A bunch of good bastards L to R, Daniel Kereopa, Chrissy Malone, Deano Morrison, Tama, John John Florence, Eric Knuston, Tai, Tana Clapham and in the foreground Ikey Morrison, Koro; Miha Graham and Kahu Graham.
It's not too often that a surf trip is a fail. More to the point, the fails aren't talked about. The worst kept secret in the country was that John John Florence was in town. He wasn't here to do a promo trip or a photoshoot. Any surfing was a bonus.
I did have an inside track, an invite to join, but knowing it wasn't s'possed to be a photoshoot put me at odds. I didn't want to be the hanger-on, I wasn't commissioned by a media outlet to chase. There was the internal debate- let's be honest- the very external debate. Should I go at all? The last thing I wanna do is be some sort of weird 50-something groupie. My mates said go, why not?
Tana Clapham on the wind swing
Raglan was abuzz with JJF, Dean Morrison and Tai Buddha being in town. The surf wasn't great, but the carparks were full. It was very, very clear not all the carloads were there to surf themselves. There were tales of John John swamped in the carpark for selfies, that he had been humble and accommodating. That also some the fans hadn't been that cool and had expected the selfies. From all accounts Mr Florence, Dean and Tai had been more than gracious.
JJF foiling wide of Manu
On cue the day sea-breeze set in. The lads shifted from surfing the points to foiling. I gently suggested that they save some energy for the low tide at Manu Bay, with the evening glass off. Agreed, Phewww. I waited at Manu, hung out with the usual suspects, catching up on gossip...creating more. They foiled for a long time, too long.
JJF's wave in
As the puffs of offshores started to groom the long walls of Manu, the entourage left for a BBQ. They'd been on boards all day, fair enough. This is not a photoshoot. We organised a dawnie on the jet-skis. I stayed at Manu and shot till dark, it got pretty good. It wasn't pumping, there were moments for sure.
Slowly the waves cleaned up
Nearly Ledge-ledge?
Nav Malone
John John left that evening to baton down the hatches, literally.
Tana pre sun-up
Pretty good huh! In truth one of a very few
The rest of us met at the boat ramp at 6am, as feared the swell had halved. But we gave it a go anyway. By 8am the northeast had kicked up too much. A couple of swings and couple of misses.
Tai and Dean... time for bacon, eggs and the rugger world cup final
FROM THE BOOK SHOP
These are becoming very popular! Stoked. The new print set of 10 NZ line ups and waves is a great wee stocking filler at $35.00 ... and free postage nationwide. Start sowing the seeds fellas! You need this for Christmas. Check them out in more detail HERE