Scribbles Abroad

Buoyweather, some of the best money I’ve ever spent, was displaying 8-10 feet at 15 seconds with offshore winds in about a day, (means its going to be really good).  Raglan faces North so the Southwest swells wrap in almost 180 degrees and would reveal perfectly groomed six footers by the time we got there.  The stories of minute long perfect lefts were ringing in our heads and being from the EA25ID any wave longer than 5 seconds is a wave of the day.  It took us about two minutes to drive through downtown Raglan to realize that the point break was a bit out of town and that the kite boarders we saw were surfing beach break, thank goodness.  With hope flowing through our veins our hearts began beating faster as we got out of town towards the point.  Our first view was the pic below and what we saw was corduroy (swell lines) stacked to the horizon.

We couldn’t see the break, just the corduroy and the kite boarders back in town.  The next turn revealed Manu Bay.  We stopped and watched for a few minutes.  The tide was full, it looked fun, but not the epic Raglan we had heard about.

Manu Bay from up above

Manu Bay from down below

This is how you add the polarized filter to the camera, just snap it with your glasses in front.  Cherry boo.

We thought that Manu Bay was it for a bit, but I remembered all the photos that I had posted in my old office back in Hawaii and this looked nothing like it.  A few months before I left Intracorp I posted up a large photo of Raglan over a painting that was situated on the wall behind my desk.  I then posted it on the desktop of my computer as a reminder of my goals.  It was a continual reminder of why I was doing what I was doing.  With that pic in my head I told Sam and Louise that there had to be more around the next point.  With the remainder of Raglan still calling us we got back in the car to heed her call.  Down the hill towards Manu Bay and then back up we went.  As we turned the corner we pulled into the next lookout.  There it happened, as if walking into our own personal surf video, the vista we saw was even better than the photo back in my old office.  There were waves peeling through the bay giving us a site beyond compare.  The corduroy was groomed from a thousand miles of traveling on the open sea and their abrupt meeting with the coast was causing salivation, or should I say our salvation

As we watched the waves we threw it out there, “hey, lets find the house with a Hawaiian flag flying and stay there!”  With the way our day was going it was apparent that our chi was aligned and that anything we wanted was ours if we could find it.  We pulled into the parking area suitedup and dashed for the ocean.  That first surf still remains one of the best any of us have ever had.  But Sam’s in Tavarua now so with his luck a session there has topped ours by now.

My first wave at Whale Bay was a screamer.  Probably a four footer, ran down the line, had to do a huge floater to make the first section as the pack was causing people to take off deep.  I miraculously landed the floater with the tail first and then proceeded to wack the lip about 7 times before it dropped me off in the boneyard, (the end of the line).  As the corner of my lips proceeded to tickle my earloabs (try it) I let out a hoot!  Raglan was off the HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK.  The place was allowing us to all surf beyond our abilities.

Me screaming through Whale Bay, check the donkeys trying fo drop in, can you hear me?  “Ho! Ho!, Ho!” Not like Santa though.

Louise was throwing buckets out the back on her frontside surfing bigger and better than the guys and then Sam would follow her up, catch a bomb, and proceed to annihilate the lip for 200 meters.  Everyone was pretty chill in the water and the stoke was spreading.  We were talking to complete strangers, and that’s when we met Leon one of the singers for Katchafire.  He was telling us how the guy on the inside was Francis Kora and that Shapeshifter was in town holed up in a house recording a new album.  Three of the most famous musicians in New Zealand were in Raglan and two of them were out surfing with us sharing the stoke.  We finished the session in the dark that evening and tried snapping a pic of our stoke, had their been a full moon we probably would have stayed out even longer.

Leon!

The next day the surf had picked up two more feet and we went back out to Whale Bay as Indicators wasn’t looking very good yet.  I filmed Louise and Sam for a bit but with the surf pumping I soon got anxious and within the hour was out there with them.  Sam and I sat out the back and traded off on the bombs.  Leon paddled back out and joined us.  I kind of felt bad for us taking over pole position out there but it seemed like 95% of the people out there were from Auckland.  Leon didn’t seem to mind either.  A few waves later an older guy rolled into Whale Bay from Indicators and straight up killed it.  This guy had to be a pro back in the day and he surfed like he was from Hawaii.  You can just tell.  Sam rolled up to him and said “Wassup Buzzy.”  Slightly startled but happy to hear a bit of pidgin in Nzed Buzzy responded with a, “good, how you?”  What followed was the realization that Buzzy Kerbox (legend), Titus Kinimaka (legend), and Ekolu Kalama (I’ll put it out there, future legend) were being put up in the house at the point by an extremely wealthy Kiwi in return for a few promotional appearances showing off their skills on their stand up paddle boards.  Buzzy invited us all up to take a hot shower and have a couple of beers at their house after the surf.  As if all our karma was somehow being repaid all at once by Raglan we all took the moment to really take it in.  Something we continued to do for the rest of our time in Raglan.

To be appreciative of a situation in the moment makes the situation itself appreciative, its weird but that’s what we did and things just seemed to get better.

Sam/Holomua with style through Whale Bay

Sam and Louise had surfed long enough but I wasn’t tired yet since I was filming earlier.  They both went up to the Hawaiian house and met everyone.  As I continued to surf, the crowd emptied out and Ekolu paddled out on his SUP.  The tide was getting fat and you had to dodge boulders on the inside.  Ekolu was killing it on the SUP doing lay back turns fully leaning on his paddle showing da Hawaiian mana.

Ekolu ripping through Whale Bay, hawaiian borrowed da pics from this place.

After surfing that evening we walked up to the Hawaiian House and met everyone.  They were going to BBQ in a bit and they wanted us to join but we didn’t feel comfortable as we had nothing to bring.  Had it been all Hawaiians it would have been ok but there were a couple of Kiwis with them and so we headed into town to get some beer and chicken to cook on the grill at the campground.  The grill ended up being busted that night so we cooked the BBQ on a stove and oven Hawaiian Style, work with what you got.

The next day we got up early and surfed all fricken day long.  The cool thing was that we got to change at the house the boys were staying at and got hot showers.  But the best thing was to be cruising in New Zealand with the feeling of Ohana cause Buzzy, Titus, and Ekolu accepted us into their temporary hale, (house in Hawaiian). The surf was amazing as you can see.

The view from the deck down on Whale Bay.

Titus and Ekolu

A quick break, Steini, doobie, and then we’re back out there!

Tita

Check it out, firing even into the night!

We got back just in time.  The fire had just been lit and so had other things.  The music was non-stop and Buzzy kept requesting classic Kalapana.  Titus, not one to dissapoint cranked out at least a full album of Kalapana.  Not a word missed with back up singing being added in by all those that knew the words, we had the point at Whale Bay sounding like a kanakapila on the bench at Makaha.  Francis Kora showed up with some friends and it became his turn.  His voice is absolutely stunning and mixed with his honed skills on the guitar, one has to wonder why Kora has not yet been to Hawaii to play.  Ekolu also is an extremely gifted musician, his renditions of Hawaiian classics and newer songs had everyone singing along.  As the guitar passed from Ekolu, to Titus, to Francis, those in attendance were treated to an unforgettable night.  In between his turns on the guitar, Ekolu manned the grill and soon it was time to eat.  A feast fit for kings, steak and beer, we wolfed down our meal and then went back to the impromptu concerto.  Buzzy had hit the wall from surfing all day and headed downstairs to bed as we continued to rock.  The sound of the swell building hummed in the background and roared inbetween songs.

We continued this gift to and from the gods until Buzzy came up and threatened to punch out whoever was pounding on the floor.  Although we kinda felt sorry for Buzzy, it was pretty damn funny.  Buzzy came up in his undies, squinting from the bright light and was yelling at us like we were teenagers.  Ekolu and Titus being like teenagers gave a sarcastic “Sorry Buzzy” then proceeded to jump up and down on the floor.  When Titus plays guitar he often uses his foot to keep rythm or maybe to provide the bass line as was the case that night.  Not trying to rat Titus out or anything but it was just funny that it was Titus all along that was keeping Buzzy up.  With only 3 steinies left in the fridge it was time to go.  The boys were getting flowed free everything.  The 5 cases of Steinlager pure had been exhausted and the only beer left were original Steinlagers.  It was a good thing that Sam, Louise and I had brought two 15 packs of Steinlager and a bunch of steaks.  Otherwise the boys would be going to sleep without a night cap.  We departed that evening feeling as though we had just flown back to Hawaii for a Luau and it was time to leave.  It was a magical evening that will not soon, and perhaps ever be forgotten.   We got back to the campsite late and the boom gate was locked so Sam slept in the parking lot while we walked back to our tent.

The next morning we woke to the sound of our car pulling up, it was Sam, he had just been lectured by the Campground staff about sleeping in our car but he didn’t care.  It was time to go surf and it was firing, again. Indicators became my favorite spot (The top point) and Louise and I both caught the longest waves of our lives this day.  When we got back to the house we timed someone else on a wave similar to the ones we caught and it came to a minute and a half.  We even saw a guy catch one from Indicators all the way through Whale Bay which comes to over 3 minutes.  That only happens maybe once a year.  We truly scored on this trip as Raglan continued to deliver.  But swells eventually dissapate so it was time to head on to our next adventure.  We had a great time with the Hawaiians and look forward to meeting up with them again sometime in the future.

Titus, Sam/Holo, Ekolu, Kahi, Buzzy, Louise, Campbell

Some more pics of the goodness below.

Raglan pulses, here is a lull, but in a few minutes it would light up again and be full of waves.  You can see the whitewash from the last pulse.  But during the height of the swell it was non stop pulsing.