These are the days that get remembered. Sometimes for all the wrong reasons. We got super lucky, a dodgey battery failed on the jetski before we were parked up. Others weren't, 4 vessels were swamped and rolled, 2 sunk as the tide hit low and the swell really kicked. The swell got just a bit too big for paddling. But man, it's exciting to be a part of a swell like that, to put yourself in harm's way.
Last week's post was bemoaning the long walk up the big sand dune. This week it is an equally demanding slog with the gear. It's part of the Copious Clothing champaign, the brief is to shoot the clothing in a real environment, not a simulation of a surf mission, the real deal. So Cale organised team riders, Lee Ririnui, Harper McBride and Shaun Boucher for the shoot/s.
The idea is the old school [and safer as it turned out!] approach. get dropped off at the corner and walk the beach to the peak. On the way capture the talent in a few garment swap outs, going through the real life experience of what a day like that entails. Course you gotta have swell right!
Safe to say WE GOT SWELL!!!
An iconic Kiwi surfing experience
Acid drops
Bobby Hansen and Leon Santorik split a peak ....
Bobby and Johnny Hicks left Gizzy at 3.30 am to get the tide right. Mission accomplished.
The swell picked up all day, it got too big for the first venue, wash throughs become consistent and this is when the boats got rolled. 2 skis and maybe 3 boats tumbled, 2 of those boats actually sunk, but were later retrieved. The owners got lucky, but at the same time, probably should not have moored where they did, it was clear the swell was on the rise and when low tide was.
In the meantime other coasts were pumping too...
Cale Tolley, my boss and art director for the day
Cale in his very happy place
Matty Bennett holding down the lefts
Lee Ririnui; rail game
One of NZ's best skaters Shaun Boucher, doing a Bertelman
Griffo Junior doing man hacks
Hods aka @inthedrink finishing the day on a high note before the mission back to the big smoke
From The Galleries
You might see this image on display next time you walk into a NZ Post Shop. It's the cover shot of the NZ Post NZ Line Ups Stamp set. And that's Cale in the foreground.
Wanna see this image better or even order it for your home? - Just click in the image.