May 31st, 2005 - Flipper Goes For A Swim

Today Matt and Brian (from Wainui Orchards) took us down to Shipwrecks/90 mile beach for a surf. There are several left hand point breaks that kind of remind me of Raglan. The conditions weren't the greatest today and the wind was blowing pretty hard offshore. There was lots of paddling involved but we did manage to get a few long rides. It's pretty interesting to surf here because you end up driving your car on the beach as well as on the rocks to get around the point. You definitely want to get out of there before the tide comes up!

As we were leaving today, Tony's wetsuit fell out of the back of Matts car. We didn't realize it until we got back to the Orchard. So then Tony and I (Eddie) jumped into Flipper (Our Van) and headed back to the beach. The tide was on its way up so we thought that it might have already washed away. When got there, the tide was on the rise so we didn't drive Flipper all the way onto the rocks. Tony headed out on foot in search of his wetsuit. Eddie stayed with Flipper and while he was parked in the hard sand near the rocks a wave washed up underneath Flipper. With in seconds, Flippers tires started sinking into the sand. Eddie tried to get her out of there but Flipper was now stuck. "Oh shit" was his first thought as the wheels just kept spinning. He ran for help as the tide was coming up in search of someone with a rope and a 4wd. With in 15 minutes we had about 5 surfers, a 4wd, and some old rope trying to get Flipper out. It all worked out in the end and Tony also found his wetsuit! These are the thing that we stress about these days. The journey continues...

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Shipwrecks/90 Mile Beach	Matt & Brian	Parking the rocks
Flipper before she got stuck	Almost stuck	Flipper Is Stuck