New Zealand calling

I would have to say that New Zealand is one of the best places in the world that I have had the pleasure of visiting. New Zealand caters for every sort of person on this planet from the breath taking nature walks and panoramic views, to the most extreme snow boarding, biking, white water raftering, bungee jumping and big wave surfing and windsurfing on this planet. I recommend you all visit this place at some point keeping in mind that if are going to be there in the winter you bring a thick arse wetsuit!

If you are brave enough to bear the sub zero air temperatures and 5 degree waters of the South of New Zealand during the months of May through to September you can get a taste of what some of the largest waves on the planet might look like.However, this year, on the rarest of occasions, a low pressure system, hurling itself up from the deep Artic region pushed a huge SW swell of unbelievable magnitude towards the South Island of New Zealand during the summer months. It is on these very rare occasions that you can get a taste of the South Pacific’s potential without having to withstand the mind numbing elements that New Zealand is capable of in the winter.

I was having dinner in Maui on a Friday night with the boys when the discussion of New Zealand came up. Campbell Farrell a homegrown New Zealander, now living in Maui and a good friend of mine had told us a handful of tall stories of a place in the South island of New Zealand called “Papatowai”. A big wave location, home to the brave few that are willing to endure freezing temperatures and sub zero winds just to get a taste of pure adrenalin. With a latitude of 46.6 degrees South, its no wonder that some of the biggest storms on this planet slide past New Zealand’s coastline. We all sat and listened to Campbell’s depiction of this cold water hellish spot. That very next morning I get a call from Campbell, “IT`s going to be on” he said“ What’s gong to be on” I said.“Papas” he said, with a stunted hiccup in his voice, no doubt from the alcohol consumed from the night before.“Your joking, its February. How can there be a swell that big In the middle of New Zealand’s summer “I said”.

“Mate, check out the maps and call me back. It’s going to be big on Monday”With that said, I checked the maps for myself. He was right! All the forecasts predicted huge south swells hitting the south island with winds forecasted around 15 to 18 knots offshore and then swinging side shore around mid morning.

It was an opportunity too good to pass up especially when the water temperature would be quite mild for that time of year.

Teaming up...

I called Robby Swift immediately and asked if he wanted to come with me.“You want to go to New Zealand for a big swell” I said on the phone.“For sure” Robby said.I have been trying to hook up with Robby to do a story for quite some time now but because of his commitment to the racing events as well as all the wave events it made it extremely difficult to connect without any prior obligations. I called immediately to check for ticket availability and see if we could get down they’re in time for the swell.

There were only two airlines that fly down to NZ and they both operate just 2 days of the week. Air New Zealand was booked solid leaving Air Pacific as our only choice. Lucky for us they flew down and arrived into Queenstown the night before the swell but unfortunately they did the gravy train run, stopping in Nandi, Fiji then eventually arriving into New Zealand late Sunday night. Tickets were also a whopping $2500 a seat! With time running out and the weekend around the next bend we all decided to book the tickets and pray it was the right move.

If you have heard the term “ rolling the dice “, then chances are your probably a windsurfer!There are just so many elements that need to happen simultaneously to capture a perfect day, and then some.Just think for a second and consider all the elements that a windsurfer needs to complete a successful trip.Wind and waves are a given but then throw in direction of the wind and swell and the odds start stacking up against you!If the storm just moves a little in the wrong direction it could turn that peeling right-hander into a full-blown closeout. If you want to take it a step further then consider the weather conditions. Is it going to be sunny or is it going to rain? Is the sun going to be in the right place for the photographer or are we going to be silhouetted by the sun? What happens if the equipment does not arrive with your flight, or you get sick on the flight! Sometimes I think I would have more luck winning big in Vegas playing the slot machines than catching that perfect day on a windsurfer. I guess that’s what makes it so fun when you do score and you begin to appreciate and capitalize on those memorable days.

The last truly epic day I can remember was over one year ago, when myself and Robby Nash went to “ Back Yards “ on the North Shore of Oahu. That’s how long it’s been my friends! You’re probably sitting in your car or at home reading this article saying to yourselves how lucky these fuckers are to be scoring insane waves all the time. Well let me tell you it’s not like that at all! For every great trip there are 3 bad ones that don’t even go to print.

Information is everything especially when your going to a place that is so isolated and has never been windsurfed before. We called some of Campbell’s most reliable sources and got answers like, “come down here mate, its going to be fucken on, hey mate. Fuck mate hey”. Campbell would then say “but what about the wind strength and the direction” They would reply once again “come down here mate, its going to be fucken on, hey mate. Fuck mate hey”. I started to think that maybe we should ask some other people down there that might have something more too say. We called friends of their friends and we got the exact same answer word for word, literally. Its like that’s the best most significant explanation you could possibly get from the locals, anything more was just impossible.With our flights now booked it did `not matter anyway. We were just looking for reassurance.

Day 1: here comes the swell

We spend much of Saturday preparing and consolidating our equipment for the flight down to NZ due to the heavy restrictions on excess baggage.Upon our arrival into NZ I was still getting calls from friends asking if we wanted to go bike riding or go stand up paddling back on Maui. We had no time too tell any of our friends what we were doing which was kind of funny. It took us 32 hours too get from Maui to Papas which is in the Catlins, South of Dunedin on the South Island. We arrived just after midnight, tired and just wanting too get some sleep.

The swell was hitting in just 6 hours and we only had a few precious hours to sleep before we had to hit the water. First light saw very light offshore winds outside our bedroom window so we pilled into the cars and drove up to get our first glimpse of what Papatowai had in store for us. Anticipation turned immediately to disappointment upon our first look at the water. The lines were broken up and messy and not really that big from where I was standing. It was a long way but you could see there was something wrong. We looked at each other but no one said a word. We all had the same pale look in our face. 33 hours of traveling to get this shit was written on all our faces.Swift turned to me after a while and said, “It’s definitely not warm”, I turned to him and said “your not wrong about that”. I think we were both too scared to talk about the larger problem that was slowly growing as the sun rose higher in the sky. Where was the wind and what had happened to the swell?

We decided to jump into the cars and go back to the house. I just lined it straight to my bed and pulled the covers over my head wishing I was back in Hawaii. I swore right there and then that I would never listen to another surf report again. I closed my eyes and tried to think about something else.

An hour must have rolled by when Campbell came into the room and said to me “come on. Get up mate. Lets go and look at it again. You never know what could happen down here”I said “your joking right. It’s shit out there”“Lets just look at it again, “ he said. I agreed and back we went again. This time a single ski was out there towing in the line up and the waves seemed to be straightening up a bit. I watched as the ski and surfer caught their first wave. I turned to Robby and said, “is that guy a midget out there or is that a 15 foot wave breaking right now” Robby smiled and said, “I think it is”. We were looking at it from so far away that there was no perspective to gauge the size, but now that the ski was out there it looked massive.

I started to freak out but the wind did not seem quiet strong enough. We jumped in the cars and drove directly to the river mouth where we could launch the skis and at least give it a try. We made the decision to carry our equipment down to the beach which was a long walk and then use the skies to taxi us to the outside break where we would rig up. We gathered our gear and set off walking down this huge grass hill with no track to guide us. I lead the way trying to work out the best way to reach the beach. A track would have been nice but it was more of an adventure as it was. It expressed just how remote this spot really was. The lower we got the larger the surf got till the point we were we could only see white water. Campbell and his buddy Miles both came in together to jetty us to the outside break. There was a lot of current and kelp bands lay on top of the surface like large bands of spaghetti on a dinner plate. By this point you have to have your shit together physically and mentally. Its hard to arrive at a big wave break and assess all the problems in the space of a few hours especially when the break is so far away from the car park.

I could see two parts to the wave. The first main outside section hit the reef and just stood up and barreled like Jaws does. The second part of the wave would be the inside part. The wave would get fat and would turn on itself a bit and a new slab of water would stand up and catch you unaware sometimes if you’re not paying close attention. The wave would peel down the line and was more of a workable ride than the main peak. It still had a bit of a weird lump on it and some waves did not connect to the inside but it was big and that’s ultimately what counted. Rigging up in the water was a whole new problem compared to Jaws. At Jaws you are in a huge deep channel and you can take your time to ensure everything is ok. Out here there were rouge sets breaking in the middle of the ocean. There was just no safe place to sit so we decided to help each other rig one at a time, keeping a close look out for rogue waves.

The wind and water were cold even in a 4/3 wetsuit. I just wanted to get on my gear so I could warm up. At the start we were just sticking to the main peak trying to pick off the bomb sets and drop in super late and bottom turn around the huge sections. By mid morning there was a small group of local tow surfers that had gathered upwind of the peak and were also making a bid for the set waves. It became apparent after a while that a big set would hit every 20 to 30 minutes and both myself and Robby, along with the other tow surfers wanted those set waves. We took the first few bombs but then as the day went on the tow surfers wanted all the bombs to themselves Robby and I both pulled off our fair share of set waves that day, and finally, after a certain amount of frustration, we agreed it was time for us to have a crack.

I took a bomb wave from the outside and I could already see one ski start up and make its way towards the line up.I decided not to pull off the wave as I had done a number of times and as the Jet Ski cut across me and the surfer let go of the rope I managed to jump the ski rope that was in front of me and then drop into the wave super late along with the surfer. The local surfer was super pissed with me at the end of the ride and shouted out to me. I asked him what his problem was and he said he did not feel comfortable sharing waves with me.

The rest of the day was a battle between taking the good set waves and being respectful towards the surfers, considering that we were in there realm. They had not seen a windsurfer out in real waves before especially at their premiere big wave spot. I’m sure they would never in a million years have expected a windsurfer to be out in those conditions at that particular spot. I am always a bit hesitant at the start of a windsurf session especially when you have never been there and it’s 15 to 20 feet. You wonder how badly the hold down’s are going to be or if there are any ledges under water that you could get hit by or get stuck under.

My confidence grows during the day and I could see Robby pushing himself as well. I remember catching the first bomb and then gibing out into the channel. I turned my head towards the peak to see Robby dropping in super deep on solid15 footer. As I climbed the wave towards the shoulder I could see Robby start his bottom turn with a huge section that he had to navigate around. I thought to myself “fuck yeah” and immediately decided that the next wave I caught had to be deeper than his, if that were possible! I think I must have gone a bit too deep on one of the set waves because I had a solid wipeout. I dropped in with a surfer and he kind of stuffed me super deep and the lip caught my clue. I got rolled pretty hard but it was not too bad. My gear on the other hand was completely destroyed with no possibility of getting extra gear. Robby sailed over and said “I’m glad you broke all your stuff because I cannot hang on to this boom anymore”. I had hardly noticed that we had been sailing for over four hours.

We made our way back to the boat ramp tired and sore but adrenalized at the same time. Robby and I both wondered how the local surfers would handle the situation so we decided to stick close to Campbell as he has a lot of clout down here. All the boys gathered at the ramp and one of the guys that was out there turned to Campbell and said “ hey mate that was fun, hey”.

With that single statement I new everything was ok and later on learned that the guys down there are super nice. They are true New Zealanders that don’t have a chip on their shoulders like the crew in Hawaii or California. We said our farewells to all and hit the highway, making our way to Dunedin which was about a 2-hour drive.

“Fly by the seat of your pants” adventures are some of the best times you will have and our arrival into Dunedin was to be no exception. Firstly we had to find a place to eat at 10 pm, which was near impossible as everything closes at 9pm. Then, we wondered the streets for about ½ hour trying to find somewhere to crash for the night. We found an old pub that had a few rooms up stairs with a communal bathroom and shower. The place was called “Heifers”. I kid you not! I was expecting too see some naked fat chick grinding away on some spare ribs and knocking down a slurpy when we walked in the front door. Our room was the gutsiest room ever. Neon lights shined through our window and the beds were so old that the coils poked through the mattress. We were all so tired by then we would have been fine with sleeping in the car!

Jason Polakow