b'BAR CROSSING If you are clinging to the back of a swell that at around 15-20 knots quickly gathers momentum into what ultimately becomes a raging torrent of foam, the trick is to stick with it all the way, staying just off the fringe of the facefor as the saying goes, it aint finished till its over.When coming back in over the bar, work the throttle aggressively enough to stay on the back of the wave at all costs, dont fall off, and dont ever over-run it, unless the wave has petered out completely and you can see the whole face of the wave in front.TURN TO FACE ITThis is where it gets tricky, for a moments hesitation or indecision, and you will end up swimming. It is perhaps pertinent to suggest that in an ideal world the best time to cross a bar is on a making tide (just after the point of turn), or at the very least, during an incoming tide.A breaking wave will invariably rise to virtually a point in the centre and have a lower shoulder at each end, which is the last part of the wave to break. Trimmed in for this part of the exercise, the trick is to pick which end of the shoulder to run Leaving the Mangawhaito, so if possible, have a quick look at the estuary to approach the bar, allwave following, to make sure you are not crew must have lifejackets on. driving yourself into a dead-end street.Dont let the waves behind you catch up and never over run the wave you are following.60FISHING IN GODZONE JUL/AUG 2023'