Last night...there sure were moments

I didn't really understand the rules around surfing at Level 3. I wrongly assumed it was way more stringent, that everyone was supposed to stay a lot closer to home, like the 30km range. The correct terminology was 'Your Region'. Which in Auckland is a pretty massive travel range. So I got off on the wrong foot anyway. Over the last two weeks Piha resident surfers have endured crowds beyond high summer levels. There has been in no way surfers surfing within their ability, but that's a hard thing to call, we all think we surf better than we do. I'd like to report by first surfs back in the water were fun, to be really honest I try to keep these posts upbeat. But they weren't good. I was lucky to get a car park at South Piha, then the pack on the Bar was out of hand, a niggly, snakey scene with very few familiar faces.

I get that everyone was frothing to be back in the water. I also get that surfing for many is one of the few activities/exercise we could do. The packs couldn't go for a cheeky Zumba class, go for a game of touch or rugger with the lads. The West Coast beaches copped it; I heard Maori Bay was similar and even worse.

Not really the sort of quality surf you want to see a guy on a 8 foot 10 year old Bic board out in

Last night the ugly came out in force. Again getting a park required hawk eyes a few circuits of South Piha. I opted to swim out with the camera, I would not have caught a single wave. What I witnessed was bad...real bad. Heavy burnings, full on collisions and resulting fisty cuffs...no social distancing when there's haymakers landing huh! Resident surfers were at the end of their tethers, incidentally, the majority of drop ins I saw were on residents not by residents.

Tomorrow we drop down to Level 2 and hopefully this will take pressure off the West Coast. OK, as mentioned above, I'd like for these posts to be a bit of stoke arriving in your inbox and on your screen, so moving on... here's the highlights of yesterday evening's swim...