Big Wednesday
My gumboots squelched through the dew-sodden grass. I had chosen a big-wave point break, but even in the half light I could see the swell was not yet exploding off the headland the way I’d expected.
I found a good spot to shoot from and waited for more light to reveal what was happening out at sea. Every 10-minutes a set would run down the walls and not one surfer in sight. The swell looked raw, which wasn’t helped by the glassy conditions. It was hard to estimate size, but maybe 5-6 foot. I watched a large fishing boat outrun a breaking shoal way out beyond the entrance to Otago Harbour. Then it disappeared behind a swell and was gone for 40-seconds. It reappeared and continued to give the shoal a wide berth. The shoals appeared bigger than I had seen them before.
On a nearby headland I could see three jet skis appear and start to surf another wave. From the back it seemed surprisingly solid and hollow. The wind coming off a mountain and across the inlet created a light offshore, which was helping to iron the kinks out of the swell. I had that sinking feeling I had chosen the wrong location. My jet ski partner had changed plans the night before so I was strictly documenting this wave land-based unless I went for a swim.
By mid-morning, as the tide filled in, a few surfers had paddled over to surf the wave I was hoping to shoot. And six jet skis were hustling on the wave in the distance. Most of the other waves on the coast were either maxing out and not able to hold the swell or doing something funky instead.
I eventually decided to quit my position and check a high-tide wave closer to the harbour. On the way there I saw a myth of a spot breaking almost perfectly. I rubbed my eyes, took a closer look and tried to understand what it was I was seeing. No one was out and I wondered if it was a mirage of some kind. I considered having a quick surf in what I thought was a 4-5 foot right. But, with no one keen to join me, decided to document the swell instead.
I later found out that the right was breaking at about 8-10 foot. That accounted for the feeling of watching a wave break perfectly, but in slow motion.
