Amongst the endless stories, we have come across photos, newspaper clippings, small hand scribed notes and more that hold a tale all their own about Raglan’s surf history.
Our most recent venture took us into the newspaper clipping book that Mike Court’s mother kept. And this piece caught our eye., placed in the Illustrated Times, May 1968.
“The Point,” Raglan …”It is claimed by top overseas riders as being one of the world’s best points (rocky shelf bottom), left-hand breaks. When the southerly swells roll across the Tasman, break on the point, and are met with light offshore winds (south to south-east), news is soon around and in short time the waves are being challenged by many with rides up to a quarter of a mile.
Within half a mile of The Point a good breach break (sand bottom) quite often forms when The Point is flat. But this means a long trying walk through the bush and along the beach. A well established club, The Point Boardriders has been active in the area for many years and with a membership of 140 hold their club and inter-club competitions at The Point and on the east coast beach at Whangamata.”
In the coming weeks we will dive into the connections between surfing in Raglan, tangata whenua, the environment and more.
If you would like to contribute your stories or images to the column, please email us at info@raglanchronicle.co.nz.
Karamea Puriri
The Surf Column is sponsored by Raglan Surf Co.
