Into The Eye of The Storms
The Ultimate Stop-over
Leading up to Forrest Minchinton and Janine Jolie’s trip to Tavarua in February, there were two cyclones parked in the South Pacific; one sitting a few hundred miles to the north of the Fijian Islands, the other spinning clockwise to the south.
“I’m not going to lie, the forecast looked a little hairy,” said Minchinton. “But it had been booked pretty late, and Janine and I wanted to visit there on the way to Australia. And Bryan from WaterWays had pulled it together so well, and we trusted his judgment.”
Forrest was referring to Bryan Pohlman, WaterWays’ Tavarua chief booker. The pair have a history. Forrest had grown up with twin passions of surfing and motorbikes, splitting his time with his mom in Costa Rica and dad in California.
Forrest’s old man is Mike, a respected surfer and shaper who worked out of the Spanners Surfboard Factory in Huntington. Spanners was Mike’s office, Forrest and his mates’ daycare, and a gathering place for travelers, locals, shapers, and surfers. One of those was Bryan, whose first gig in the industry was learning to shape boards under the mentorship of Mike.
That, of course, was ancient history. Now 33, Forrest had grown up from a foam-crusted grom into a respected surfer and shaper, but better known as one of the moto’s most talented and stylish generalists, excelling in enduro races, motocross, and street riding. Now, though, for him and Janine, his German girlfriend and surf and travel blogger, the more pressing present issue was the Southern Hemisphere hurricanes that had the potential to rain, literally, on their Fijian parade.
“That was all forgotten when we got the boat from the airport to Tavarua. The sun was out, the water was sparkling, and the Fijians were so warm and welcoming,” said Forrest.
“The beauty of the place is almost indescribable. I’ve been lucky to travel to some incredible places, but I can’t think of anything that matches that feeling of arriving at Tavarua.”
Over their 7-day stay, the cyclones would drop a few days of bad wind and rain, but the couple scored mostly good weather and plenty of fun waves. Minchinton said he was surprised by the 270º wide swell window and the number of options both Tavarua and the neighboring island of Namotu offered in terms of waves.
“Janine loves riding her longboard and surfing really fun, playful waves,” said Forrest.
“I spent half my time with her going to some of those spots that I maybe wouldn’t have otherwise. That turned out to be a real bonus.”
He describes some sessions in the gin-clear waters at Swimming Pools as magical, while Janine was able to push herself a little more at Tavarua Rights and Namotu Lefts. The pair even traded waves alone on longboards at small Restaurants. “The team put us on the right waves, at the right time, every day. Their knowledge of the waves and matching that with the guests’ needs borders on wizardry,” said Forrest.
Minchinton is a moto multi-instrumentalist but also an accomplished and stylish surfer, though he never surfed competitively and claims to be out of his comfort zone in true waves of consequence. On this trip, he scored some good, but not epic, waves at Cloudbreak.
“I haven’t had that magic session yet. I want to come back with the right equipment, get more comfortable with the power of the wave, and be a little less timid. I’m hooked on the wave, I just need some time. I want this relationship to last,” he laughed.
“It’s like the mafia,” laughs Forrest. “Once you are in, you can’t get out. You become part of this extended Tavarua family. We think we may already have our little slot now. And I know we’ve made friends for life.”
However, the world’s best stopover was just that, and Forrest and Janine flew to Noosa to continue their travels. The same cyclone, now labeled Alfred, that threatened to derail their Tavarua trip, followed them west into Australian waters. The pair scored a week of epic cyclone swell on the Noosa Points and were far enough north to miss the worst of the winds and heavy weather that came as Alfred made landfall near the Gold Coast.
“It was such an epic two weeks of waves, good times, and great people,” said Forrest. “I’d just like to thank Bryan and the team at WaterWays for making it all happen so effortlessly. I’ll be coming back to Tavarua for sure. I might even bring Dad. He doesn’t surf much anymore, but sinking some cold beers with him after a day of waves in one of the most beautiful places on Earth… Well, that’s the dream.”
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