public eyes
OH HOW FAST TIMES ARE A CHANGING... WE MIGHT NOT ALL LIKE IT, BUT
THE ONE THING WE HAVE TO ACCEPT IS, IT IS! It wasn’t that long ago that anything that went down in surfing - a result, or an epic session - the first the general public knew of this was when the surf mags came out. I remember waiting six months as a grom to see if Tom Carroll made the ‘Wave of the winter’ in Hawaii. It created an anticipation within, that I can’t say I’ve experienced for some time. You heard the whispered rumours of certain sessions, and couldn’t wait to see it come out in the mag. Back then if you scored a spot in all its glory, you were guaranteed it was you, the mates you might have come with and whoever else happened to be there at the right time. Then came cell phones, within a short period the standard procedure you would witness was, a car pulling up, a quick run to the top of the dunes and then out came the phones, with texts or calls flying out over cyberspace with the words, “Get here now, it’s pumping.” Personally I’ve never felt sorry for mates or others that didn’t want to take a gamble or put in the hard yards, preferring to sit and wait for a call, so they have never received one. In my line of work while it is a necessary evil that I take guys to spots, I also don’t over-abuse this right, so as to keep on the good side of locals everywhere. If locals aren’t happy then I’m stuffed. Now, and it seems to have taken a huge grip on society in just the last year, we have a huge surge in ‘Social Media’, where it seems everyone everywhere, knows everyone’s business. I find this weird, and it starts to have an affect on ones surf experience, sometimes starting a week out from the session. In days gone by crew that knew how to read weather maps snuck off to certain spots, scored and came home tight lipped. Now we have a culture where surf reports are suggesting spots that will be pumping by the end of the week. One person posts on their Facebook that they are off to score %$#**, someone likes this, it’s seen by their friends and then those friends friends, and hello, come swell day there are 80 in the lineup and the guy that originally posted the thought and action provoking status, has a crap session and goes home wave starved. Then on top of that you have cellphones with built in cameras with live connection to the net and sites such as Instagram, Youtube, Twitter and so on... The first day of a three day swell, already has pics and videos posted across the world wide web, and those that post them are left scratching their heads as to why the next two days were super crowded. I’ve even witnessed cars pulling up at certain spots pulling out their phones snapping shots, driving off then posting photos with location names and details and a claim that “We scored!”, when they didn’t even surf! Then we move on to the next level of surf exposure, webcams. Now webcams have been around for sometime throughout the world, some can even be remotely moved to check different angles by the viewer, and up until now the NZ cams have basically shown a section of coastline where by looking at the cams you can make a self analysis of what it might be like where you plan on heading. Over the last few years there have been a couple of attempts to set up live cameras overlooking our most iconic surf spot Raglan. This divided the community and led to threats and attempts of theft, and then recently there has been talk of the same at the legendary Shipwreck Bay. Upon hearing this the local
boardriders, and others concerned, called a meeting and have collectively made it known that from a local surfing community point of view, they oppose cameras overlooking their local gem (see page 20). But should we fear these points raised above? Well that is for you to decide as individuals. While these points are only just starting to show an effect, how much longer will it be before Google Earth is live and you can check anywhere in the world. Even now Google Street shows my neighbour walking out of my house with a grin on his face, and if he wasn’t such an ugly critter I might be asking a few questions. See what problems are coming our way! I’m not saying any of the above is right or wrong, just presenting the facts that as society we have come to accept as the norm. I guess what I really do miss are those sessions where you stumbled across an unexpected wave with no one around, just you and your mates, and you went home, keeping it on the down low to enjoy the next time the conditions lined up. Those days are slipping away, and while here at the magazine we surround ourselves with like minded guys in an effort to bring you the readers fresh material each issue, that you didn’t know went down or existed, we attempt to keep that stoke alive, of seeing something for the first time. Yours in surfing, Cory Scott and the Team at New Zealand Surfing Magazine.