SpONGe bAY WARRIORS

Buck Woods: "Have had some pretty fun surfs at Spongies over the years. Either a last resort froth out surf when we were groms or

catching a couple paddling back from The Island. But this day in particular was lining up as good as it can get, even enough to twist Johnny's arm to flag fat lefties at the bowl.

Chur Spongies."

Johnny Hicks: "I remember surfing Spongey when I was a wee grom as it was semi soft and always clean. In the right conditions we used to surf a left off to the side of the bay called Garbage, but in recent years I hadn't given Sponge more than a thought, I know it's one of those waves that probably gets good more than you think, and this summer we scored it

breaking like a point break which was epic fun!"

Most surf zones in New Zealand have one; in fact they exist all over the world. That one break that gets lost in the limelight of the premier waves that surround. As surfers we crave the more consistent, quality shaped waves, even if they attract more heat, being crowds. Meanwhile the middle brother, who seems lost and forgotten, just goes about his ways un-noticed to the masses. Take some of our premier surf zones for example, at Raglan all you ever hear about is Manu Bay and Indicators, yet Whale Bay which can still offer up an all-time wave gets lost in the hype. It has its loyalists and dedicated few, which in Raglan's case are called the WBB or Whale Bay Boys, but for the most part it peels off down that rocky point relatively un-noticed as surfers pass with their blinkers on looking to the outside point. The same could be said for Taranaki, on any pumping day Stent Rd will have its local crew and visitors jostling for a taste of those right hand walls, yet up and down the coast at that very moment, there are other waves with only a handful on them, and many more with no one out. Sure these breaks I have used as examples are the premier breaks, offering waves of consistency and shape far superior to others nearby, yet every now and then when the elements of surfing; tide, sand, wind, swell size and direction all line up, you will find these forgotten waves reminding you for years to come, what you'd been missing out on. In Gisborne lies a tiny little horse shoe shaped cove called Sponge Bay, now if you are a semi-decent surfer, you probably wouldn't have ever given Spongey much more than a glimpse as you pulled into its carpark to check out the conditions at 'The Island'. And to be honest that's what most surfers know Sponge for, an access point to 'The Island' and its premier left hand breaks. When I was a Grom I used to spend a lot of time in Gisborne, pretty much every school holiday staying with my mate who lived nearby. As we had to walk everywhere Sponge Bay usually got the nod as it was the closest, I pretty much learnt to surf at Sponge and I can vividly recall picking off the lefts on the high tide and fitting in one little shore break snap before having to dodge the old wooden pylon in the centre of the bay which is still there today. Some days we would make the effort and head out to Wainui or into town to Roberts Road or Pipe, these breaks were home to the famous surfers, the ones with stickers on their boards and all the flash gears. Back out at Spongey's we were used to sharing the waves with a more underground, hardcore type of surfer, local boys from the nearby Kaiti. Out at Wainui you had the tribes of the Okitu Assasins, The Stock Route Mafia, back in Town were TSOL Town Surf Outlaws. Out at the Bay the local boys were known as the Sponge Bay Warriors, a bunch of local lads that were simply stoked to be in the waves on their old dungas, in nothing but their rugby shorts , even in winter! I don't know if they couldn't afford wetsuits, or if it simply didn't bother them, they never complained about the cold, and were only seen with big smiles especially when after surfing they would forage through the rocks and come up beaming with a big fat juicy kina. As my mates and I became better surfers, we graduated over to Tuamotu Island and the break that had started it all was sadly left behind and forgotten. As the sea breezes filled in the sheltered cove of Sponge Bay tucked in behind Tuahine Point it had been traded for the offshore lefts of the Bowl and Insides over on the Island. Years went by until recently I rekindled by relationship with the Sponge, yes more often than not it was damn easy to decide where to surf as the wave quality of the bay couldn't match that of other breaks nearby, but every now and then while doing the rounds looking for the best spot something deep within me would make me indicate and turn down that road out to the bay and every now and then I was quietly surprised. Some of the original Warriors still do their time there and a new crop of loyalists is emerging, yet for the most they still have their blinkers on as they pull up and run across to view the conditions at the Bowl. This summer during the National Champs two of Gisborne's favourite sons, Buck Woods and Johnny Hicks who have grown up with Wainui on their doorstep, turned their backs on their Mafia brotherhood and along with a couple of mates ventured into the hood of the Warriors and Spongey turned it on.