WAVE RAVE #9 | By Kelly Ryan | AUTUMN 2011
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Hi again beach residents and local surfers. Welcome to another edition of Wave Rave. I have to mention the incredible effect the tragic 8.9 earthquake in Japan had on our coastline on the weekend of the 12th and 13th of March. Surfers witnessed the sea rise and fall with dramatic regularity over the two day period – and particularly during the afternoon of the First Light Longboard event at Makorori on the Saturday.
The Pacific was visibly upset and we were obviously witnessing a watered-down version of what the northern hemisphere experienced. The tides came and went as normal but every twenty-minute period throughout the day the sea level fluctuated dramatically.
There would be a period of extreme high water followed by an incredible low. The movement was very fluid – not rapid or dangerous but gentle and consistent with sea levels see-sawing for over 48 hours.
To the average beach-user the surges would have been nearly unnoticeable. But to an astute surfer watching for the right tide at their local break, the surges were alarming and exciting and much more pronounced than the tsunami we witnessed in 2010.
During the running of the longboard event competitors would paddle out directly off the beach as the tide surged in and at the end of the heat faced a difficult walk in over the exposed rocks as the bay drained back out.
Waves were visibly smaller with sets failing to gain any form when the arena at Red Bus drained out – but when the tide surged back in the waves were pushed back over the reefs and banks and resumed full size.
The entire Makorori Point reef system would be visible one minute then submerged the next. The biggest surge came shortly after noon on Saturday when a series of waves washed almost up to the top of the beach.
The tsunami weekend possibly signalled the end of the summer. A summer that was short but intense. The heat wave that was February subsided into the welcome freshness of March.
Water temperatures over the past two months have been exceptionally pleasant with official readings of over 20 degrees C being registered well into March. Throughout the month of February water temperatures hovered around 23 degrees C. With these temperatures wetsuits were simply not required.
There have been some excellent waves, especially from swells generated by northern cyclonic low-pressure systems. There has also been a fair amount of rubbish surf as well and an absence of south swell has been noted this season.
Very soon the “dawny” will become a thing of the past for working surfers as daylight savings finishes. The morning offshore will carry a chill that will see surfers dusting off their full suits and enjoying what I consider to be the East Coast’s premier surfing season.
Early southern ocean low pressure systems will soon begin to generate south swell and left over tropical lows, brought close to the South Pacific by the balmy water temperatures, will provide the essential ingredients for intense and memorable surfing sessions. Time to take advantage of modern wetsuit technology and put some hours in over the winter.
The SOL Series has drawn closer to a conclusion with the final to be ready to go anywhere the surf is happening across the top of the North island.
It’s known as the mobile Super Sixteen where the top sixteen surfers on the rating compete in a showdown type event.
With the completion of the 5th event the Rip Curl Pro at Ruapuke Beach just south of Raglan the Super Sixteen has four local invitees confirmed with Jay Quinn, Maz Quinn, Blair Stewart and Richard Christie all qualifying.
Raglan local, and WQS competitor Billy Stairmand won the Rip Curl Pro convincingly with Maz Quinn, Christie and Stewart all bowing out at the semi final stage.
Jay Quinn, current SOL Series leader and 2011 National Open men’s surfing champion was not present for the Ruapuke event but still holds down first place on the SOL Series ratings with his incredible three wins from four contested.
Jay won the O’Neill Sequence Surf Shop Pro in Gisborne before winning the Hyundai National Surfing Championships down in Dunedin. He then placed 2nd to Richard Christie at the Billabong Pro in Whangamata before winning the Power Balance Pro at Mount Maunganui.
Gisborne-based teenage surfing sensation Sarah Mason (pictured above) caused a major stir when she won the Roxy Pro trials event at the Quiksilver Pro on the Gold Coast in early March. The Lytton High School Year 10 student clocked a combined two-wave score of 14.16 to defeat South African Sarah Baum (11.90), Coolangatta surfer Brodie Doyle (11.50) and South African Bianca Buitendag (10.67)
As the trials champion Sarah Mason won a place to compete against the world’s top 17 women surfers in the Roxy Pro main event held in conjunction with the Quiksilver Pro – the first stop on the men’s and women’s WCT Dream Tour, which was held at Snappers Rock.
As a wild card the road is never easy and with no seeding you are always drawn against the top surfers. Sarah drew 2010 Women’s World Champion Stephanie Gilmore and a seriously in-form Tyler Wright.
Wright went on to blitz both Mason and Gilmore and left Mason fighting for her life in the elimination 2nd round. Mason again drew Gilmore who left nothing to chance eliminating Mason from the event.
Gisborne is lucky to have the Mason girls, Sarah and Airini, living and studying here again and if you get a chance to see the girls on the water be prepared for some fireworks, they are very sharp young surfers!
The Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour rounded its series out in style at Port Waikato early in March in solid six to eight foot surf. The Port event was stop number five on the Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour that saw Longboarders traveling from Piha to Dunedin to Sandy Bay, and Mt Maunganui.
This year was also a first in that Sandy Bay hosted a World Longboard Qualifying Series event within the 3rd event. Many traveling international professional longboarders stayed on and attended the rest of the Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour raising the bar on the usual event standard.
Kiwi Longboarders were left with two options, get beaten or find a way to beat the internationals. Phil Morris of Auckland proved to be a kiwi of concern for the internationals and took down a raft of big names, including USA’s Taylor Jenson in the Sandy Bay LQS event. Morris booked himself a place in the final and finished a very credible 4th. Morris ended up 3rd overall on the series.
It was however, Australia’s Josh Constable with a 2006 World Longboard title to his name who managed three wins out of the five events on tour to take top honors overall. Constable won the first event at Piha, the third event at Sandy Bay and the fourth event at Mt Maunganui. He also placed 2nd at the final event at the Port.
Gisborne-based longboarders completed an indifferent year on the circuit with Troy Conole making an impression in the one event he attended, Sam Johnson finished 23rd overall, Sean Hovell finished 14th on the Longboard Tour and also placed a very credible 3rd in both Stand Up Paddle and Stand Up Paddle Race divisions.
Daniel Procter and Kelly Ryan both slipped inside the top ten finishing 8th and 9th respectively on the Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour overall.
The First Light Makorori Longboard Classic event was held at Makorori on Saturday March 12th and despite Tsunami warnings, four to five foot waves and a strong southerly wind, the event ran very well.
The competition has a long and proud history and can now boast being the first held in the new GDC-owned car park at Red Bus. It proved a test of its design leading up to the Cold Water Classic due to start the following weekend.
Dave Timbs must be thanked for his efforts in organising and running the event every year and the sponsorship from Blitz Surf Shop saw everybody again come away with a very decent spot prize.
The draw for the Over 50s division read like a who’s who of Gisborne’s finest watermen from days past and out stripped the Open Men’s division in numbers. Some of the often comedic highlights were:
James Tanner, open men’s event champion from 2009 and 2010, finishing dead last in his first heat after flying back from Australia to specifically attempt the hat-trick.
Moananui Boardriders Club President, Ian (Moti) Procter, being eliminated in the first round of the over 40s (himself, aged in excess of 50) despite wearing lurid Speedos again, riding a board in excess of twelve feet and attempting to simulate the pose he has forever been immortalised with on the official event t-shirt.
Lincoln Stone, winning his first heat of the open with the highest heat score of the round and then missing his second round heat because he went to surf “Pipe”.
Nicolas Brikke from France turning up without a board, riding a different board in every heat and almost winning the open men’s division.
Sunny Brown wining a pink Roxy handbag as a spot prize.
Neil Walker donating $250 worth of travel as a spot prize and winning it himself. Of course he put it back in for a redraw.
I could go on but the whole thing is starting to sound like a bit of a sideshow disguised as a surfing event. The results were as follows:
Over 50s:
1st Chris Ransley
2nd Tommy Swann
3rd David Timbs
4th Larry Foster
Over 40s:
1st Andy McCulloch
2nd Mick Williams
3rd Peter Varey
4th Sven Intemann
Open:
1st Dan Procter
2nd Nicolas Brikke
3rd Kelly Ryan
4th Blair Lambert
Women:
1st Gina Samson
2nd Stacey Te Rekia
3rd Caroline Ryan
4th Lisa Moore
Juniors:
1st Sunny Brown
2nd Adam Grimson
3rd Te Aorangi Pearless
4th Kobe Johnson
Heard a bit of banter on the beach lately about Stand Up Paddle Boarders (SUPs)and their place in the line-up. No surfer has any right to pass judgment on who should be able to surf our local breaks and what sort of craft they ride. To pass judgment is to denote ownership. No one owns waves.
In saying that, surfers who choose to ride larger boards have a responsibility to be aware of what is happening in the lineup and think of others, read the situation and adjust their movements accordingly.
Well, that just about wraps up another thrilling ride that was Wave Rave for this issue. Hopefully in the next issue we’ll have a full report on the O’Neill Cold Water Classic – a 6-star ASP World Tour event happening right here in our neighbourhood!
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