I am a newbie surfer and these last months it’s been frustrating trying to get a good day surfing. NZ weather has been on and off this summer, but also I’m just starting to learn what weather makes for good surfing and where. It’s never a sure thing but people tell me it’s a surer thing than ‘just turning up’ which has been my strategy so far.
So, I thought I better make a go of it. I checked the weather for Sat, Sun. Mon this weekend and picked the spots. First day was a success! I spent the day at Shipwreck Bay, made famous for a scene in the most famous of surf movies ‘The Endless Summer’.
The conditions yesterday were pretty much the same as you see in the movie.
Here is a shot of the headland at Shippies, if you look closely to the right you can see the head of the wrecked steamer they refer to.
Did you notice on the map in the film they spelled Auckland wrong 🙂 Also, they say Ahipara is on the east…wrong… Robert August, by the way, the tall dark headed chap in the movie, is living in Costa Rica and shapes custom boards. I was down there when I had my first real surf lesson last June and saw him around. I intend to go back and get one of his beautiful boards… they are classic 60s longboards… so beautiful! I love the ‘Falsa Balsa’.
Shippies, as it is known to the yokals, is found by Ahipara and so I rented a small room at a beach house here and spent yesterday surfing these lovely little waves, just right for a beginner. I was out for 4 hours or so and exhausted when I came in. I was asleep by 7.30pm (1930). 🙂
Anyways, today Shippies looks flat…plenty of locals out fishing though (it’s a Sunday).
Today I plan to head down to Tauranga Bay in an hour or so for the next test of my newly found newbie weather skills. The wind has switched and Shippies is small and mushy, fine for swimming but no waves… so off to Tauranga Bay!
More pics of Tauranga Bay to come ..here’s more lazy Sunday Shippies pics for now…
