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Posted on Monday May 3rd 2010 at 6:00 a.m.
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SOUTH
Set around Wellington and the southern most tip of the North Island, Cape Palliser. Wellington is a cosmopolitan city, which still has a feel of a big village. The south coast is known for its strong southerly winds and cold currents. It's the place where ground swells from the Southern Ocean come to break, shaped by the Nor-Wester and warm northern breezes. Here, we will meet Ian Gall and Nicolas Brikké.
Ian Gall is a meteorologist based in Wellington. He processes the daily weather forecast for the capital city but also does daily surfing predictions. He has participated in pioneering surfing in the Wairarapa Coast in the 1960s. He is now one of the pillar longboarders at "The Corner" at Lyall Bay.
Nicolas Brikké (pictured below) was born in Nancy, France, and spent his early teenage years in Holland where he took up surfing at age 12. In Biarritz, France at age 15 he damaged his shortboard during a surfing festival and was given a replacement longboard. He competed at that festival with the longboard and was hooked from then on. As a salsa dancer, he found more pleasure in longboarding as he associated with it choreography and found the board a platform of self-expression. At 16 he began participating in the European Longboard Tour where he placed in the top 15. In 2006 he moved to NZ to pursue his studies. An elegant and graceful surfer, he sometimes competes but for Nicolas, surfing in NZ is about traveling and uncovering locations and experiencing exceptional moments of freedom in life.
Photo credit: William Davenport
EAST
Set around Gisborne and the eastern-most tip of the North Island, East Cape. There is an important Maori culture and colonial history. Surfing is integrated in everyday life and engrained in the local community. It's the place where Pacific Ocean swells end their journey, bringing a sense of immensity. Here we will meet up with Ian ‘Moti' Proctor and James Tanner.
Ian "Moti" Proctor is from Ngati Uepohatu, a coastal Maori tribe from Tairawhiti that has practiced surfriding since the earliest tribal memories. He started riding longboards in the 1970s, at a time when longboards were being forgotten due to the onset of the shortboard revolution. He now rides boards 12 and 13 feet long. His presence incarnates the ancestral Polynesian spirit of wave riding and gives to any gathering a historical and spiritual depth. He is the president of the Moananui Surf Club, which is a state of mind rather than a physical entity. His son Daniel, to whom he taught surfing at the age of 6, is one of New Zealand's leading longboarders.
James Tanner's (picture below) childhood was based around the beach and the ocean. Surfing came naturally but was more of a pastime rather than a commitment. His father then started to train him and to shape his shortboards. James competed avidly during high school. He got into longboarding in part thanks to the Moananui Surf Club that had a different view on competition surfing as materialized in the Makorori First Light contest. He then won several national circuit junior titles and started doing well in the open category contest in New Zealand and Australia. Instead of focusing on his competitive success, James decided to pursue his interest in his region as well as his creative talent and studied winemaking and graphic design.
Photo by Logan Murray
WEST
Set around New Plymouth and the western most end of the island Cape Egmont. The reigning Mt Taranaki harbours numerous coves and bays battered by Southern Ocean swells. This is also the place where the New Plymouth Surfriders Club and its members have been active in creating world renowned events (both in music and surfing). Here we will meet up with Mark O'Connor and Jo Moore.
Mark O'Connor is a keen promoter of arts and culture within the New Plymouth surfing community. After travelling with his guitar and surfboard around Australia and Europe, he settled in Taranaki with his wife. He competed throughout most of his youth. He co-founded the current national longboard circuit but has since retired from competing. He now presides over the New Plymouth Surfriders Club, a historical symbol of surfing in the area, whose motto is "come as a guest - leave as a friend". He plays in several bands within the region and hosts a weekly blues show on the local radio station ‘Most FM'. Mark exemplifies the club's motto by extending good vibes to families of surfers as well as international musicians and world class surfers that he comes across.
Jo Moore (picture below), whose family is originally from Taranaki, grew up at Muriwai Beach, West Auckland. Her Maori roots and her heart eventually led her to move back to the region, where she now lives with her partner, studying early childhood teaching whilst simultaneously managing motherhood and involvement in the local surfing community. Jo was involved with surf life-saving for 11 years before she traveled to Europe, where she took up longboarding at age 21 in Cornwall, England. At her first attempt on the national longboard tour she placed 2nd. She continues to do very well in contests but likes to focus on keeping surfing fun. She surfs a wide range of boards (short- and longboards, knee-boards as well as stand-up-paddle boards).
Photo credit: Daisy Day
NORTH
Set around the Whangarei, the Bay of Islands and the northernmost tip of the island, Cape Reinga. The sub-tropical climate, idyllic landscapes and native bush are a spiritual gateway to the Pacific. One part of this coast receives swells from tropical storms and cyclones that are carved up by fresh southerly winds, whereas the other is open to groundswells from the Southern Ocean. Here we will meet Roger Hall and Trent Lillis.
Roger Hall is craftsman and a pioneering surfboard shaper, recognised as one of the best longboard shapers in the country. He shaped his first board at age 13 out of old, unused surfboards that he would buy second hand. After resorting to using windsurf board blanks, he decided to blow his own surfboard blanks throughout his high school years. At age 17 he was already focusing on twin-keeled shortboards, while the world was still embracing the twin fin concept. Influenced by Ben Aipa during various trips to Hawaii, he shaped the first modern longboard in New Zealand in 1980. He was ridiculed for his avant-garde and visionary designs and the New Zealand surfing community considered him a marginal, crazy shaper. Ironically, the designs for which he was frowned upon are the ones for which people now come to him.
Trent Lillis is a butcher by trade. He started surfing at 9 years old and became involved in longboarding at about age 20 when he broke his shortboard and had to borrow his brother's longboard. The longer board changed his outlook on surfing as it made the sport more fun and made surfing small waves possible. He enjoys traditional longboarding for the feeling of glide and trim, making things look smooth and effortless. Labelling himself a ‘sole surfer' as he usually surfs alone, Trent's philosophy is that it does not matter if you are surfing a short or a longboard, if you are riding traditional or progressive - as long as you are having fun and respecting other people in the water. He is one of the leading traditional longboarders in New Zealand.
Photo credit: Daisy Day
SEWN - The Shores of Aotearoa seen through the eyes of longboarders. A surf film / documentary by Nicolas Brikké | Destinations and surfers profiles. Keep an eye out for the next blog that will be about the filming techniques used for this project. Don't hesitate to contact us on sewn.nz@gmail.com