Guns at Dawn... the house hits Fitzroy early

So, I think mentioned the concept of dawnies (dawn surf sessions), a little further down - or earlier, on this blog. The wind mainly blows. From the West, which is not great for waves... Except around 6 in the morning, before the almighty Sun starts to spread its light across Taranaki. At 6 am, the air is fresh, the sky not blue yet, and a gentle sea breeze brushes against the oncoming swell to make for some very nice waves. So this week, a house decision was made to get up early to beat tired eyes and numb minds. Twice we got up and went to see what the surf was like and it was primo - not a word i really use but it's local so... Olly chose to sleep in the first dawnie and regretted it for the rest of the day. The second day, Nicky took her camera and snapped away.





The water is cold. The first steps into the water a little lumbered. Arms heavy. Thoughts like "Why aren't we in bed?" creep in until... A set of clean waves approaches the surfers and stirs them from their moody musings. A quick paddle, pop up, two feet on the board. "Hey hey, that's why!" Then the sun comes up and adds light to the decor.

This is obviously a little romanticised version of the true facts. It's still paddle paddle paddle, get up the odd time and make the most of it, watch a whole bunch of people surf effortless to and thro, while I try to get past the break. But I think progress is being made.