Since I started Box of Light seven years ago I have made many trips to Raglan, but have never encountered a swell window as rich as this past week. To make matters even better, a northeast swell was pouring into the East Coast and dragged the majority of surfers across with it. That left me with a Raglan that was more like the days of the late '90s, early 2000s when I used to call this place home: three or four mates at Outsides, a handful at Indicators, a few at Whale Bay and a mob of rippers at Manu Bay. Perfect.
I'm up here on this trip to interview Luke Hughes and his family for a story about their retail business, Raglan Surf Co, for Australian Surf Business Magazine. I'll add a link into a future edition of Box of Light once that story is out. The Hughes family has become an icon of Raglan and a centrepiece of board shaping here. The late, masterful Craig Hughes was as much an innovator as he was a culturalist and over four decades he created boards that sung ... and especially on these points. He passed away in July 2013 after a battle with cancer and that's when his sons Luke and Nat stepped into the shaping bay and tapped into everything their dad had taught them.
I remember surfing the points as a young photographer, torn between shooting the waves and surfing with mates (the latter often won in those early days), and seeing a long-haired rake of a man take-off late and knife into the biggest and best-shaped waves. He'd draw lines that were incredibly intuitive and he always had this huge toothless, infectious smile that you'd never forget. That was the Craig Hughes I will never forget. He was a visionary and incredibly talented. He had a way of looking at life that we could all learn something from. His wife, Liz, is exactly the same. Spending time with Liz, Nat and Luke this past week has been a privilege and a jolt back into those days when a decent swell that lasted a week with just a handful out, would have almost certainly have come with the presence of a toothless, smiling, long-haired character guiding it to shore.
See you at the beach ... Derek
PS Our image of New Zealand sea lion Vega surfing at St Kilda Beach late last year is a finalist in the 2018 New Zealand Geographic Photographer of the Year awards. We're very excited and honoured to be named a finalist in the wildlife category among some pretty amazing images. As part of the competition we need you to vote for our image in People's Choice category. Jump on to the website here and please give us some love! Want to read more about Vega? Here's her original story here.
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