Post-Quake Christchurch, New Zealand ...

Well what can I say ... it's been a long break (not a surf joke) from this blog. I have returned from travelling overseas and am once again living in Christchurch, earthquake city of the New Zealand. Man, the landscape has changed significantly. Central Christchurch is destroyed, roads are munted and houses and buildings are being pulled down everywhere.

And in case you are interested I think I still hold the trophy of being the world's worst surfer. I am struggling to stand up on my short board which sucks. Recently, I have been out to South Beach, New Brighton, North Beach and Waimairi Beach for a few sessions. These beaches are all very close to one another.

With summer approaching the water has warmed slightly and there have been some great conditions. Today, Sunday 11 November, 2012, was brilliant. There were a lot of  experienced surfers out and about. I sneaked to a more quiet part of South New Brighton - out of the public eye. I can't wait to get my longboard out of storage and give surfing a proper go again.


Although, not a lot of media attention has been paid to beaches and the coast line post earthquake, it is amazing how all beaches have significantly changed. Shorelines are much smaller now. It does illustrate how important the sand dunes are. It is cool to see the North Beach Surf Club has been painted and is looking in good shape. It is great to see that people care. Sadly, the New Brighton shops don't look so good - the area is very depressed. There is still a pretty good community vibe with some exciting temporary projects happening. I hope local and national governments will assist in revitalising this part of Christchurch.

Well, more posts to come. Just wanted to say I am pleased to be back in Christchurch waters and the City in general despite many people asking why I returned. My goal this summer is to become a far better surfer. Even getting my wetsuit to do up has been a recent challenge .... haha (I may need to lose a few kilos too)

Well happy surfing everyone!

The Wave by Maggi Hambling

This weekend I headed from London to Cambridge for a day trip. While there, I checked out the Fitzwilliam Museum. It turned out there was an exhibition on called The Wave by artist Maggi Hambling. On show was a group of large scale paintings depicting the power and energy of the North Sea.

The brochure states the exhibition 'reveals the artist’s long standing fascination with the elemental character of the sea off the Suffolk Coast. Among her most ambitious in scale, these evocative and sensual portraits of the wave demonstrate Hambling’s increasingly bold way of working, confronting, the viewer with all the power, grandeur and beauty of the sea.'

I love the fact that everyone has their own thoughts and feelings of the seas behaviour. Surfers learn to respect waves particularly when learning. It is important to know your limit and not to mess with large ferocious breaks that are clearly beyond your level.

Seeing and hearing waves crashing or gently lapping, people can decide whether they think the sea is angry or calm. Human behaviour is very much like the sea in we also have wild and calm days. But, there is no better way to relax than a great surfing session.

Surfing in Britain

It has been a cracker of a weekend here in London. It has been bliss in the warm, all day sunshine. Let’s hope it will be one of the hottest summer’s ever recorded as has been forecast.

It was awesome to pick up a free copy of TNT magazine at a tube station and to see the cover story was on surfing in Britain. Check out Catching Waves, Hit The Surf in Britain. It is a really well written story with helpful advice on where and when to go surfing.

I envy those who have close access to the beach.

Happy surfing!

Don’t sit and watch life disappear

After a lot of thought and consideration I have decided to bite the bullet and head to the UK for a year. It seems a good idea to follow the sun. Hopefully, England’s warming up as New Zealand’s summer draws to an end. With a bit of luck there will be a chance to try some UK surfing.

I have undertaken a lot of thinking about this move. Thoughts have swirled through my head for months like violent waves. I have been weighing up what I will miss, whilst what I could potentially gain. Friends and family will be sorely missed. Emailing and Skyping will be handy. My local beach will always be here to come home to. I am almost certain I will come to love it more. I do hope to explore new beaches on my travels.

I don’t want to look back with regret at not doing an overseas experience (OE). I think the whole cruisy, carefree lifestyle is a myth. It seems to me everyone does need some sort of a plan. Perhaps, you can cruise after you have achieved in life and completed major goals like world travel or had a successful good occupation. I will stop rambling here ...

On Saturday there was a messy 3 metre swell out at Waimairi Beach, Christchurch. There was no gap between the breaking waves. Paddling out was hard work. The waves really taught me I must learn to duck dive. I got pummelled out there. After 2 hours I slunk back to the car with my surfboard. The fact that there were no other surfers indicated that it wasn’t ideal conditions but perseverance wins on the day. I am determined to get better at this sport. I also need to surf as much as I can at the moment as am leaving for the UK next week.