Great Moments / by craig levers

It is not s'posed to be like this. September through until December, the spring equinox, is a time west coast surfers dread. The wind usually alternates between a blustery south west or the even more blustery north west. The key word is blustery, blustery onshore winds. But that's not what we are getting.

We are copping clean offshore conditions. In amongst it there have been some great moments. Small windows of tide and swell collaborating. In fact, as this is being posted the surf is pumping. To be honest, it is throwing me off rhythm. Work and book launch prep is what should be happening. Huey is going no, no, come out to play, and leave your groveller board in the shed. 

Any surfer worth his salt is a keen amateur weatherman. We understand fetch and troughs, we know that our weather is dictated by either El Nino [translation 'the boy'] periods and it's opposite La Nina [the girl]. Generally El Nino is the bad stuff and La Nina makes for nice summers. But what we have currently is Enso Neutral... as the name suggests neither the boy or the girl are in dominant cycles... we are just gliding in neutral.

Bring on the grey of neutrality!!! 

These images were shot on the new Canon 5DmkIV, a camera I've been waiting on for a couple of years now. First in line to get the NZ release. Bigger, faster, packed with heaps of awesome new tech and definitely the new workhorse. Shot from a high vantage point with the ultra telephoto to show the swell lines and direction. It's a similar angle to this one... 

Which was actually shot from here....

Which is in fact the feature Piha spread in The Big Little Beach Book.... man, that's a terrible segue. 

The Big Little Beach Book is not a surf book, it's a beach book. The book arrives late this month, but Pre-orders with free P&P are now open HERE