NZ: WAVES Nov/Dec 2009

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I've done my fair share of complaining about how miserable the waves have been here on the South Island over the last couple months. But during the last few days, the East coast finally saw some decent conditions and I've been gorging myself as much as possible. And looking back over the pics from November and this month, I realized that we had more than a few fun days... in between the endless hours of driving and getting skunked. Here's a little collection...

NZ: Kayaking Abel Tasman National Park

Weather looking good. Plan: Take Kayaks out for 3 days and hike for 2 more around Abel Tasman National Park on North Western tip of South Island, New Zealand.


Bring sling and dive gear for fishies. Stuff Kayak to brim with delicious food items such as: 5 liters of boxed wine, steak, veggies, several flavors of creamy Brie cheese, salami, fruit, musilie etc... Leave Betsy in parking lot all by herself. Kayak to first nights' camp... small cove with beautiful beach, nobody around, roll around in sand, guzzle wine, eat, enjoy sunshine and tanned naked woman. Sunset brings 2 plump ladies on a kayak who decide to camp as close as possible to us... Grumble, grumble. Curse at the sandflies and their thirst for blood. Forget to pack sleeping pads.... crap. Back hurts just to think about it.


Wake to sun. Make coffee in beloved plunger that doubles as insulated cup (Definitely my most valued purchase of 2009) Low tide, watch Linds pluck Green Lipped Mussels from rocks. Leave camp. Kayak to nearby island. Land on amazing beach. Gear up, spear fish for dinner. Nail 2 mystery fish... go for big tasty looking guy in cave... hit tail, scales fly, disappears in cave... could have fed an army, damn it. Clean fishies. Pack up camp and kayak. Make way up coast, windy around points. Paddle as hard as possible. Find river/estuary to escape from wind. Beautiful glass. Make way towards second camp... see 2 girls in kayak blown far, far out to sea, signaling to boats for help... bummer. Finally make it to camp.


Stuff fishies with lime, onion and spices, wrap in foil... salivate. Curse satanic sandflies. Linds prepares yummy mussels. Sign say: "TOTAL FIRE BAN" I say: "BULLSHIT!" Build fire in cave on beach. Fish in fire, mussels in pot 1, wild rice and veggies in pot 2. Smelling Umm Ummm good. Feast on the fruits of the sea, guzzle wine, drift to sleep. Wake. Coffee. Low, low tide... drag kayak waaaaay too far down to water line. Windy paddle to next camp. Beautiful coastline. High-center onto submerged rock. Can't move. Spinning around on top. Laugh a little.. but not too much. Next camp is awesome. Amazing beach, rocks, caves. Stinky Sealions. Hot sun. Wine. Food. Clouds come... Shit! Rain. Damn it! Everything into tent. Pouring. Praise $40 waterproof tent from Warehouse(Like Walmart... bad, I know). Boil big pot of noodles in middle of tent. Wine kicks in. Tip over pot, spills on Linds' arm... screams, cries... FU*&%K!!!. Throw Linds a towel, watch her wipe arm skin right off... not good!! Crisis management mode in full effect, try to make all better. Eat remains of noodles in pot. Rains all night. Wake. Coffee. Curse bloodthirsty sandflies. Boat picks up Kayak... says weather will be 40 knot winds with rain the next 2 days.... decide not to hike next 2 days. Hop on next boat back to civilization.


Few days pass. Forecast looking clear and sunny for 4 days. Decide to hike in from top of park down coast. Sun shining. Beautiful day. Breathtaking vistas. Aqua blue water. Wind picks up. Find nice beach to camp on. Pick yummy mussels off rocks. Get chased by smelly sealion family. Ominous clouds hovering. WTF? Sprinkles. Rain. Damn it... everything into tent. Eat. Draw picture of cow with a big Mustache... get it? "Mo" instead of "Moo". Laugh a lot. Boil water far from Linds' arm. Fear high tide. Move tent up to grass. Wake to sun. Coffee. Hear most insane bird song ever... beat boxing bird. Hike out. Drive to Mussel Inn and drink beer. The End.

NZ: Kaikoura Trekking

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The waves were shit so Brown and I decided to go run around for 3 days in the mountains behind Mt. Fyffe in Kaikoura. Good times. It was what the Kiwi's call a "Route", which means there are just some trail markers every once in a while to tell you that you're headed in the right direction. Basically you blaze your own trail up the mountain, river, valley etc...

This route took us up a wide river bottom with tons of river crossings and rock hopping up a canyon to one of over 900 of NZ's famed Back Country Huts. Some huts are basic, some are posh. Our first one had 6 bunks, a wood stove and plenty of fresh rain water. Brown brought his trusty iPhone and we laughed our asses off to the new season of South Park... if you haven't seen the episode with the Japanese whale/dolphin killers then you are missing a good laugh. Next day we woke to rain and it was cold... so cold that as we made our way up to the saddle, where rivers started on either side, it was dumping snow. Bad situation. Not prepared. I was in surf trunks with a plastic trash bag over my pack. Almost froze walking up the river, trudging right through it with shoes and all, no trail, just up and up and up into the icy river and slippery rocks. Dumping! Everything white. Snow starting to cover all the trail markers. Damn! I thought about the situations people get themselves into that make it possible for TV's shows like "I Shouldn't Be Alive" to go into production. Would I lose some fingertips or a few toes to frostbite? Would we have to make shelter under some rock and eat squirrels until the storm passes? Would I have to eventually eat Brown or would he have to eat me? Should we go back? Nah.. screw it, let's just keep going higher up this steep river canyon with no trail in the snow. It's only supposed to be 6 hours to the next hut. We're young enough... and dumb enough.

Up to the top of the saddle and back down to the next hut. Made it in record time. Cool to see where 2 rivers literally started. Was happy to see plenty of dry firewood outside on the front porch. Took us a while to thaw out. Got the stove blazing, all our gear and clothes hanging up, hot enough to run around in chones. Hot food and more South Park on the menu for the night. Warm sleeping bag. Nobody around.

Woke to bluebirds. Long hike down river. Sunny, warm. Plenty of waterfalls and snowcapped mountain views... the stuff that's good for the mind, body and the soul. Long walk down to main road. Thumb out for 2 seconds and we get picked up and front door service right back to The Van. Ice cold beer? Yes please, and then let's go find some surf.

NZ: The South Island

As of now, it's been over 2 months since I've gotten any good waves. I'm gonna lose my mind sometime in the very near future if this dry streak continues. It's been cold, rainy, windy and shitty surf all around. Here's my advice to anybody planning a surf trip in New Zealand in the Spring: DON'T.

After picking up Mr. Brown in Auckland, we headed South in search of barrels.... we drove WAY too many kilometers, took the ferry across the Cook Straight to the South Island, then we picked Matlock and drove WAY too many more kilometers in search of big, good surf. But it was good to hang with the boys, camping, surfing, laughing, hiking, drinking, and cooking some mean dinners...

Brown enjoying Double Brown Beer

Some fun ones

Beach camp bonfire

Wildlife

Paua or Abalone as we know it in the states, it's everywhere here

A Glacier

Words of Wisdom:

“Good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgment.” - Fred Brooks

Thanks to Uncle Stan for sending me this one... appropriate I think.

The Crossing from Hell: Sailing from Tonga to New Zealand

(Please sing out loud to the tune of Gilligan's Island... just do it)

"Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful trip
That started from this tropic port
Aboard this tiny ship.

The mate was a hairy Frenchy woman,
The skipper smelly for sure.
Five passengers set sail that day
For a 384 hour tour, a 384 hour tour.

The weather started getting rough,(54 knots in the face!)
The tiny ship was tossed,
If not for the courage of the showerless crew
The Star Dust would be lost, the Star Dust would be lost.

The ship was towed ashore of this fully charted Kiwi isle
With AaaAAbelllll,
The Skipper too,
The grubby kiiiiiids and the wife,
No movie star
No professor or Mary Ann(Damn it!),
Here on The Crossing From Hell...

So this is the tale of the insanity,
They're at sea for a long, long time,
They'll have to make the best of things,
It's an uphill climb.

The first mate and the Skipper too,
Will do their very best,
To make the others UNcomfortable,
In this patience test,

No fuel, no fridge no motor coolant,
Not a single luxury,
Like Robinson Crusoe,
As primitive as can be.

So be cautious of the French my friends,
And you're sure to live in style,
From Tonga back to Kiwi land in 20 insane days,
Here on the Crossing from Helllllll..."

Where do I begin? I guess first of all, it's damn good to be back on solid ground and it's damn good to be alive! After leaving the Vava'u Group on "Nola", we spent a few days in the Hapai islands, got barrels at one of the shallowest and sketchiest spot I've ever surfed, and ended up having to sail down to the main island of Tongatapu to pick up supplies, and so there I decided to deboard "Nola" in the rancid Tongatapu Harbor with a sniffle and a tear in my eye and watch Sam and Panapa sail back up to Hapai for the Sustainable Coastlines Beach Clean-up. I had to get back to NZ in time to pick up Brown. My new home on the sea was aboard the... Graine D'Etoile (French for: Star Dust) I was looking at 7-10 days max at sea and I'd be back in Kiwi land but little did I know, it would be another 20 days before I would step off onto New Zealand Soil and finally be able to retrieve my sanity...

Mission: Crew on a sailboat from Tonga back to New Zealand
Distance from Port Tongatapu to Port Opua: Over 1100 Nautical Miles
Common Time Frame: 7-10 days sailing
Vessel: Graine D'Etoile, 42' Sloop. French style, no keel and just a few movable centerboards.
Crew: Captain-Michel, 1st Mate-Anne, 2 Kids-Gaya(6) & Lilou(10)...French...and myself
Personal Blue Water Sailing Experience: None

I decided to keep a journal of the voyage...

Oct 12th: Left "Nola"... sad times... She was loaded with propane and fuel on deck, looked liked floating bomb. On "Star Dust" now with nice French Fam.... Waiting on weather and port authorities to head back to NZ. 7-10 day sail. Should be fun! ...eat burger and fries thinking it's my last for a while... boat is a mess, find out that auto pilot is broken, shit. might leave tomorrow AM.

Oct 13th: Eaten alive by Mosquitoes in my cabin last night... Not leaving today either. Steel cable on mast broke, must replace... raining... eat another burger thinking it's my last for a while... scrape algae off water line of hull... leak in my cabin, mattress soaked... wake up in middle of night to captain sawing plastic bottles to put on ropes to stop rats from coming on board. Might leave tomorrow if mast fixed. Auto pilot fixed!

Oct 14th: Not leaving today. Visa is now out of date by a few days, should have been gone by now. Spend 3 hours in immigration line for extension... refuse to give my passport back, captain must come and get it next day... dock for fuel and water... waiting on customs and port authority... Eat another burger thinking its my last for a while... weather window is now, looking good to leave tomorrow.

Oct 15th: Eat burger... it is my last!!! Finally left port today! Anchor at offshore island... get dive gear on and scrape rest of barnacles off hull... might gain an extra knot of speed now!
Set sail through reefs and out to open ocean! Finally! 15 knots on the beam from the East, beautiful day... good bye Tonga! Auto pilot broken after all.. have to steer for over 1000 miles with rear oar rudder... fun.

Oct 16th: Sailed all day and night... my watches are 3am-6am, 2pm-6pm and 8pm-9pm...switch off cooking and dishes... Love sailing!

Shit nowhere near the fan... yet

Oct 17th: Haven't spewed yet... amazing, feeling good... sunset and stars on morning watch were insane! eat lots of crackers and cheese... practice knots... headed for Minerva Reefs for a few days to wait out bad winds... have to stop boat and bob around, wait for light to find reef pass.

Oct 18th: Is today Sunday? Who knows... clouds rolled in on night watch.. sprinkles... could see other boat lights inside of reef... anchor in giant circular atoll with one reef pass... beautiful water... glassy lagoon in side... looks like we're here until the 22nd... shit. 3 other boats waiting too.

Sheet glass in the middle of the Pacific, Minerva Reef

Oct 19th, Monday: Beauty of a day... no wind, hot sun... dove all day with a ton of white tip sharks... so streamlined... giant sting rays, spotted Morey eel, some great coral heads, looks like Finding Nemo ...crazy colors and creatures... spearfished with sling, nailed 3 in about 5 minutes flat... dinner! Michel got a giant clam to eat... turned out to be gross... big fruit lunch... moved anchor...dead glass in the middle of the pacific! Lemon, onion and garlic roasted fish din din...Life is good!

Oven ready along with his 3 brothers

Oct 20th, Tuesday: 6 yr old Gaya thinks she is a white tiger, has weird purring noise... kinda weird...left Minerva today! weather got better, all boats left the reef... NZ Bomber plane 200 feet above water patrolling... got all info from all boats... number onboard, nationalities, port of entries in NZ etc... trip looking longer that expected.

Oct 21st, Wednesday: Cold night watch... what the hell? have to wear pants, socks and beanie for first time in 4 months. rough seas. hugged boardbag all night... wind too South... everybody feeling queasy... pasta and soup... 700 miles to go... would kill for: icecream, bowl of musilie, steak, coffee, real milk, beer... been on a boat for over a month total now... missing the Nola lifestyle.

Inspirational socks courtesy of the DDC

Oct 22nd, Thursday: Mindblowing meteor shower on night watch... 1-2 per minute for an hour... best I've seen, leaving long trails... intense bio-luminecese in water tripping me out... who slipped the acid in my drink? ...wind died... motoring now... made good stew for dinner... Gaya spilled it all over herself and boat... boat becoming really gross... wish we had fridge and more fruit...

Sunset on the high seas

Oct 23rd, Friday: Genoa sail ripped.. have to take down and repair.. wind is shit... motoring again... can't poop....heavy rain on horizon.

Oct 24th, Saturday: Shooting stars are insane again... ominous clouds... rain gear on... but no rain.. just want to sleep to make time go by faster... awesome sunrise... raining... sails up again.. over it... kitchen is repulsive... laxatives not working... I'm seriously clogged...lame... beard is getting out of control...cold and rainy... sails up... wind died... pull out Richer Drifter sail for light winds... doesnt work. Going nowhere.

Oct 25th, Sunday: good sunrise... motoring, sheet glass, like oil...check fuel level, almost out...WHAT THE FUCK! why the hell didn't they top up the tanks??? Bob all day like cork.. spinning in circles... distance: 2 miles... bad storm coming our way...10 more hours of solid motoring and we would miss it... just 25 liters would do it... Have flashback of Captain putting empty 25 liter gas can in boat at harbor and me saying: "Don't you want to fill that up?" Captain: "Ah nah, we won't need it!" I say, "Famous last words!" It's like driving across the states and not filling up your car when you go to the gas station... fucking ridiculous... my 10 day no alcohol and no caffiene cleanse goes out the window... find dregs of Panamanian rum... have rum and coke in sun... no more alcohol on boat... man-o-wars and crazy jellies EVERYWHERE.. no swimming... see some birds. Waiting for wind. Toothpaste almost gone.

Oct 26th, Monday: Froze my pecker off on night watch. Wind all day today... make good progress...bearing 180º - 200º. Caught a tuna today... fresh sushi at sunset, yum! Weather suppossed to get nasty... been on this boat 2 weeks today. Should have been in NZ days ago.

Sushi Dinner

Oct 27th, Tuesday: Weather is completely FUCKED! 40-50 knots on the nose...highest clocked was 54 knots... sea turned into a crazy mess... just froth.... big rips in main, have to sew... wind wrong... storm jib out.. electric compass malfunctioning... going East now... WTF? Have semi-sleep mightmares of Gilligan's Island episodes where I'm Gilligan but Mary Anne and Ginger are nowhere in sight... instead just a hairy french family...

Oct 28th, Wednesday: I finally spewed... Anne's been spewing all night... haven't slept in way too long, getting tossed around cabin all night and day... bathroom repulsive... everybody smells... no appetite... Wheatabix and cornflakes... why are we still going east, need to go west... fixing main sail again...leak in room... get me off this damn ship!

Feeling great!

Oct 29th, Thursday: Not making progress... can't beat wind, tacking on SAME coarse back and forth...days wasted... hoist main sail, forget to untie, rip it to absolute shit... aarggghghhhhhh... sewing sewing sewing... only about 150 miles to go... soo close... will this ever end?

Oct 30th, Friday: Shitty night.. rough seas.. no sleep... rear floor board has leak.. bail bucket every hour.. moving in good direction again... wind stops dead... pass another boat by few hundred yards, didn't see it.. could have been bad... captain decides we need to try to motor and we might have more fuel than thought... a full day and night motor and we could be in Manganui, NZ to find fuel to get to Opua for Port of Entry...we all stink and so does the boat... no shower since Minerva Reef... living in same cloths... motoring in straight line to NZ though!!! 48 miles to go! Beautiful Albatross drowned on hook while trolling today... bummer... another rip in the main sail are you fucking kidding me??? now? Lot's of cursing... strong wind in face again.. can't motor more than 2 knots... see other boat lights... frozen... hopefully get to wake up and see land! So close...

Oct 31st, Halloween: Wake up in middle of night to pissed off arguing French couple, tools clanking, lots of running around, no more sound of engine... just cover head with pillow and try to go to my happy place... I don't even want to know what's wrong this time... soo close...

LAND HO!!! Wake up at dawn to see the beautiful sunny NE coast of NZ today!!! What an amazing feeling that was! hadn't seen land for over 2 weeks... could smell it in the air...I can't wait to be in charge of what happens in my day again, where I go, what I do, what I eat... light winds taking us NE to Doubtless Bay... just take my anywhere.. fuck quarantine, fuck port of entry, fuck customs... thinking of just paddling my surfboard to shore and running for the hills... then wind stops ...OH MY GOD!!! Come ooooooon!!!.. tacking in circles... can hear radio chatter.. see boats, just 10 miles from the bay... captain is still working on engine... Saltwater cooling system broke that night, big leak, engine overheated.. FUCK... captain relays our situation on radio... he refuses an offer for a tow into port... thinks he can fix engine... no wind, ripped sails, no engine... and you don't want a tow???... entertain thoughts of Mutany... maybe just a quick push over the side, nah he'd just swim back, we're not moving... knife to the gut? Frying pan to the dome? Bound and gagged and thrown into the slothpit that is the bathroom then radio for help? yes, yes that's it... get a grip man... remain calm... deep breaths.. 1.... 2... 3... exhale... repeat... try to talk some sense into the situation... the wife is on my side... wait what's that on the horizon? A ship coming our way... get binocs.. read: CUSTOMS on side... WOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOO... "Hello, we heard you on the radio and were in the area, do you need a FREE tow into Manganui? We'll have quarantine and immigration drive up from Opua to clear you guys at the port so you can enter NZ here" (Classic Kiwi hospitality) Captain: "Hmmm... thank you for the offer, but can you give me 10 minutes, I think I can fix the engine." MOTHER F$#@%&$##$$$K%%$#@R!!!!!!!!!!???????? ... deep red veil fades across my vision... try talk some sense... he decides to get the tow... red veil lifted! Life suddenly OK again... Arrive in port, use head while waiting to get cleared by customs, sunglasses fall in toilet, awesome! grab boards and backpack, walk 2 km to main road, make big sign on cardboard: "KUMEU OR AUCKLAND PRETTY PLEASE"... talk Maori art with cool Maori dude down to Keri Keri, stuff my face with fresh fruit at fruit stand, thumb out again... hop in tiny rental car with 71 year old dude with a lead foot and a motor mouth... "I failed the eye sight test ya know! Shouldn't really be driving... I live in the phillipines now, retired... pub crawls every damn day... young cute girls sucking your dick for 3 bucks at the clubs... I get a new girl to hang around the house every few months... it's great...they're not prude over there either... A few years ago on my birthday I walked into a club and I told a girl I'm 69 today and that's what I wanted to do to her... my daughter doesn't talk to me anymore... all my friends are dropping like flys... " white knuckles for 3 hours straight... so this is how it's going to end for me eh? After all I just went through? I'm going to be scraped off the pavement at some hair-pin turn... no way... not now... almost rear end every car in front of us... "here's good, thanks man" ... 11pm...soooo close... make a call... Rebeka to the rescue...dressed as a good witch...WTF? Halloween right... get back to The Farm ...peel off clothes... sterilize myself in first hot shower in 4 months... eat king size bowl of Musilie, bananas, strawberries, yogurt and fresh milk... drift to sleep in bed that doesn't move... and there's a nice tree outside the window.

Mission: Complete
Total Duration on Star Dust: 20 Days
Shooting Stars Observed: Had to be well intot he hundreds
Fish Caught: 5 (+1 Albatross)
Weight Lost: At least 10 pounds, I'm a skinny little bitch
Lessons: Learned

All in all, it could have been a lot worse, my life was never in any real danger, we didn't hit anything or catch fire and now that it's over, it's like it never happened. And the French family wasn't all that bad, they were really nice and we had some good banter about how much of a fuck up Bush was, life and the stars. Michel and Anne, if you read this, please don't take it personally, it's all in good fun. OK...On to the next adventure... South Island New Zealand barrels here I come...

Just had to throw in this Tongan beauty for good measure

29 times around the sun

And another year wiser for sure! It's been an exciting, inspiring and fun-filled 28th year. September 24th 2009 was a good day. Good company, good food, warm lagoon, surfing behind the dingy, cold beer, poker and a homemade banana birthday cake!

Flanked on both sides by "The Norwegians of To Fluer", and despite the intense heat, Mr. Abel miraculously continues to steadily and stealthily annihilate all 8 of his poker opponents to eventually take the pot.

Tonga: Days like these...

There's something special about sailing up to a distant tropical island on a yacht with only 2 other people. Not really knowing how it's going to be, just going off 4 day old swell and weather reports, trying to get a closer look through the binocs as you stabilize yourself from the rolling swells and sip the morning coffee. And then you finally get close enough to see that you and the crew are going to get barreled off your nut for the next several hours and weird chemicals start running through your veins, you literally start jumping up and down and froth forms around the mouth, it soon gets hard to form complete sentences and you resort to primative hoots, hollars and screams of excitement as you get your gear together as soon as humanly possible, we're lucky we remembered to drop the anchor. It's days like these you remember for the rest of your life.

Tonga: Tubes and Tsunami's

Me about to get pre-breakfast barrel number ???

Nola has been good to us. We've been getting some really fun surf and eating like absolute kings! These pics were at an open ocean reef that was working particularly well this morning. Lots of tube time. We got all geared up in fullsuits for reef bouncing... nice and shallow.

The next morning we back to the reef to check the waves and the whole exposed reef went underwater and back to exposed again in about 60 seconds, tsunami! It was surging around the islands for a few hours but no major damage here... just a bunch of worried "Boaties" chattering all morning on the VHF. I hear other islands weren't so lucky.

More swell on the way!

Tonga: Farewell Hunga Lagoon

A few weeks ago, my time was up at the fishing lodge on Hunga Island, it was 2 months in paradise. Had an amazing time there. A special thanks to Caroline and Steve for letting me into their world for a while. What a wonderful place!

And my departure couldn't have worked out better, it just so happened that Nola was anchored on the other side of the lagoon, I hopped on board and have been a permanent fixture on the boat ever since. Next stop: Hapai. The next island group South of Vava'u. We'll be sailing down there next week. The Kiwi boys on Nola are helping organize a large coastal clean-up through Sustainable Coastlines. Also, the conditiuons are shaping up nicely for some really fun surf during the next few days!

It's interesting to be in a foreign land long enough to experience the seasons change, it's starting to get hot and wind-less here. All the "boaties" are leaving back down to NZ to avoid the Hurricane season, things will be getting really quite here in Vava'u over the next few weeks.

Life is good.

Tonga: Swimming with Humpbacks

Well this was most definitely a highlight of my time here... getting to swim within a few feet of mom and calve Humpbacks. Pretty unreal! They are EVERYWHERE around here at the moment, you'd have a tough time getting on a boat at any given time and not seeing a whale... or a few of them. I would highly recommend getting here at some point in life and jumping in with them, it's one thing to see them from the surface and a completely different thing to see them in their world. Mindblowing.

My love affair with Nola

(Click on pic for bigger one)

I watched her come into our lagoon and there was just something about her. When I heard she was going to be in Tonga for a while and loved to surf, that pretty much sealed the deal... I had to get to know her.

A few days went by and we hadn't met each other yet. I woke up one morning and looked out my window, I just got a quick view of her as she left the lagoon. Why did she leave? Where was she going? Would I ever see her again?

Weeks went by... they seemed like months. I watched the lagoon entrance everyday hoping I would see her again. One day I decided to grab my board and paddle around all the moorings for the hell of it. When I came back there was a message, it was from Nola... she wanted to know if I was interested in spending some time with her to search for waves, explore the islands and just hang out in paradise for a while. I accepted.

I met her in town on the main island. We ate, we drank, and we ended up sleeping together in the old harbor in the rain. It was perfect. The next morning we woke up before sunrise and sailed to a small outer island to find a fun right breaking off one side and a hollow, dredgy left off the other... I really had trouble thinking of a better set up than this.

So we spent our days surfing over colorful coral reefs, spearing fish, rolling around on white sand beaches and drinking fresh coconuts in the sun. We spent our nights anchored in beautiful glassy coves cooking up the days catch and watching the sunsets turn to stars over frosty beers. Easy livin', Good livin'!

This might be beginning of a beautiful relationship... I'm already in love!

My interview with: Okoto

The good people at Okoto just put up a short but sweet little interview we did. Click >>HERE<< to read it and don't forget to snag something from their stellar apparel line. They're some of the coolest people you'll ever meet.

Tonga good.

Hammock good.

Fishing good. (120 kilo Blue Marlin on)
Food good.Life good.

Words of Wisdom:

"One of the gladdest moments of human life, methinks, is the departure upon a distant journey into unknown lands. Shaking off with one mighty effort the fetters of habit, the leaden weight of routine, the cloak of many cares and the slavery of home, man feels once more happy."
- Sir Richard Burton

My interview with: Club Of The Waves

When it comes to surf culture, surf artists, surf photographers, surfing forums, surfing debates or surfing anything, Club Of The Waves.com is the place to go. I've been a featured artist on COTW for a while now and have made some great contacts through the site as well as discovered A TON of really great artists and photographers. Take a gander... but don't blame me if you lose the next 2-3 hours to a computer screen!

I recently did a tasty little interview with COTW. Click >>HERE<< to check it out.

ERIK ABEL JOINS ARTSPROJEKT!!!

The time has come to officially launch my ARTSPROJEKT store/Art Laboratory! The brains of the operation, Andy Howell (Artist and former pro-skater) recently invited me to be a part of the AP family. Pretty stoked to be amongst some of my favorite artists! (Shepard Fairy/Obey, Mars-1, Erik Otto, DALEK, Jim Phillips, Ekundayo)

I've spent the last month putting together artwork and graphics for a basic product line of high quality prints/posters, shirts, hats, buttons, skateboard decks and other paraphernalia. And the line will constantly be expanding. The genius of ARTSPROJEKT is it's print-on-demand platform... a product is made only when it's ordered. Customers can customize most products too, ie- shirt style and color, print size, paper or canvas, framed or not. Artists don't have to worry about overhead, production, inventory or shipping... hallelujah! This means you can expect a constant flow of new products regardless of where I am in the world. Let's say it together now... AWESOME!

Be sure to join my newsletter so you'll be notified of special products I'll be offering only for a limited time.

So, check out what I've got in the store, get yourself a shirt and a few prints or a birthday present for the old lady(or old man) Currently I have 20 posters, a dozen shirts and loads of hats, buttons, mouse pads, mugs, skateboard decks and other various items to choose from.

GO TO MY ARTSPROJEKT STORE >>

There's also a little >>INTERVIEW<< I did for the AP blog.

For the complete low down on ARTSPROJEKT, Read the Press Release.

Billabong Shirt Graphic

A shirt I did for Billabong USA for their Fall 2009 line is hitting shops. Go grab yourself one!

The Kingdom of Tonga

X marks the spot. That little sliver of sand and palm trees will soon be my home for an unknown amount of time. Flight departs July 10th from Auckland... SOOO PUMPED! I'll be working on a small fishing lodge (Fresh sushi anyone?) in the Vava'u island group in Northern Tonga to escape the NZ winter! It's a pretty remote location, as you can see, and I'll definitely be scouting out some empty waves... might even have to make my own treasure map for the secretest of spots. In fact, I'm definitely going to be burying some treasure on a scrap of sand and coral around there somewhere... might just be a bottle of rum, but how many people can say they have treasure buried on a deserted island in the Pacific!!! Can't wait to mark that one off the list.

NZ: Winter Waves

Been slacking on the blog... Mostly because our house got robbed and my Mac Book Pro (aka: My job) got swiped with my iPod and sunglasses as well as a bunch of other stuff from my roommates. And the bastards took a giant shit on the lawn outside the window they got into. Damn turd burglers! So I've been a little bitter lately. Just been surfing a bunch and trying to forget about all the design files and music I'll never see again. Lesson learned: ALWAYS BACK-UP. Guess you gotta roll with the punches. Surfing always seems to help sort things out though...

Words of Wisdom

"...All the above is, of course, a gross simplification. There are deeper reasons to travel - itches and tickles on the underbelly of the unconscious mind. We go where we need to go, and then try to figure out what we're doing there." - Jeff Greenwald "Shopping for Buddhas"

NZ: OK, things are getting ridiculous... and a bit cold

My day: Wake up. No heater in house. See my breath out of the covers. Verbally abuse the weather. Look out window... Bluebirds. Fresh dump on the mount. Ice on van windows. Wetsuit wet and frozen. Lot's of layers, lots of Coffee. Pick up the Dutchman, head down coast.
Snow on side of road. Arrive at most popular break in Taranaki. Firing. Offshore. Nobody out. Are we in the twilight zone? 2 other dudes show up and paddle out with us. They leave after 30 minutes... why? I may never know. Dutchman and I hoot and hollar at each other for next 2 hours by ourselves. Arms are destroyed from previous day. We finally go in... a couple guys paddle out... take a few pics for the books. Drive straight to Burger Fuel for a Third Pounder with cheese please. Epic. Zombie for rest of day. Blog to stay awake.

NZ: Outer Reef Bombs & Beachbreak Barrels

Today was a good day. An outer reef in town was working in the AM. It was deceptive, especially because nobody was out to measure it up. The wave in this pic was pushing double overhead, there were some death pits out there. And it was about 300 meters out. (The metric system is rubbing off on me... who are the idiots responsible for our damn imperial system of measurement?? Quick fact: the US is one of 3 countries in the WORLD who aren't on the metric system... fail!) Anywho... it was a long paddle out. I Don't think I've ever been that far out in the ocean, in surf that big, all by myself. Definitely sobering and a good way to clear the mind. I got a few bombs as well as some good exercise for my adrenaline gland. A 2 hour solo session and the second my foot hits the sand there were 3 guys paddling out and another 4 soon to be in the water, and the tide soon turned things to mush, ha ha... timing is indeed everything.

Then after lunch I pulled up to spiting barrels at this beachbreak with the sun out, orange clouds, giant rainbow and snow covered mountain backdrop... wish I had a camera in the water. Got some good tubes, complete with a few hoots from the shoulder... love that! Today was a good day.

Oceanic Totems 1 & 2

I finally got around to producing some personal work while being semi-settled in New Plymouth. These are painted on reclaimed New Zealand lumber and inspired by the the elements.

NZ: A Fun Autumn Day in Taranaki

Fall is in the air... leaves are changing color, Mt. Taranaki is covered with snow, the nights are getting damn chilly and the water is cooling down... and there are fun waves to be had!