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.

Artificial reefs

Reading the paper on the tube last week I was disappointed to see an article on Europe’s first artificial reef, built in Dorset, is not performing as well as was hoped. I was fascinated to read the reef was built by a New Zealand company. While there has been negative feedback, visitor numbers and house prices have rocketed in the Dorset area. There are moves to try to improve the reef.

Reading the story did make me wonder if we should be tampering with nature. Shouldn’t we accept the world’s breaks that have developed naturally? Although, I can see there would be a strong argument for the building of reefs with minimal environmental damage. I support the move of encouraging world governments to protect natural surf breaks, particularly when we see adventure tourism and seaside developments continuing to be developed. If you are interesting in the artificial reef check out the story yourself.

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.

New Zealand Surfing Guide

If you are learning to surf or are experienced, a local Kiwi or a tourist, you will find the jam packed New Zealand Surfing Guide very handy. This 550 page guide contains 470 detailed break maps. There are also 80 line up pictures and a 16 page colour gallery. This guide is perfect for planning a surfing road trip.

Two years of work went into compiling this guide - a lot of passion and love for surfing. Local surfers assisted in providing detailed information on the listed spots. The surfing community are lucky to have been given such great knowledge and insight.

Clever icons give detailed information for each spot and a stoke metre rates each break on a scale of 1 to 10. The guide also shows surfers how to learn to read the weather and predict swells. There are over 60 local area synoptic charts featured in the book.

Author, Peter Morse, acknowledges how complex New Zealand’s volcanic and reef lined coastline is and how much of it is still largely unexplored.

This gold bar sized guide book is just that gold. It is a perfect size for the car glove box or your carry bag where you can swat up on your next surfing adventure when you have a spare moment.

Paddling out – Feel the burn!

Nothing beats the feeling of standing up the first time when learning to surf. It is a huge sense of achievement. I am sure many surfers can remember this moment fondly. I couldn’t get the smile off my face. In order to catch a wave you must learn the unglamorous but essential skill of paddling out. If you aren’t incredibly fit (like me haha) don’t buy a really heavy surfboard, although beginners are best to learn on long boards. A soft top board is ideal if you are starting out. These reduce the number bruises you will get.

Before you begin paddling out it is a good idea to stand on the beach and look to see if there is a lull in the waves. If there is this is the best place to paddle. You save your energy when you don’t have to fight the waves. However, often conditions will dictate and there isn’t a lull.

I always walk out with my board until the water is just over my waist. This allows me to adjust to the cooler water temperature down here in New Zealand and also to note whether there is a drag at the beach and the direction it is pulling.

When you lay on the deck of your board the aim of paddling is to find the best trim position that provides the least resistance. Cup your hands to improve your pull. Lift your chest slightly when being hit by incoming waves. When your board moves smoothly through the water you have found the best paddling position. Most boards you try will be slightly different.

Today I went surfing for 2 hours in a 3 metre swell. I couldn’t paddle out as far as I would have liked. My arms began to ache. The more I paddled the more I got pushed back. I ended out being absolutely punished. It is amazing what odd angles your body can end up in when you are wiped out by big waves ... haha. It’s always fun to catch the smaller waves closer to the shore. They are also good to practice paddling out. But, one day I will hopefully be able to surf bigger waves.