Offshore Day At The Pier

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/42e1f6_804ec5dd5d4a4a048ba76fa5a5560342/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

When the surf is good I figure I have two options - on the one hand I can be a surfer, and on the other I can be a photographer. One allows me to marvel at the waves and indulge my passion - photography, all while being

wrapped up and warm. Pursuing the other option however I become acutely aware of my arthritic hips and the icy cold waters of the Pacific snaking its way down my back. So having checked both the swell and wind conditions the night of the 21st April my chosen option for the next morning was dry socks, a heavy jacket, a beanie and my camera.

Given the forecast I was pretty sure there wasn't going to be any real chance of the sun breaking the horizon but I arrived just before sunrise nevertheless, just on the off chance. I'm always up for a moody cloudbreak, even if just a brief one. It wasn't to be though and the sky above Christchurch's New Brighton Pier remained a cover of soft pale blue.

I didn't have to wait long before a group of hardy young souls arrived ready with booties, caps, wetsuits and boards. With there being a bit of size to the swell they opted for the walk out over the paddle out. New Brighton's beach break can be a relentless slog when paddling out, especially on a small board. I've never jumped from the end of the pier myself and it's alway held a degree of fascination for me, watching as they throw first their boards and then themselves into the water below. I haven't yet ruled it out but given that I've taken to a longboard it's highly unlikely. Also I apparently now belong to that group of older people that act responsibly and 'should know better' - the group with more eyes than parachute jumps, liver spots, buggered backs and no desire to take that leap of faith.

A number of times I've seen these people glaring as they confidently climb over the safety of the railing and out onto that megre edge the pier offers those game enough to do so - and I wonder if they themselves dare to wonder, what might that be like, to jump, to launch, to fall free...