Stuart Nettle July 26, 2010

Storm Surfers New Zealand is the second instalment in the Storm Surfers series. For those unaware the Storm Surfers concept teams big wave surfers Tom Carroll and Ross Clarke-Jones up with Swellnet surf forecaster, Ben Matson. As a unit they track and map huge ocean-borne storms and then race off to surf them - Matson the Brains of the operation, Ross and Tom, Scotty and Virgil.

Together it's Storm Surfers are go!

This time around they chased storms in New Zealand. Or, more correctly, in the far south of New Zealand's South Island where the Roaring Forties drive huge swells into the rugged Fjordland coast. A coastline so isolated and inhospitable that very few surfers have ever seen it, let alone ridden a wave there.

While in New Zealand they team up with mad locals Doug Young and Shayne Baxter who add the local flavour. Cuzzy bro's who infect the film with their cheery nature, oddball accents and go-for-it attitudes.

Rather than a 'day in the life of' documentary, the movie follows the Storm Surfers team over three months as they pinpoint possible sites for big waves, then launch reconnaissance missions by helicopter and jet ski to scout the waves. All of which lends itself to thrilling viewing as the majestic New Zealand countryside plays it's part: the team buzzing 6000 foot snow-capped peaks, playing with dynamite, and racing down inaccessible river valleys. All this before a single wave is ridden.

When the wave action does begin the team has the angles covered; the difference between their production and the weekly Shipsterns video stark. With cameras and microphones mounted on ski's, helmets and helicopters all the action is captured and every verbal exchanges recorded. Although, due to it's PG rating, the best profanities are beeped out. And, it should be said, there's a few. Testament to the thrill of riding a twenty-five footer in two degree water, no doubt.

Perhaps that's the best way of explaining the Storm Surfing project. It not only unveils the science behind big-wave riding, it takes the viewer, who will never ride a wave of consequence, as close as they possibly can go. Close enough to feel the fear and close enough to experience the complete and utter exhilaration. F*ck yeah!

Storm Surfers New Zealand is now showing on Discovery Channel. Check your Foxtel guide for viewing times.                                                                                                                                   

DVD copies can be purchased here. Note: DVD's contain ten extra microdocs plus an extended version of the famed expedition to Tasmania's Pedra Branca.