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TOP: Sadhana Surfboards are perfect for the surf<br />
at Christchurch. Local shapers know best.<br />
MIDDLE: Sombre reminders of the quake, like<br />
this collapsed cliffside, are everywhere.<br />
ABOVE:: Jay’s work on a timber board made from<br />
recycled materials reclaimed after the quake.<br />
96 may/jun <strong>2012</strong><br />
Jay was at the factory when the<br />
magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck.<br />
“I was in the shaping room when<br />
it happened. Our business was<br />
only a matter of a few kilometres<br />
from the quake epicenter. It was<br />
full on. 9’6”s were falling on<br />
my head. Boards were throwing<br />
themselves off the racks.<br />
I didn’t know what to do. After 20<br />
seconds I thought, ‘I better get out<br />
of here.’ I ran out the front door of<br />
the factory in a cloud of dust with<br />
things falling everywhere. It was<br />
like an Indiana Jones movie.<br />
“Once outside there were no<br />
phones. The mobile networks<br />
were down because they were<br />
overlogged. My wife was at work<br />
and I didn’t know how to get in<br />
contact with her. I didn’t know if she<br />
ok? She had the car and so I just<br />
started to walk home in my sanding<br />
gear. There was just this procession<br />
of people walking home.”<br />
“As a collective there has been<br />
incredible personal loss and<br />
emotional strain. In the face of<br />
all of this though, there is this<br />
determination and courage to stay<br />
positive and carry on.”<br />
That community spirit could be<br />
seen through the actions of so<br />
many. Jay himself raised funds<br />
for the Christchurch Earthquake<br />
Appeal by auctioning a unique<br />
fish he crafted out of timbers<br />
reclaimed from a demolished<br />
factory that once stood right<br />
behind his own.<br />
As for the future, Jay is ever<br />
positive.<br />
“It has been tough but you just<br />
keep going. People are coming<br />
in now and buying boards again<br />
because they realise they need to<br />
relax. And thankfully they can see<br />
we are doing something different<br />
that caters for the individual. That<br />
is what we do... our own thing.”
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