Novelty waves

Here's our local novelty spot. Only breaks in XXL typhoon swell as it needs a southerly/easterly direction to get in. Breaks from low to mid tide but the lower the tide the better.

Looks pretty tame but actually deceptively powerful and there's so much water moving around and current trying to pull you out to sea it can be a little scary.

Bit of a social scene when it's on as people come from far and wide to watch or surf it. Good place for a catch-up. Scuse the quality of the pics.

Growing up around Cronulla meant there were plenty of novelty spots due to the nearby waterways. Bay Surf inside Port Hacking can be surprisingly fun on the right equipment. If you're out there on the right tide and the right bank (there are many to choose from) you can get really fun waves. 

Inside Botany Bay has many options with Towra Point, Dolls Point and a few spots on the northern shore that are doable under maxing swells. None have the potential of Bay Surf but all are classic novelty waves.

Years ago when I was living at Manly, Craig and I hiked in the dark under cyclonic conditions to surf a wave way up inside Broken Bay. We were almost totally surrounded by bush, felt like surfing in a small lake. That was a boatload of fun.

I look at all the coves way inside Weaternport Bay, or the top end of PI, and get excited by the novelty spot potential. Same goes the drive down to Cockle Creek in Tasmania and the bays and waterways on the western side of Storm Bay and Bruny Island. Bit of south in the swell and the options expand exponentially.

Then there's those spots inside Great Oyster Bay, both coasts of Flinders Island, the forgotten Bass coast of eastern Wilsons Prom. So many to think about.

The Adelaide metro coast is one big novelty spot.

There's a certain spot down here in Byron that broke last Friday. Needs that large NE swell and S-SW winds...it's about a 20 minute walk in with restrictions on access. Breaks about twice a year and last Friday was the best I've ever had it...4-6 ft no-one out...crowds of 75+ a 10 minute drive away.

There are at least 3 waves in Port Phillip that break on big SW winds south of Funkytown. One isn't too bad ... on its day!

Back when I was a grom, just about my first introduction to waves was under Missingham's Bridge on the Richmond River in Ballina. I'm guessing it must have been pretty huge outside the river mouth, but it was a nice gentle mal wave (or foamy wave, which was the vessel of choice for me and my brother).

Pretty sure I know where you're talking about crg. I used to go there all the time in my younger days, only me and my brother/mates or a combination thereof and maybe one ring-in.

If it is where I'm thinking of, I'm surprised to hear it was holding that size. I usually hit one or more of the points when it got to that size, so there were probably banks I've never even seen coming into play.

Novelty waves???? Well.... Here's a couple of spots that saved many a surfer stuck in cairns from going absolutely crazy and butchering innocent passers by..

Yorkeys Knob cove Just below the cliff right next to the rock wall. irca 1981, with a young sheepdog blown away that there's a chunky rebound wedge above shouder high... Of course a few years later the council decided it would be a great place for a storm water drain, and totally fucked the nice little low tide beach in there;

Ratshit bay, north of Cairns, between the rex lookout near Hartleys creek, and Turtle cove beach resort.... If you happen to find yourself up there during winter, and are contemplating suicide, murder or both, keep your eyes out for "se winds at 25 to 30k", and a major ridge up the Qld coast from a large high... When you haven't seen a ridable wave for 6 weeks, 2 foot peaks can be a lifesaver. And it is quite a novelty to surf up there... Call into Ellis beach on the way back for munchies lol;

I made a comment about that particular wave that started the thread somewhere else. Surfed it with a "Big Angry Bird" and some Fingalites years back.

On a different note, and in a different hemisphere, there are some real quality 'novelty waves' on the Jurassic Coast in ol' Blighty. One bay in particular reminded me of the magical Mid in SA...but better and emptier! A fuckload colder too, but you get that.

If the swell is big enough you can surf a point in Middle Harbour and turn out next to the Spit Bridge. Don't hold your breath waiting for it.

I've heard of a few spots breaking ok in broken bay, both sides of the river and seen photo's but no one ever surfing them... how was the quality stu when you and Craig did the mission in?

There's a right hand point that actually picks up a reasonable amount of swell in the right conditions I have surfed it a few times but never had it good. Also seen photos from the sixties of people surfing reflected swell next to the ferry wharf at Palm Beach. Nielsen Park on South Head picks up reflected swell also.

Is that right point on the central coast side bb?

Quality was so so, but the adventure and novelty more than made up for that. Walking through pitch black bushland with torrential rain and force seven winds ripping through the treetops is what novelty spot surfing is all about. The walk took about 45 minutes, twenty minutes down and about the same again along the oyster-encrusted rocks till we rounded the bay.

The set up is a bommie just offshore from a bend in the shoreline. The wave draws on the bommie, breaks as a peak with the left going back onto the rocks and the right swinging around into the shallow bay where it goes offshore into the wind - or at least it did in the conditions we had. The trick was to link the bommie with the ones that lined up into the bay.

It was sloppy and thin-lipped, the swell is heavily attenuated from travelling up the shallow waterway, but we still got a few three footers. The swell would've been 10-15 foot outside the heads.

Craig's got some photos somewhere.

Only bummer was a fellow on an old style water polo canoe who appeared out of the mist. He must've paddled around from Mackerel Beach. Even though we were the only three out and there were more than enough waves to go around, he dropped in on us numerous times. He simply had no clue of wave ettiquette. A hazard of novelty surfing?

Stu,should have taken him to the beach........sorta joking but seems as though theres always one dickhead appears out of nowhere to spoil a fun session.

I've surfed a bunch of waves in the northern Spencer Gulf. It blows your mind when you see just how far swell energy can travel under the right circumstances.

Yep SS the size was an issue...quite a few closeouts but I think it was the perfect swell direction and wind.

Found a few shots of the above mission....

Coming around the bay in the first light

Set on the bommie

Outside set on the bommie

Knob

Rare solo wave

Yeh scouser, not too hard to find!

Not hard to find at all, it's even mentioned in Nat Young's Surfing Atlas, however it's hard to get it on as it not only needs a lot of size but a particular direction swell to get up there. I reckon that only comes around every few years. Also gotta have run out tide and favourable winds.

A novelty indeed.

Edit: Ignore me, I see you're replying to earlier post.

a mate recently moved to yorkey's knob, just down the road from the cliff/bluff. i'll take a board next visit.

one place i think there should be a novelty wave is at south head. you can see it breaking over the rocks there, but i've never seen it get anywhere near rideable. i'm sure it would feel quite exposed sitting out there. and there would also be the ghosts of the dunbar murmuring underneath you.

Yes Sheepy there are a few rare days when the wind is howling from the s/e that you can score a few mushburgers. I spent 5 years up there between Townsville and Cairns in the late 70's - early 80's and had a few sessions at Bingil Bay, Etty Bay, Ratshit Bay, and a couple of beaches on Magnetic Island . Bingil seemed to be the biggest and most consistent from what I saw. Even got chased by a croc in '83 on an old windsurfer at Bramston Beach. Can be a risky business up there.

Innatube.... 1983?? Yeah I was there in 83,84,85..... So if you saw a lanky young blonde grommet goofy on a burford single fin, or a hot stuff tri at ratshit, hartleys creek reef, pebbly, Ellis, buchans point, 1/2 moon bay, yorkeys cove or beach, that was me lol... There were all of 5 or 6 of us ripple riders up there at the time.
Ratshit was the most consistent, thanks to the mini gap out near bat reef, and also the se wind swell window from Elford reef onwards between Fitzroy and green island... And often if a 30k wind from blowing, that was an indication a large se groundswell was out on the barrier reef... So the hours after a high tide were the go, as more water was over the barrier reef at the time...
Yorkeys cove lefts were the most consistent close to Cairns.. Thanks to the rebound wedge... A 1 footer became 2 foot.... And yeah, experienced the full gamut of wildlife up there.... harassed by a brute of a tiger shark at hartleys..... Fuck that place was sketchy...Desperate times.....

ps- funny thing yesterday.... After uploading the pics, I went and made a coffee, turned the the tv on and watched "The Chaser"......... Very first question - "In what Australian state is the beach side town of Yorkey Knob?"

I shit you not....... lol

couple just better than ratshit on the central coast north of Yeppoon, and between Yepoon and Emu Park.

Nice photos stu. I think there's a few nice little once in 5 to 10 year breaks around broken bay. Seen a couple of good potential breaks in that huge black swell from June last year.

Got a relative that runs Currawong Beach Cottages, the camp right behind Palm Beach, and he's got photos of some nearby spots on the pump. One in particular was breaking along a perfectly groomed bank. They've lived there for ten years and he's seen it like that only a handful of times.

You'll have to upload those photos as well. What's the considered the best novelty wave in the land? Boulders up past Newcastle perhaps?

Actually, FR, I can tell you about a few little secrets of where you are talking about.... Not mushburgers either.... Check the gap, and the swell angle needed... That's all I'll say publicly lol....

Chook, as I was saying earlier, I think they fucked the yorkeys cove years ago.... Haven't been there for like a decade plus.... They put a storm drain right in the little cove which has turned it into a deep hole..
But yeah, check ratshit, its the cove just before turtle cove resort.... Bit of a sketchy climb down the rocks, but not too bad..... Nice little beach to, with a natural little semi cave to sit in when the NQ sun has cooked you.

Horseshoe bay Maggie Is. When a cyclone is to the north and dumps enough rain to cause the creek to break out, forming a bank for the cyclone swell to break. Can actually get pretty good.....Once every 5 years or so, if your lucky.

Creeks ... there is one way up in Westernport that breaks on a mega swell. There is also one down in Gippsland that if it breaches the beach/dune after rain can serve up a once in 10 year wave feast.

Hard to say which novelty wave is the best. I mean, in the wider world the criteria for judging wave quality includes how frequently it breaks, yet novelty waves are by definition infrequent.

Does a 1 in 10 year wave qualify? What about a 1 in 30..?

Reckon novelty waves sit outside that scope as you don't necesarily surf them for quality.

That said, Boulders is pretty fucken good...

Some fun waves to be had in the North West during cyclones. Proper barrels can be found if you are keen .

Flew over the western Pacific years ago and crossed a large area of ocean dotted with shoals that had waves breaking on every corner. Can't recall there being any land nor anywhere to safely moor a yacht. They were pretty much inaccesible. There'd be some novelty value in trying to reach them.

Kurnell Point in a cyclone swell or a big South,prime barrels with grunt and the inside walls wrapping at you,bending as you raced along.The Bay was a secondary wave but did the paddle and the drive around plenty.Mostly suited to lots of turns and cutties but some of the bigger swells hit the banks and pitched enough for cover ups.Bonnie vale point in the old Mal days.

Gary would like to know where Pambula Rivermouth fits in the scheme of the above discussion?

Rare jewel or novelty wave?

Rare jewel I reckon. 

What about the mouth of the biggest river in the land?

I vouch for that VERY rare jewel!

Not very well documented either. Here's a pic that doesn't do it justice.

That photo comes from a thread via your very own site, Ben! And what a thread it is! Great reading...with some current commenters in their previous 'anonymous' guises (hey Snuffy?)

https://www.swellnet.com/forums/wax/12671

Pambula - rare jewel. The sand has got to be right, not just swell. But a real jewel.

seem to remember you had photographic proof to Thermal (northern spencer).

surfed pambula river mouth many times and all time once when we were caught by a flooded pambula river at the camping ground :)

Chook, on the end of the headland there are lumpy sections, but it's best in a big ne swell as it wraps down the inside of the head. The odd wave will break all the way to the nude beach....but you may not be comfortable getting out there

Regarding Pambula, I've been down there 100 times surfing and never saw a wave break once, went down their with the wife and kids for a family holiday not long ago and witnessed absolute complete and utter perfection, for the first time in my life I didn't take boards with me and I curse myself all the time for it. Don't think I'll ever see something like that again.

Guys surfing Elwood beach in Port Phillip today!!

@Zenagain, that looks like the seawall just south of stinky water (tollshuai)

Normally I wouldn't name a wave but nobody is gonna come here to surf and even less so to surf this place. Breaks so rarely that it doesn't matter.

Slowman, it's the south side of Ouse port in the city I live in in Ibaraki.