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 going 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.
"You're joking, it's 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.
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 asked 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 you're 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 Naish went to "Back Yards" on the North Shore of Oahu. That's how long it's been!
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. Sponsors get pissed not to mention what a waste of time and money it was for us.
Information is everything, especially when you are 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 to 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. We spend much of Saturday preparing and consolidating our equipment for the flight down to NZ due to the heavy restrictions on excess baggage. |
