Mondays are publish days for me at Box of Light. That usually means I wade through my images from the week prior and select the best ones to share with you. However, with a trip to Indo looming I'm in a sprint to get all my assignments and photography/film deliveries completed before we head off. That means this past week I was mostly desk-bound apart from the odd training surf.
I woke up yesterday with very few images to share. Luckily a nice, little bit wonky, swell was filling in at St Clair. So I grabbed my camera and a coffee, and headed to check it out. It was an interesting morning stroll as it always is here. St Clair is full of interesting people. I bumped into Jase Newton and Matt Jenks eyeing up Seconds and bouncing back and forth about its merits over the Point. Both waves had their moments, but every 20 minutes a bigger set would wash through and clear both lineups. The fisherman and the doctor convinced each other to paddle out.
Part-time Pete turned up with his breakfast in hand, barefoot, a beaming big grin and hair that looked like it was really missing its pillow. The ocean was calling him he reckoned. Then a big set rolled through.
I always learn something from Part-time Pete. He told me about a climb he recently did with his wife way above the Homer Tunnel in Fiordland. She freaked him out, climbing along a ridge on hands and knees, one mistake and that was it – there is no coming back from that. Part-time Pete insisted they turn back – his instincts had kicked right in. I've had that feeling myself in the mountains, and ridgelines, with exposure on both sides, are where I crumble.
He then tells me he has to remember how old he is. He's 61. I find that hard to believe. He's wise, for sure, but to my mind he is a teenager. He's an absolute grommet in the surf and has recently fallen in love with the climbing wall, too – when he's not doing skids in his V8. I love that St Clair has so many characters like Part-time Pete. It's refreshing to spend time with people like these as wobbly sets keep the lineups honest.
See you at the beach ... Derek
PS We have a couple of new limited edition 1 x 1m framed prints in the gallery – the one in the window currently is proving to be a hit with people stuck at the lights. It's of a special place in the Catlins ... come check it out. These editions at this size are $2500 for the first eight and then $3200 for the last two in each edition. So get in quick – we have one featuring mountains at the top of Lake Hawea that's number eight of 10 ... the last at $2500 before they step up in price.
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