That is going to be hard to beat

Raglan TURNED ON yesterday (9 Aug). The day started with a whimper as Jon paddled out at Indicators first thing in the morning. Indicators is the far outside point at Raglan. It is pretty tricky getting in and out of the water. Rather than a beach, there is a rocky point that is getting constant poundings from the incoming waves. The surfer must navigate the slippery rocks and time his leap into the water juuuust right, or risk getting a pretty good beating on the rocks. Getting in after the surf session is just as precarious. Cam decided (wisely) to let Jon be the proverbial guinea pig. A canary in the coal mine, if you will. Jon made it out OK, but the conditions in the water were challenging. A stiff side/offshore breeze was putting a chop on the water, the sun was right in your eyes on the takeoff, and the swell seed to be building by the minute. Jon caught a few waves that were pretty "meh" then was in position for the biggest wave of the past 30 minutes. He spun, paddled, and proceeded to take the drop on his head, completely falling apart in front of the whole pack paddling out. Not a good start. So Jon paddled in with his tail between his legs and congratulated Cam on her good decision making... It was wise not to paddle out. 

So we marched on over to Manu Bay (a 10 minute walk) and it looked fun... 6 foot faces and not many people out. So we jumped in and had a good 2.5 hour session before lunch. Cam got a few long ones and continues to improve with her 6'6 board.

After lunch we did another session at Manu Bay. But by now the tide had dropped and the swell really filled in. C decided to stay on the beach and take photos and Jon had an epic session. There were solid double-overhead sets coming in, with lots of juice. The outside peak morphed from an Malibu-like takeoff to a Pipeline-like takeoff (with sucking boils right at the takeoff spot) so Jon made his way to the 2nd peak which was great. The locals would drop in in the outside, get shacked out of their minds, then pull out and Jon would snag the wave and ride for 150 yards.

The sun was right in Cam's eyes so she couldn't tell who Jon was in the lineup so we don't have many shots of Jon. But here are a few shots of an absolutely epic day in Raglan...

Morning at Whale Bay. 

Morning at Indicators, where Jon botched a set wave.

Afternoon session at Manu Bay. Steep, fast, and uncrowded

Jon at the end of a long wave

Manu Bay at sunset 

Whale Bay at sunset... Check the long period groundswell marching up the point. Surfers dream about this kind of thing. A religious experience for us. We were involuntarily shaking and speaking in tongues as we watched the waves roll in

And now, after a 12 hour sleep and some internet usage this morning, we are going to Manu Bay again.

We think our next stop is Gisborne, back on the east coast, so we'll update you in a few days...