Figure 1:Cold Front Moving Across Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa, by Sandow Birk

Sandow Birk’s takes on a few famous waves on their day really caught my eye. You can feel the extremity of the elements - the metaphorical and physical distance between the anticipation in the warm foreground, and the cold hard action in the background. The weather, the insignificant detail, the people, the way nature is serving up something very special.

Figure 1:A surfless Scarborough, Western Australia

The thing is so big it’s started moving west. The swell has been around the 1.5 metre mark for the last 7 days. The wind offshore all day every day. Everyone is saying how nice the weather is for this time of year. I’m sick of it. This kind of thing happens in winter from time to time. In June. Not in August.

Figure 1:Raglan in full cry

Raglan isn’t really a wave itself, it’s a series of points in a row, each with its own really good wave. This particular section (Fig. 1) is called Indicators, and is the first of four. You can paddle out here (access is really easy), and slowly make your way up to the start of the point. Here you get the first ridable section of the entire Raglan stretch. Big swells rear up and move down the point quite fast. The wave is great for top to bottom combos, and some sections call for a bit of extra speed. There isn’t a lot of time for cutbacks, until you reach the second half of the wave.

Figure 2:Raglan is on the west coast of the north island

After surfing yourself into proverbial spaghetti, you can slowly wash in over the rocks, or you may wish to paddle a little further down the point to the next wave, called Whale Bay, a shorter but still quite intense point. Whale Bay has a big rock half way along the wave that prevents a complete ride at high tide, but isn’t really an issue at low.

Further round the point is the third wave, called Manu Bay - arguably the most popular, especially among longboarders. Again it’s a really nice setup, but lacks the power of the first two.

The fourth wave is Wainui Beach - a long rather dull beach break. Great for learning, but rarely a real option for the serious surfer.

Raglan really is a phenomenon, and the scale of the point has to be seen to be believed. What’s more, it’s only a short drive from Auckland. Surf yourself into a pulp, clamber back over the rocks to your rental house on the point, and rest on the sun-warmed decking. Highly recommended.

In some places it just doesn’t cut it. Take the ‘Super Bank’ for example. It’s literally packed at 4 o’clock in the morning. You could rock up at 10 and it’d be the same. At least you’d be able to see the crowd.

But then when you do make the effort, there’s the warm feeling you get knowing you’re on to it and making the most of it. You could get one surf in, go home for some toast, maybe even a bit of a snooze, and get back out for another mid-morning. Come early afternoon and you find yourself totally relaxed, lying on the couch, semi-conscious, listening to Massive Attack and dreaming about that sweet one you picked off outside the pack.

Figure 1:If Napoleon surfed, this would have been his backyard

Figure 2:La Graviére, sur la carte

It changes from month to month, but typically only breaks within 50 metres of the shoreline. You can paddle out without getting your hair wet, pick off a set wave, get the barrel of your life, and jump off your board onto the sand. Or you might just have to wait your turn, contending with half of Europe’s professional surfing population, some local chargers, and about the same number of crusty travellers who have called the carparks home for the last 3 months.

Perhaps a nice part about surfing this part of the Hossegor stretch is that you don’t have to deal with massive currents and continual paddling, probably part of the reason why it’s so popular.

The top turn is what you want it to be. Vertical, horizontal, tight, extended, loose, fast, lazy, fins out, floating, a means to an end. Whatever. Works best when immediately following a nice bottom turn.

Published in Spanish and at times dodgy English, SURFAR has useful descriptions of each spot, with tips on finding your way around, what equipment to bring, and what to do if and when it goes flat. The book has some nice icons and colour coding to make it a nice quick reference guide. It also has plenty of pics, very few ads, and nice little pseudo hand drawn maps that lend it a home grown, friendly and welcoming kind of feel.

If you want to find out more check the SURFAR website, or Amazon.

Figure 1:The kind of stuff I used to draw on my ruler at school

Figure 2:The rough location of this gem

There are a couple of ways to get there, both very scenic. The beach is long, and most of the good banks are toward the northern end. Depending on the size, it can be a tough paddle out. The rewards however, are magical. Tubes, nice long walls, and plenty of friendly faces in the water.

On a cloudless day the water becomes crystal clear. Surf your brain out for hours, hang your wetty over the roo bar, and feel the salt on your back dry out in the midday sun.