09 Magazine

WORD FROM Iain Buchanan Bubbles Glen Carkeek, Johnny Elbo Mangawhai Pool Paul Greenland

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The springy spring has sprung issue

#28

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Springing into it again, hmmm, go back down that long and dreary road of explaining what the Spring Equinox is and why it’s always so shit just before summer cracks its warm rays and offshores upon us ??? Nah, we’ve been there- written that. But just like an 09 area Spring this issue does reek of optimism; 1st off the ranks is that bloody legend Mr. Iain ‘Ratso’ Buchanan, for the ‘80’s kids he was NZ’s surfing poster boy- the 5x National Champ blazed a trial on the world rankings for other Kiwi Surfers to emulate- of course it hasn’t quite panned out to be the flood gates opening and NZ becoming a surfing superpower.

Ratty’s human too; he’s had his ups and downs, but he’s always been a legend in the water - he’s a humble, funny fucker too and this year he took his legend status to a whole new level- he’s the Surfing World Master Champion. HE IS A WORLD CHAMPION. Yes, a surfer from our very own 09 west coast is a world beater- don’t be stink and disaffected about it or too cool for school, just consider; one of ours is the best and we all get to surf with him this summer. We salute the Rat just that paper fold over to your right.

The optimism continues with Glen Carkeek’s Primal celebrating 20 years of trading and the Wave Box in Albany busting open it’s own doors to start trading. There’s new surf shops opening, Art & design: Luke Darby luke@zepher.co.nz Stalin Styled Director: Craig Levers photocpl@xtra.co.nz 09 Magazine Proudly Printed in the 09 by Icon Print.

there’s new mini skate parks and death bowls made. There’s new World Wide Web assaults and surf tour companies forming right here in the 09- there’s a lot to be amped for.

The surf often sucks the worst in Spring for us here in the 09, but we’ve had a mild winter and our resident weather geek is calling La Nina [that’s the good one that gives us east coast lows and west coast offshores] for summer again - CPL STOP PRESS And actually this is literally a stop press situation, the whole issue is locked down with all those white boxes filled with cheeky words snd pix. Rumours are seeping up from Raglan home of SNZ that the Nationals have been confirmed to be at Piha again this January- exciting times huh!!!

On the Cover; Ratso’s old shaping logo - what possibly could be more appropriate.

On this page; Springs... cos it’s spring hahaha 09 Magazine is published by: PhotoCplMedia www.photocpl.co.nz photocpl@xtra.co.nz.

CMB 33, Piha, Waitakere 0646 Copyright PhotoCplMedia All rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording and otherwise, without prior written permission of the publisher. Neither facts, views and opinions expressed in advertising or text are necessarily agreed to by the editor or publisher of 09 and while all reasonable steps have been taken to ensure accuracy, no responsibility will be taken by the editor or publisher of 09 magazine for inaccurate information. Thanks - love you long time?

Back 2 the future 4 Primal

Primal Surfboards celebrate their 20th year of existence this spring, and for it’s founding father, Mr Glen Carkeek it’s certainly been a wonderful road of trials and tribulations. In every way the brand Primal and the man GC are intertwined; during these decades GC himself has morphed from a virulently staunch bachelor and a travelling shaper to a settled family man with a beautiful wife and kids, but that’s not to say his and Primal’s renown cheek and humour have dampened in anyway.

Many readers will remember Primal’s legendary adverts, the ‘Must be no Surf’ ad which was a blurred frame grab from a porn video, the ‘Get Hard’ ad with Primal buddy Hank grinding his engorged manhood into the rail of a newly shaped stick, the ‘Surf or Submit’ photo-shopping tribute, or even the full-page hologram advert that actually didn’t have a hidden picture at all… the hours spent trying to figure that one out- damn you GC! The 20 years have seen Primal move about a fair bit too, from the hardcore- down-the-driveway-and-around-the-back factory/showroom on Barry’s Point Rd to the full size retail building with basement factory on the street front, to the splitting of the retail and manufacturing divisions and move out the Kumeu and Indonesia. Hold on, this is all sounding a bit grandiose and almost like there’s going to be a NZX stock float soon, no; Primal is still very much a core surf business that’s ever adapting and melding with the surf market as best it can.

The latest change is in many ways a consolidation, the Primal Factory is back on Barry’s Point Road and under the retail store- The Board Lab. “We’re back where we should be, back to our core market,” exudes GC, “the idea forward is that this factory will be where we do all our R’n’D and all our custom boards will be made here at Barry’s Point Road. Squeak [Steve Hamyln] and I will be based shaping here for our customers, but we’ll swap out every four months or so to do stints up at the factory in Indo.” GC adds; “Squeak’s shaping and design have become a pivotal part of our operations-I’m so stoked to work alongside him.”

Whoa, a board manufacturing plant in Indo,

Global Primal domination? Well sort of actually, GC along with his business partners hatched the plan for a factory in Surabaya, Java a few years ago- it’s been a mission to jump through all the Javanese red tape, but the factory has been in full swing all this year. The plant is wholly NZ owned and all the operations are overseen by Kiwis- former NZ Champ Troy Hirst is the factory manager. The plant is vertically integrated, it blows it’s own blanks and supplies some of the world’s bestknown shapers with raw, semi and finished product to their specs. “The concept is to be a leader in supply at all levels and every shaper can tap into the product line at whatever level they wish, from blown blanks to a computer shaped finished board. By having Kiwis oversee all aspects of manufacture we can ensure product to the highest standard while keeping costs to the minimum- so the end user gets a better board for an affordable price.’ GC goes on to say, “I’d love to see the day where NZ surfers can walk into a surf shop and instead of buying a knock-off generic Chinese board they are buying a board designed and branded by their local shaper, knowing that it is made to the best possible quality.”

A noble plan indeed and one that’s certainly a long way down its road of trials and tribulations- the latter of which would certainly be Primal’s development of their Futurelite epoxy boards. “I’d say over 80% of our boards are Futurelites now, it’s been a huge deal getting some of the best surfers on them and winning on them- last year Josh Kerr was riding a Futurelite with great success and of course Slater beater Billy Stairmand has been on his Craig Hughes/Raglan Surf Co Futurelites for over year now [including his WQS win last year in Spain]. We’ve got distributors for Europe and Oz demanding exclusivity, so we’re stoked to have something that’s NZ developed being recognised and wanted.”

Yep, while others have stumbled by the wayside Primal Surf has emerged from the last 20 years most certainly bloodied but unbowed and definitely looking towards the future, back where it started.

Whangarei A&E gets busier Words by Tony Baker

One of the largest skate bowls ever constructed in New Zealand recently opened in Mangawhai Heads. Park designer, the very apting named Jason Parkes, collaborated with a keen crew of locals, mainly parents of skater groms, to build the first stage of the Mangawhai Activity Zone. The project, which has been a work in progress since 2008, aims to build a wider activity zone for the community to use including a children’s playground, fitness areas and a Mountain Bike track. The MAZ team has built two of the slickest skate pools in the 09. The smaller of the two has already claimed a handful of victims, probably due to the excitement under-lights parties that have taken place to celebrate the magicness of the smooth figure 8 shaped, pool styled bowl. And not too long after the little brother bowl was completed the mac daddy bigger bowl was completed and concrete fever has taken a hold of the local board riding crew since. On a hot late winter’s Saturday afternoon in August the Bowls were officially opened by a local Kaumatua Charlie Donnelly and MAZ Chairman Simon Bennett. A bevvy of hot skaters graced the smooth concrete bowls of Mangawhai to show their appreciation for this new creation. The crowd were treated to a quality blend of new school and old, with 1980’s vert legend Dave Crab stopping by to pull out some solid hand plants and big airs. Keith Duffy and Justin Healy put on a solid effort and even a few of the local Mangawhai groms jammed the bowl in front of the 150 strong crowd. And since the word has spread, crew from as far south as Wellington have been north to sample the treats of this beast.

With the first stages of the project completed the MAZ Committee is looking to continue fundraising efforts on the hope of building the complete Activity Zone. For more information about the MAZ and how you can get involved in supporting and/ or fundraising check out http://www.mangawhaiskatepark.co.nz

Justin Healy frontside smith grind

Beached AsThen and Now After doing the 1st Beached As book I knew I was on to something good, something that people liked, it was simple and as always, it’s the simple things in life that are often what work best. I mean, a coffee table book featuring some of NZ’s favourite beaches; it’s not brain surgery. Actually, I was kind of blown away there wasn’t a NZ beach book like Beached As Vol 1 before- it’s such a straight forward concept. It sold well [thank you to everyone that has bought a copy], in fact when I tell book industry types the units shifted they are suitably surprised, that’s a good feeling. It was logical to back up Beached As Vol 1 with a Vol 2, but I didn’t want to rehash the same elements- I wanted to evolve the concept, so I went backwards.

I have all my late Auntie Audrey’s negatives from her travels around NZ, some of these are over 70 years old- there were a lot of beach photos- but you wouldn’t expect anything else,

we’re a nation of beach goers and we have been for generations- I struck gold; Auntie had the next book all sorted for me.

So, in between bossing around the slack arsed 09 Magazine staff, for the last 2 years I’ve had the absolute honour of tripping around NZ retracing Auntie’s footsteps in the sand.

Beached As- Then and Now is just that, Auntie’s images from yester year reproduced to the highest standard and copied as closely as possible present day so you can compare the changes over the decades.

The majority of the beaches featured in Beached As- Then and Now are direct comparisons, but these photo missions that Auntie’s original images sent me on meant I was driving past some other amazing NZ bays- well, it would have been rude not to stop for a surf, or a swim, or a photo. And these random beaches have yielded some of my favourite images

bethells beach te henga waitakere

Located just to the west of Auckland, Te Henga – which refers to its sand dunes being shaped like over-turned waka (canoes) – was an important settlement of the Te Kawerau a Maki people. Europeans arrived there in the 19th century and began a series of major changes to the character and shape of Te Henga. The most significant was the clearing of land for timber and farming that began in 1854 and continued until the 1920s. A dam on the Waitakere River was completed in 1910, radically altering the level of the riverbed and reducing the flow of water to the sea (local surfers often speculate how good the surf could have been with the Waitakere river in full flow, thus creating much-needed sand banks). Original settler John Bethell sold the land that is now known as Te Henga Park to the Waitakere County Council and the beach and park area have been popular with Auckland residents ever since. Te Henga has also featured as a favourite location of TV shows like Zena and Hercules.

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in the book, Okiwi- Kaikoura, Blackhead, Papetea, Sandy Bay and Hahei are all examples of happy randomness discovered while on Auntie’s trail.

Beached As-Then and Now is available nationwide from October the RRP is $49.95. It’s also for sale at www.photocpl.co.nz and the official Book launch is at Sitka, 6 Osborne St Newmarket.

7th October 6pm come get yours. - CPL

Bethells Surf Lifesaving tower standing sentry over the beach.

The tower has become an iconic landmark of the west coast.

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www.pihastore.co.nz 8128 844

www.lionrocksurfshop.com 8128 433

Shotbo'

These were shot mid June at Puerto Viejo - a left point peeling off a noisy bird colony, about an hour south of Lima, Peru. The surf was teeming with fish attracted to the bird colony, and dolphins attracted to the fish. The coast in Peru is very arid; it hasn’t rained in ten years, so the most life you will find is at the beach. Dust, dirt, dead animals and sand mingle and stink at the shoreline. This was the same wherever I was in Peru - so different to what we know at home. My friend Pancho Maggiolo shot the photos - Cheers me old china- Johnny Egdell

smashed pipi

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keyhole boardriders ball

sustainable coastlines

send ur pipi’s to photocpl@xtra.co.nz

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Surf ball season

www.aucklandsurf.co.nz PIHA SURF stock a wide range of new and 2nd hand surfboards. Or order a Custom shape from esteemed shaper Mike Jolly. Check out the cool as Piha Surf T’s, and other funky nic-nacs from the upstairs-craft shop .We offer a professional ding repair service at Piha Beach, West Auckland (incl. quality repairs on all epoxy boards.) and accommodation.

www.pihasurf.co.nz

122 Seaview Rd, Piha Beach | (09) 812 8723 | E: pihasurf@xtra.co.nz

magazine The Far 09 from www.photocpl.co.nz

Green Geek What’s the surf like Greeny? What do you reckon it is gunna be like tomorrow? How big do you think the east coast will be next Friday? What are the banks like? What time you surfing bro?

-This is what the inbox of my phone looks like on any given day of the week for me, and its been like that for the last 10 years, pretty much ever since I got a cell phone back in 2001.

In case you don’t already know, I’m a nerd [believe me; we knew! -Ed]. I read books about volcanoes. I watch documentaries on plankton. I study topographic maps while I eat my Weetbix, and can name, off the top of my head the heights of most major mountains in the world. More importantly I am fascinated by the weather, the surf it creates and trying to forecast it. My mates have known this for a while, hence the constant bombardment of texts and phone-calls. This, I think, led to this germ of an idea about 4 years ago now, why don’t I start up my own surf website? It was a good plan, but I never had the money, I was traveling, too busy, there was always some excuse.

Earlier this year I decided to set up a shitty free Google site and for what it was, it was generating some really good feedback, so with a bit of help from my awesome parents, I got the money together to get a proper site made up. I knew there was a gap in

the market for an informative, factual and most importantly, accurate, surf report and forecast site, focusing on the Auckland region. I wanted to keep it simple, to the point, and most importantly uniquely me and let my personality come out through my forecasts and my reporting.

Telling people what the surf is like is a pretty touchy business, as surfing is a selfish sport and no one wants anyone else to know what is going on, but I figured out that it is better off someone from the Auckland surf community doing it, over people that have nothing to do with this part of NZ and have no real interest in our AK surf, or the people who surf it. Through the conscientious use of webcams, reports and forecasts, I hope to offer a core tool that is beneficial to everyone who uses it, locals and City-folk alike. It is very much a work in progress but I think I am well on the way to achieving this.

Its a fickle, but often very rewarding, piece of Aotearoa and no one knows the ups and downs of what makes it tick better than me (so I like to think anyway haha). I’ve spent 18 years living and breathing the surf and the weather out here, so if you want to know what’s really going on, make sure you tune in to Auckland Surf and get the lowdown.

Paul Greenland on his way to winning a Keyhole Boardriders comp

Samoan Samsquanchs* “This is a wave that eats boards and it eats bodies” the American guide told us on the boat as we made our way out to the break. “Youll be practising your toooob riding for tomorrow when the swell really hits, be careful out there”... We all felt a little anticipation as we got closer to the reef. The 2 foot left we found at the end of the ride left us a little disappointed. The grommets Tom and Tyler paddled around the line up sarcastically quoting the words of the overamped surf guide. We got a few and it was good to get wet in the tropics after the crap weather at home in Auckland.

The next day we were up in the dark and on to the boat well be-

fore dawn. We were headed to a left that needs a solid swell to break and as the day dawned there were plenty of lines as 8-10 foot swell hit some of the more exposed reefs. The left was firing as we parked up in the boat. The other guide told us ”yeah its probably 4 foot....” before Nat got his first wave, pulled in and was then steamrolled by the double overhead whitewater.

Back to the boat for a bigger board... The swell peaked at a solid 6 foot and the odd 8 footer snapped a few leggies and sent wayward boards hurtling through the line up. Everyone got some good ones and one by one retired to the boat.

The area has numerous waves, rights and lefts, but mostly

CAMS: Muriwai, Maori Bay North Piha, South Piha Mangawhai Heads, Raglan Whangamata, Hot Water, Mt Maunganui and more.

Check out SURF2SURF.com for the lastest reports and long range surf forecasts.

The sort of barrel that would even sober up Mr Lehey

they need boat access. We surfed a different break everyday.

The last day culminating in a rarely surfed perfect, shallow left about an hour to the South. Only our crew of 5 in the water. Everyone got some good pits, in the most idyllic setting imaginable. The landscape a cross between New Zealand’s coast and Jurassic Park with thick jungle down to white sandy beaches with not a soul around. We didn’t see the Samsquanch but keep an eye out if you head up those ways. By Bubbles. * Ever watched the legendary Trailer Park Boys? If you have you’ll know what a Samsquanch is, if you haven’t, well you’re missing out on some of the best telly ever made.

Tom Timpson

Your author - Bubbles

It’s Just Not Cricket Justin and Chey up the Amazon…

09 skating legends Justin Watene and Chey Ataria have joined forces with the Amazon Boardstore, Parnell. JW says the plan is get the store becoming a hub for the central city boarding communities. They’ve gone a long way towards this already with a sick little skate park out in the forecourt and the regular hosting of City Boardriders get togethers. The shop is under continual changes; next on JW’s list is an area to exhibit board culture art, YES! … don’t know about City Boardriders yet? Well you should, it’s largely the brainchild of that sifty fellow Master Gav Bisman, check the group out in facebook and roll along for a beer and sausie next catch-up, here’s what we cut’n’pasted off their FB page “A board riding collective who are city based board riders. To share waves, skate ramps, tell tall tales and catch up every now and then over a few beverages and have

a fucking good time. It’s not about competing, it’s about riding.” – NICE!!!!

But wait there’s more from the Amazon Camp, the ever popular retailer has set up shop INSIDE Real Groovy- yep walk in the door and to the right where all the 2nd hand Gaming stuff was is a spanky new Amazon Storeas you can see from the pix it’s been fitted out in keeping with the RG styles- buy some CD’s and read the liner notes- check out the cool cassette lamp shades-buy the new CPL/Billabong collab T-shirt for your missus… …oh just see how these segways are rolling off the keyboard… “It was a bolt from the blue aye” says our very own

CPL, “Davy Henley from Billabong contacted me mid winter about doing a collaboration for a women’s T, the idea was to produce a print that was uniquely Kiwi, and I have to say, the shots chosen and the way Billabong has put it together- I’m just so stoked- it’s wicked to be a part of something that looks so good”. The garments are available 09 wide- if your local Billabong dealer isn’t stocking them; hit them up to get them instore.

Seems as though our editorial dictator’s images are in demand; his shot of Piha Bar from last summer’s epic sand is now adorning the new Lion Rock Surf Shop Hoodys and Tees. The shot of Mangawhai Bar used as the cover on his new postcard book is being used as a 2 metre wide lightbox in the Queen Street Rip Curl concept store… and there’s been unconfirmed sightings of 2 Billabong Men’s T CPL prints. Does all this mean our salaries on 09 Magazine are going up???

“Your salary is inversely proportional to your office broadband usage bro” … awwww fuck.

Employment- yep we’re talking about employment now- former 09 poster kid and Auckland Chump Scotty ‘Muffin’ Bell has departed O’Neill as their North Island Rep after 4 years on the road for the wetsuit giant, ironically the ADD prone Muffin is pimping V for Frucor- his area is Kumeu and Muffin says this is the main reason for his departure- closer to his Mud Bay home.

Piha’s Jamie ‘Pignuts’ Piggins has stepped into the role of warehouse manager at O’Neill, the former Free Ride employee is stoked to be in the industry and sees the job as a foot in the

SNOW SAMPLE

BARELY BLUSH

ILLUSION

door, the 09 staff see it as more waves for us!

Mad shout outs to Brent Alexander and his beautiful partner in crime Anna on the very eminent arrival of their first little one. Arguably the thought of a new hungry mouth to feed has been the catalyst for the West rep to set up his own agency more so. Brent along with his business partner Langy have added Odyssey sunnies, Alpargatas shoes and Veho electronic [sick little HD cams!] to the Connect Distribution stable which of course already has West and Sex Wax…check out Connect Distribution on FB, they quite often do cool giveaways- speaking off ...

Here’s a pair of Odyssey Sunnies for ya The CR39 - which is Colombian Resin is a light, scratch resistant, optical polymer, one of the most popular in the ophthalmic industry. Is also half the weight of glass and resistant to most solvents, chemicals and gamma radiation. Acetate frames are handmade, resulting in a better finished product. All hinges are from Comotec – the leading hinge manufacturer. Spring loaded metal hinges with lateral movement for a more comfortable fit - funniest post on our 09 FB page what Ophthalmic means, gets them - easy asssss.

OUR WORLD CHAMPION Ok, so Rat, what a bolt from the blue huh! You didn’t even tell anyone you were going in the thing; you had to be conned into entering huh?

Well, it all happened quickly, I was judging The Roxy ASP Women’s World Tour event in Biarritz at the time, and I was ready to head over to Brazil as the Head Judge for the ASP Masters event, when the ASP World Tour Manager Al Hunt told me a spot had come up in the event, and I was next on the ratings list to get in and did I want to do it. I had to let

him know ASAP or else he would give it to he next guy on the list. Initially I said no,but thanks for asking, then I got an email from my boss, Richie Porta the ASP World Tour Head Judge, giving me shit for turning it down, then that night Al is giving me shit also, and says there’s 25K up for grabs, so I slept on it- in the morning decided to do it.

Where was the event and what were the waves like?

It was at Arpoador Beach at the end of Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro- a fantastic, spectacular city, it is an epic place to go.

It has got a small headland, that this Left peels off on the low tide and good peaky Rights and Lefts on the higher tide. They also have these big towers with floodlights on them and you can surf all night if you want to. It was pretty good the first 2 days at a nice 3ft, but the last 3 days of the event it was pretty small and inconsistant.

Did the Indo trip just before help with your conditioning?

Well I scored 5 good days at Periscopes and surfed my brains out, but the best practice I got was the 3 days before I left Europe. I got new boards and surfed 3 times a day at Zarautz in the Basque Country, so I was feeling pretty in tune before I got there.

And just being very cheeky, dude- you were surfing pretty fast there, you sure you weren’t slipped some Amazonian marching powder pre heats?

Ha ha, no CPL, I got a really good board for the conditions, I had to decide between 5 boards before I left, and got a sick one off Mikel Agote from Pukas A huge result and of course a nation of surfers here in NZ stoking on you- a few months after the dust has settled how you feeling about a World Champion?

It took a while to really sink in, but it feels very satisfying and like a big circle in my life has been completed. After surfing against those guys for years and now to finally beating them, and prove something for myself. I was really proud to be there representing NZ, to win it for the NZ Surfing community, and all my bro’s at Piha, and the Keyhole Boardriders.

Both your parents passed away in the last few years, oh course they’d be tremendously proud of this result, you reckon they were both up there giving you a few helping waves?

I’m sure they were with me in spirit, and know they would be

super happy for me. It has been a really big boost for my family, I was in Christchurch during the Feb 22 quake and it was a really heavy experience to go through. My sister’s house got destroyed and a lot of her stuff gone, that whole week was quite stressful, so I’m stoked to do it for them also.

Financially what does this win do for you, it would certainly cement your respect as Europe’s top judge right?

I stuck my prize money in the bank, paid off my credit card, so I’m stoked about that- ha ha! Europe is my second home and it has been a very important part of my life, but I think the result has been a good boost of crediability for the judges from all the ASP regions. We have some very good surfers amongst the top judges and that’s important. The competitors get to see us out there and surfing at a good level. I’ve had so many of the pro’s come up and congratulate me and that means a lot to me and also for all my fellow judges.

In 09’s opinion, the mainstream media did an appalling- non- job of covering your achievement, but you did pop up in some funny places huh- that George FM interview was pretty cool?

Yeah the George interview was cool, I was in Newquay at the time, I’ve had a couple of mag’s do stories, some web sites and a bit in some newspapers. Ben Kennings told me I was mentioned on some sports show on TV. I had a friend send me an email saying she saw my picture in her kids fish & chips wrapper, which made me laugh- you know you’ve hit the big time when you make the fish & chips paper, ha ha.

Defending your title next year?

I haven’t thought about it too much yet, I really love judging, and thats my main passion, alot can happen before next year, but I would love to go back to Rio for sure!! Cheers. Ratso

opening hours Mon - Thurs: 12-8pm Fri: 12-10pm saT: 10Am-10pm sun: 10Am-8pm

ng hours

OpenBox

urs: 12-8pm pm -10pm m-8pm

price list

09 Magazine has documented the Wavebox’s journey over the last 3 years. It started out as anWave ambitious ride pipe30 min $9.90 dream; an oval pool providing multiple unending waves with air and barrel sections. Then reality came a thudding 5x 30min $39.90 down- so did our economic recession. The helicon plans and investors dried up. But to his credit Jarrod Armitage Free Fall battled through and now the Box is open, it’s not the oval pool of infinite sections once hoped- butx1 as$3.00 you’ll read $6.00 it’s pretty darn fun. CPL took Elliot Parata-Reid and Ware Wano on a roady – well across town x3 anyway, x5 $9.50 here’s Elliot’s word CliMbing Wall 30 min $7.50 1hr $14.90 10x 30min pAss $65.00

price It was one of those Piha days…howling on shores, 8 to 10 foot. Raining.

Justlist when we thought we were destined for a day indoors MeChaniCal surFer rideat each other, looked CPL rocked up and said “Oi groms lets go opening surfing”. My cuz Ware andWave I looked at South Piha and thought, hours x5 riDes $5.00 30 min $9.90 5x 30min $39.90 hell no we don’t want to die !!!

Mon - Thurs: 12-8pm Fri: 12-10pm saT: 10Am-10pm sun: 10Am-8pm

Free Fall x1 $3.00 x3 $6.00 x5 $9.50

aWesoMe 4soMe $20.00

CliMbing Wall 30 min $7.50 1hr $14.90 10x 30min pAss $65.00

greAt Allpress coffee is serveD Along with All fooD AnD Drinks

MeChaniCal surFer x5 riDes $5.00 aWesoMe 4soMe $20.00 greAt Allpress coffee is serveD Along with All fooD AnD Drinks

price list

Wave ride 30 min $9.90 5x 30min $39.90

Free Fall x1 $3.00 x3 $6.00 x5 $9.50

25 ArrenwAy Drive, roseDAle, 0632

0800 4wAvebox

wAveboxnz@gmAil.com

CliMbing Wall www.thewAvebox.co.nz

30 min $7.50

Good old CPL had a roadie planned and you’ll never guess where we were going surfing ….the bloomin’ North Shore ha ha …Funny.

We pulled up in some car park WITH NO BEACH and I thought we were going for a chocolate milkshake but instead we were entering the one and only mighty amazing brand spanking new Wave Box …you know the one, where the waves are automatic, systematic and hydromatic (if that’s a word).

Must say I had seen it on U Tube and I thought it must have been cold because people were wearing wetsuits and to be honest the waves looked a bit average, but when you get there it is UNREAL. Ware and I were frothing out. You get on a board with no fins, so you slide out a bit, but you can actually do turns and 360’s and it is soooo much fun.

The water is warm so no need for wettys and there’s all sorts of different boards you can try to add a bit variety to your surf and it doesn’t take very long to get used to this different type of surfing.

Everytime I fell off I couldn’t wait to get back on the wave again. It is 10 out of 10 fun for sure and the guys that run it are really cool.

It’s a so much fun. The waves are still 8 to 10 foot and onshore at Piha as I write this so, we are heading back there in the weekend. My advice is Get to the WAVEBOX. Do it, go on …its sick as, see you there !!!

Footnote; This is stage one of the Wave Box, Jarrod plans to smoothen out the wave. He has the ability to double the wave face and create a barrel. KeywordFUN.

Nicola Colson-Koster and pal, India Wray-Murane

Nicola Colson-Koster and pal, India Wray-Murane Nicola Colson-Koster and pal, India Wray-Murane

{ sitka.co.nz }

{ sitka.co.nz { sitka }

6 Osborne St. Newmarket, Auckland

Available online and at fine retailers across the universe

6 Osborne St. Newmarket, Auckland Available online and at fine retailers across the universe