And last week a case of not capitalising on such. I behaved over Level 4, and they'll be some of you that scoff, 'what a Wally, lives out the beach, the surf was cranking, and didn't go surfing?'. There were a lot of Piha's resident surfers that did, and I actually think good on them, fair enough, they are literally walking down their driveway to the sand. I just choose to following the rules, even though I don't agree with the mandate.
Pumping in Level 4
BUT last week was my week. I made up for lost time and made a greedy little pig of myself in the briny. So no web log last week. I was working on mental fitness. It was good work! I have to say there was a certain amount of covid anxiety around it, the surf was crowded, I choose to surf the secondary banks away from the 40 head count packs. I had a lot of fun, just being back on board, in the Tasman.
I was also interviewed by my old work mate Derek Morrison for his burgeoning website NZ Surf Journal. The interview was about the new book The Recreationalists: Intrepid Kiwis And Their Campers... well it was supposed to be, but Derek nicely balanced the questions between my personal experience of campers, then from that how the book came into being and what its about.
You can read the interview HERE
Pete Morse
How's the way the term 'In case you've been living in a bubble' is now a redundant phrase! So, in case you didn't hear last week, we lost one of the mighty Kaumātua of our surfing tribe.
Many of you will remember Pete from his retail years in Barry Point Road at Wind, Surf and Ski then Vertical Addictions, his launching of the 0900 Wavetrack number [and his authoritative voice delivering you the goods] Then his evolution of that into The NZ Surf Guide Book, which literally 10's if not 100's of thousands of you own. The book lead to the creation of Surf 2 Surf... and I know you know that. I've known Pete for over 30 years, I remember him when I was a grom going into his shop- ever affable.
Then later we'd rub shoulders in the surf industry, we'd talk shop for sure, but these conversations always drifted into more connected chats- where have you been surfing? Who you been surfing with? Pete was a gentleman, a surfing scholar connected deeply to the aloha of our surfing tribe. He was also a scally -wag with a wry sense of observation. More recently Pete would come visit me EVERYTIME I was on the beach shooting at the Mount. He'd bring the much needed water, we'd laugh about the latest surf gossip, he'd make me miss shots- I didn't care, catching up with Morsey was far more fun.
We've lost one of the good ones... one of the best ones. He truly lived a surfing life. Gonna miss our random shore chats Pete.
The Recreationalists: Intrepid Kiwis And Their Campers
You've endured the bleat about the week that has been, thank you for getting this far! Hopefully it's piqued your interest in the book, you can check it out HERE
From The Galleries
This image is from the 2015 Mega Swell event. So hanging to get the Troopy up there!!! You can check it out bigger HERE