of not talking or reporting on Suicides. It is actually an epidemic amongst Kiwi males. The idea about not reporting or tackling the subject publicly was that any talk of suicide highlighted the action and any focus on it would simply draw those inclined to it as a possibility.

Clearly I do not agree with this sentiment. I believe that open, honest discussions help educate and inform. Sticking your head in the sand and pretending it doesn't happen is ridiculous. The dictate of silence didn't reduce the rate of suicide in NZ. The rate has increased. 

As of Friday I've lost 7 friends to suicide [and as I do this audit I realise there's more]. I have not lost 7 mates in car accidents, airplane crashes, Aids, Cancer or Sharks.

I had written a piece about the friend who passed last Friday, I wanted to honour him and I wanted his tragic decision to be a call out to other friends- don't do it. It's a permanent solution to a temporary problem. But just before pressing the send button I did my dues. I found out that the family have told his young children a different story for the meantime. That has to be respected. 

Almost a month to the date Hannah Norton's open letter to NZ Men was published by the Herald. I implore you to take seven minutes to read it HERE 

If you are thinking even remotely this is an option for you, ring me, lets talk.

For Alf, Troy, Matt B, Matt H, TK, Bob and now Friday's- You were loved. You are fondly remembered forever.    

Flying Kiwis

Ratty and his quiver a few years back... Keyhole Boardriders REPRESENT.

It has been a busy old week for New Zealand Surfing on the Internationally.  Reigning World Grand Master Champion Iain 'Ratso' Buchanan has been in the Azore Islands defending his title. And the New Zealand Team has been in Japan competing at the ISA World Surfing Games. 

Rat in the Azores. Image care of WSL

Ratty didn't do so well in the Round Robin round.  In his first heat he was beaten by Australian Rob Bain. In his second heat Australian Glen Winton got the highest scored wave of the event, a 9.25. Ratty's 7.17 and 6.13 would have seen him win just about any other heat in that round. Without a win Ratty will not proceed to the next rounds. 

Paige on a tear in Japan. Photo Ben Reed/ISA

In Japan the news is similar.  We didn't send our strongest team with Kehu Butler, Rik Christie, Elliot Paerata Reid and Ella Williams all having prior commitments. But there is a shinning glimmer of hope with Paige Hareb dominating the women's division. An in form Paige has cruised into round 3 with the highest women’s heat total of 15.37. Her single wave score of 9 points was the highest of the women’s competition thus far.

Looks like we are in for a few laydays in Japan, but you can check in to the ISA website HERE 

It's not all doom and gloom on the world scene for our flying Kiwis. Last month Kehu won the World Surf League Oceania Junior QS. This means he'll be representing Oceania at the World Junior Champs early 2019.  EPR is on a bit of a roll in Indonesia, making the finals at both the West Sumbawa WQS [Third Winner according to the winners Cheque :)].  And an ever so close 2nd at the Simeule Pro. 

From The Bookstore 

All this chat about waves overseas, wha'd'bout some good Kiwi waves! The South Seas Revised Edition is still available. Over 80% of the images are changed from the original edition- it really is a different book. Check it out and buy it HERE  

The Where And The How In South Sumatra

I'm back from an excellent and all too brief 14 days in Indonesia. So this week's post is a travelogue that could inspire you to booking that surf trip. It isn't as expensive as you may think. 

Ujung Bocur at dawn

There were 5 of us and our surfing experience ranged from only 18 months to 40 years. There are pros and cons in travelling in a group, the obvious pros being costs spread and great times shared.  Out of the 14 days there were 10 days of surfing. 4 days were lost to travelling, because we went to South Sumatra. For me, all up the 14 days only cost $2,700. 

L to R... yep Me, Barton Strom, The one and only Sam 'Calfy' Ryan, Hayden Strom and Brent Alexander

Here's the breakdown with all prices in New Zealand dollars; 
 
Air New Zealand return economy flights $1214.00. We got a pretty good special, but I had to add another bag for camera gear.  It's an 8 hour flight so we all opted into the 'works' which means a couple of meals. Air NZ now offer direct flights to Bali. In 1991 the same return flight was $900.00 return.
We had a night in Bali before getting our internal flights to Sumatra. We choose to stay close to Denpasar Airport in Uban and in very nice suites, which cost $44 inc breakfast. 
 
The internal flights with Sriwijaya Air were $150.00 return. This was Bali to Jakarta Java, Jakarta to Bandar Lampung Sumatra. Our luggage was checked through from Bali to Bandar Lumpung and we paid an extra $50.00 [10 each] for excess baggage.  The first flight was 1.40 hours, the second flight 40 minutes. 

Damai's main building/bar/dinning common area

At Bandar Lampung we were picked up by two vans provided by Damai Bungalows, which is where we stayed for 9 nights. The vans were newish and comfortable, but the drive from Bandar Lampung to Ujung Bocur in the Krui region is 5-6 hours. Without doubt this is the most unpleasant part of the travels. 
 
Damai cost $600.00 for the 9 nights. This included the return transfers, twin shared rooms, three meals a day and surf guide legend Dedi. Damai is owned and run by a classic Novacastrian Aussie ex-pat Jas. It's small, there are 6 simple losemans, the food, staff and service is excellent. Damai is at the top end of Ujung Bocur, near the paddle out keyhole. As you can see from the images the communal area is totally orientated to the view of the Point. 

pretty shit view aye!

Barton on his hog

We hired scooters with surfboard racks for 8 days at $6.50 per day. 
 
The only other costs were drinks [tea and coffee is free] . I was going through 2-3 litres of water a day, plus a mixed juice or two per day. So my bar bill came to a staggering $28.00. Hayden was at the other end of the spectrum racking up a $180.00 bar bill.... that's for 8 days!  
 

The Waves

The main reason we opted for Krui is that there are a lot of set ups. We didn't surf every wave there is, and there's a bunch of set ups that work in the rainy season as well. But here's my take of the sets ups we experienced. 
 
Ujung Bocur 



The left hand point break out in front. It is incredibly consistent. Breaking through all tides and handling most swings of wind. The Point is often compared to Raglan, and I reckon that's fair, sort of a hybrid of Indys and Manu. While it does provide the odd barrelling section, it's more a fast wall that provides lots of sections to hit. It's a long wave that can offer rides well over 200 metres. It is the go to, and most of the accommodation is scattered down the Point so it does get crowded. The key phrase here is INCREDABLY CONSISTENT.  At 6-8 foot the wave tends to push wide of the point. 

Calfy found his own right at Ujung

Yeah Calfy, who is number 1!

Way Jambu [Samatran Pipe] 

Way Jambu is a 20 minute scooter trip to the south. As the name suggests it's not for the timid. On the right direction swell Way Jambu will handle any size thrown at it. Last year Lynden Kennings tackled it at what the locals are now calling 15 foot. At over 8 foot there is a [sort of] roll in take off before the wave hits the Pipe section. It's a heavy, heavy wave with a slabbing barrel.  It breaks from about 3 foot up.

8 foot Pipe, trust me, it is 8 foot!

Mandiri Beachies

Yeah yeah there were waves at Mandiri, but how rad is this old Honda!

Just to the north of Ujung Bocur is a long strip of sandy beach that is very exposed to any swell. When there is 'no swell' or Ujung Bocur is 1-2 foot, then the beachies come alive with options. Earlier this year Elliot Paerata-Reid scored them at 6 foot plus and he rates them as the best beachies in Indo. While we were there the beaches had been nailed by the big Nias swell the month before. The fellas still had three really fun dawnies finding some rights for a change. 
 
The Peak

Short and sharp- the Peak at optional size

About 30 minutes north of Ujung Bocur is The Peak. To be honest it's more of a novelty wave than anything. But it can provide a pretty damn good room with a view- it's just a very short stay. It turns into a fat roll in at anything over 5 foot, but at 4 foot there's a great little technical peak to sneak under. To the left of the Peak there is a bend in the reef that often provides a really good but shallow left. 
 
Krui Lefts

Sorry, I failed on taking a snap of Krui lefts at 1 foot... but this is the main drag of Krui Town

Krui is the main town, which is 40 minutes scooter ride north from Ujung Bocur. Rather disparaging slanged off as Cowards Corner. The left reef in town needs a lot of swell to get in. If Ujung Bocur is 6 foot, it'll probably be 2-3 foot. It's crowded with locals and beginners and because of this very hazardous for your health. 
 
Jimmy's 

Brent at Jimmy's Right

Jimmy's spit

40 minutes to an hour is about the range you'd want to do on a scooter.  You wanna preserve your energy for tackling waves not dodging Indo lorrys. About 1.40 hours north of Ujung Bocur is Jimmy's Rights and lefts. We opted for the vans which cost us $15 dollars each for the day. Trade winds are cross-shore so it's a 4am start to be there for dawn.

Jimmy's Right is fun at 3-4, and full on from there up. It's a barrel. The take off is steep but very doable.  You backdoor the section that most likely will stay open giving you a clean exist before the wave bends onto near dry reef. In other words, don't think you're gonna get a turn in. Get in, get out. 

Meanwhile, across the bay... and not Jimmy's Left.

Jimmy's Left

A very heavy deep water reef. If the rights are 4-5 ft then the lefts are 6-8 ft. The swell comes out of deep water and slabs up onto the reef with Hawaiian/Tahitian thickness. 

Below sea level and thick

This is the End

Because a new swell was coming, we pushed our flights back to Bali another day. Changing the flights was pretty easy. Back in Bali we had one night in a palace of a place booked via Air B'n'B which was $80 each per night including breakfast. The palace had 5 double bedrooms all with ensuites, 3 kitchens, large gardens and a swimming pool. The main bedroom had an internal pool. Here's the link to it 
 

The Acid Test

Would I go back to Krui? There is no would in it. I am going back! A part from quality surf, South Sumatra was a wonderful adventure in Indonesian culture. It’s often described as what Bali was like in the 90’s. My first 6 week stay in Bali was in 1991, I would argue that South Sumatra is like what Bali was in the ‘80’s, and all the best possible ways. The locals are wonderfully friendly and helpful. The extra travel and that brutal 5 hour drive help keep Krui somewhat a mission. Here’s to it staying that way.  

From The Bookstore

All this chat about waves overseas, wha'd'bout some good Kiwi waves! The South Seas Revised Edition is still available. Over 80% of the images are changed from the original edition- it really is a different book. Check it out and buy it HERE  

Salamat Pagi From Krui

Sumatran Pipe-shallow and sharp

I'm writing to you from Krui, which is in the south of Sumatra, Indonesia. I'm traveling with 4 other Kiwi surfers; Brent Alexander, Sam 'Calfy' Ryan and the Strom brothers, Barton and Hayden. We're half way through our most excellent adventure.  And it is excellent. 

At this juncture of the adventure there was a hope/expectation that this post would be filled with stunning first hand accounts of surfing prowess. Sadly [or maybe luckily for you] this is not the case. The wave quota, thus far, stands at 5 rides. 5 very medicore rides at that. Just over a month ago I tore my hamstring, and while the recovery had gone well, standing on a wave is too painful. 

This surfing trip has defaulted to a photography trip. To be really honest it is gutting. But what can you do, there's no point in dwelling on what should have been. I'm lucky that I have the cameras to fall back on, a secondary passion. 

So rather than bleat on too much about what's been going on here's a visual account. Next week there'll be a full wrap up of the hows and whys. 

First evening in Kuta before the transit flights and 5 hour drive to Krui

Yum, Padang

The two connecting flights went pretty well, the boards arrived in Sumatra at the same time as us

Now for a mellow drive through rain and flooded roads for five hours in 3rd gear 

The pay off

Barton firmly focussed on Hayden's next dart

When it rains around these parts you'll know it

Early morning reef blurs 

Brent Alexander lining up the section at Pipe 

The Pipe's room with a view 

The local lads 

The peak in fine form

Calfy between sets  

Hayden in the happy place 

Our guide and local photographer Dedi, check out his instagram @dedilock

Out in front 

According to the speedo I'm a pretty slow rider 

Fair to say from where we'd all rather be 

Pipe doing its thing. Tomorrow the swell jumps 4x in size. Ok, big boy pants on

Big Month

Warning; introspective and highly opinionated dribble may follow.

I've been immersed in the surf industry for the last 30 years. This has included working in surf shops and factories, but mainly it has been on the media side of things. Making magazines, editing websites, probably most significantly now making New Zealand surf books for the last 10 years. As a Kiwi surfer there is always an internal conflict, an irony if you like, about being a part of the commercial side of surfing. 

The overwhelming theme on the commercial side of surfing is always to grow the sport. The industry rationale being; if more people are surfing, you have more people to sell your wares to, you make more money, you get to go surfing more. And that's the conflict, as Kiwi surfers we are collectively selfish bastards. We want less surfers in the water so we can each get more waves. 

I've been a part of industry meetings about growing the exposure and popularity of surfing in New Zealand. For a long time the focus was on getting airtime on TV. To be honest, even during those meetings, in part being a stills photographer, a producer of print based media, but probably more importantly a selfish surfer, I felt shitty in those strategy meetings. I never shared the vision that surfing should be as big as rugby. I don't want surfing to be as big as rugby. I love surfing and it's counterculture because it ISN'T rugby. I find it weird that while surfing is proud of it's outsider and staunchly individualistic stance, many within the community crave mainstream amalgamation. 

This is probably a generational thing. While now as an older surfer I celebrate our former bad assery, and being alternative, the generations of surfers after mine don't share that rebellion against the norm. 

The famous Windensea board riders circa '60s

To hammer home the point, or maybe over dwell on it. The first wave of modern surfers in the '50's-60's were gnarly. To commit yourself to living a surf lifestyle was to be regarded being a drop out and a loser. Time and Life magazines compared Surfing culture to Hells Angels and Junkies. Surfers celebrated this, Miki Dora famously sported Iron Crosses and Swastikas on his boards- surfers were NOT neo nazis, it was to be shocking. 

Every era of surfers rebel against the previous. The long haired, Morning Of the Earth era was a reaction to the first competition era of surfing. My New Wave/Echo Beach/Punk 80's era was a rebellion against that soul surfer era. The old fossils wore black wetsuits and clear white boards, we embraced short spiked hair, flouro panels and bright sprayed twin fins and thrusters. Surfing was so rebellious, it even rebelled against itself.     

Just fricken orrrrsum :) 

Surfing does not translate well to mainstream at the best of times anyway. We get pigeonholed as Spicoli like stoners throwing down shakas and speaking a quaint perversion of english. To be fair we don't help ourselves much in this regard. It's ironic that our dialect that is mocked is also stolen so often. 'Stoked' is now mainstream, 'Sick' is now used by non surfers as meaning good.

Over the last few weeks surfing in New Zealand has had a lot of that airtime so craved in the boardroom meetings of the late '90's. 

When EPR's advert first aired a few weeks back he was doing this

The Positive one; Piha's very own golden child, well man now, Elliot Paerata-Reid's anti Drink Drive advert aired. The advert also features another Piha surfer Chris Baron. 

This advert uses our surf culture well to get the message across. It's humorous but somewhat knowledgable e.g; using EPR and Chris, filming around Raglan, giving it a weight of authenticity.

Watch the ad HERE

The Neutral One

Last week's, or should that be weak's, episode of Jono and Ben featured comedian Chris Parker's regular skit based on the Chris's camp adventures into straight life. The skit featured Luke Cederman which was the good bit. Even though Chris observed as it is offensive to the LGBT community when straight people camp it up, so a non surfer trying act Surfie is offensive... i;e looks stupid. He proceeded down this track. I realise it's comedy, I realise the stereotype exists and hell, nothing should sacred. But the comedian didn't explore the theme, his own skit's premise, it was a shame there wasn't more interaction with Luke. Oh well. 

The Not SOOO Bad

Now, I'm going on the record here as stating I'm a massive fan of Kehu Butler, the whole Butler Whanau for that matter. I was stoked to see Kehu join the desk on The Project this last Tuesday evening. But THAT BEANIE....bro, Red Bull overload, was it the brand placement needed? The interview got off to a rocky start, but Kehu found his feet in the back half with some quick off the cuff replies. In the end, Kehu came across as the intelligent young athlete he is.  

In Other Media... 

Speaking of Luke Cederman, his latest Podcast is available now. Funny as, as you'd expect. Thanks to everyone that's given me feedback about The Raglan Surf Pod Cast Ep4, it was super fun doing it.  

You can listen to the new Raglan Surf Report Podcast Ep5  HERE

From The Galleries

Can you believe this image was made 18 years ago! It's pretty much now the PhotoCPL classic huh. Last week native Piharians the Hattons got this bewty for their new Waterview home. Stoked to help make their new home feel more like home.  

Check Out PIHA BLUE HERE.... if you want to :) 

Next Level Dawnies

Jesse Peters and Brent Alexander on the Dawn Patrol

Are you fricken kidding me! Why would any sane person get up at 3.45 am in the middle of winter to be at a beach 3 hours later...for dawn. It's insane, it's crazy, normal people don't do things like this. Surfers use terms like crazy and insane to colourfully describe things that are excellent or very good. I believe this reflects on our collective mindset as surfers. We get excited about sleep deprivation so we can then possibly injure ourselves and certainly induce mid doses of hyperthermia. We're a bit twisted, this is not normal behaviour. It confirms we are out of step with the general populace. 

Darren Celliers excitedly readying himself for a hypothermic dip

Dawn hues and why we do stupid things

Taylor Hutchison, dementedly joyous for a fellow that left Raglan at 5am

Jesse and Taylor. Ok, Ok, it does look like a good place to be

Just like the Clash song... look to the left

...then look to the right

Jesse drawing first blood on a Burleigh-eske fold

Taylor's first

The right place to be

Muriwai resident Darren found the curl a fair bit yesterday

Taylor's wave of the day, even builders on the construction site behind the beach downed tools and cheered this one on

Jesse made a pig of himself

Happy Jesse

The look of a crazy person

Surfboard shaper Noe Birdler sniffing out the lefts

Me ol' mate Dan Davie joined the frey for a break between sanding boards

Good to see Dan on the correct side of the lens for a change

Would I get up at 3.45 in the middle of winter to sit in a car for 3 hours, then stand on a beach for 4 hours, only to jump back in the same vehicle for the return trip? Everytime, anytime... well maybe not the day straight after. I'm just as crazy as the rest of us. 

In Other News

Thanks again to Dave Swan at Smorgasboarder for reviewing The Collection Vol 1 this current issue. Last issue The South Seas Revised Edition was featured. Smorgasboarder is distributed throughout New Zealand and Australia via surf stores. But you can also read it online via the hyperlink above. I know you know what a hyperlink is.

From The Bookstore  

 
Yes indeedy, NZ Surf The Collection Vol 1  IS a limited edition and there are now only 109 left in stock. They'll be gone first round of season change shop orders for sure. Have you got your copy yet, or just have no clue what I'm banging on about? Well click here to get through to the book's web page.