Photos: The Most Remarkable South Swell
Photos: The Most Remarkable South Swell
It was the swell that went against the grain.
It behaved in ways that south swells usually don't, it defied expectations, ran against the pattern, and if you want to read why then click here for a thorough explanation.
However, if you just want the eye candy then keep on scrolling.
All captions by Stu and Craig.
Though the low had already provided a few days of south swell, it wasn't till Sunday afternoon that the intensity and size ramped up to #swellevent levels. At the same time the swell front was hitting, the finals of the Shark Island Challenge were in the water.
Local Ben Sawyer took the gong ahead of another local Andy Lester, shown here in the Final. Lester's appearance is notable as he'd broken his scapula in the Semi-Final and surfed on regardless.
It was a welcome return for the Challenge after a six-year hiatus. Organiser Luke O'Connor has already announced it'll be back next year, with an increased budget to run it over two days if need be. (Photo Zach Bowden)
"The locals were sitting deep and going crazy," said Jackson Gosling of this Sunday arvo session on the NSW South Coast. "I couldn't believe what I was seeing."
Nevertheless, when a set ran wide Jacko swung his 8'4" quad - DP Surfboards Ranger model in case you're wondering - and pinned it. How's his tube stance?
Made the wave too (Photo Greg Fisher)
Shrouded in mist, Lennix Smith, above, makes another succesful exit from his local rock shelf - it was one of many during the five days it broke.
Not to be outdone, younger brother Kash Smith, below, nails a casual hook up at the same place (Both photos Simon Kotze)
Tuesday morning deep inside the point and Phil Byrne, feet shuffled up the board, hands in supplication, toys with the middle section (Photo Stu Nettle)
This swell marked the return of the fang. However, it took a while for Deadmans to turn on. On Monday, the car park was packed with locals and surfers who'd travelled from afar to surf it, yet it was a let down.
Gordy Dreyer surfed that first day but didn't get much, then when word got around on Tuesday he high-tailed it out there and stroked into this double up.
It'd be great to say he made it, however he took a bad line as the face went washy and then somersaulted over the falls. In hindsight, it was almost the same wipeout he had back in 2022. He'll learn. (Photo Craig Brokensha)
Sam Jones double-arm dragging through a thick one.
Jonesy missed the April 2022 swell as he was away on vacation. He didn't want to miss this one so was there first thing Monday though it wasn't really happening - too south, too slow.
His commitment meant he was ready for the Tuesday pulse. Then, as the tide started dropping, he got a message from his dad saying it's on. Shortly after he was in the water with four other locals sharing ten-foot sets.
He reckons he got the best wave he's ever had out there, but unfortunately I hadn't set up yet and missed it. This was a more playful double-up. (Photo Craig Brokensha)
Craig may have missed Jonesy's good one, but fortunately Andrew Christie, shooting from Queenscliff Headland, had him in the viewfinder. (Video Andrew Christie)
The sand has been great along many North Coast stretches recently, with great slugs of the grainy stuff buttressing the points and even stacking up against some of the less-structured zones.
North Coast surf check (Photo Steve Shearer)
Fresh off a trip through the Mentawai aboard the Mangalui Ndulu, Jai Glindeman donned a few millimetres of neoprene and kept the vibe alive. Above, a Curren-esque bottom turn to set up the next throwing section, and below, opening up inside a fast-running pit. (Both photos Ryan Kenny)
Arcing a 7'2" Gary McNeil twinny off the bottom, Rasta's eyes are fixed on the big, blue section looming ahead of him.
Meanwhile, the viewer's vision is split between that and the movie screen-sized wave looming behind. (Photo Dean James / Layer Of Salt)
Unidentified surfer ridiculously casual inside a North Coast cavern (Photo Dean James / Layer Of Salt)
Much as he did at Kirra thirty years ago, Neal Purchase jr looked in complete control with his back to the barrelling wave. One hand on the rail, the other caressing the wave face, back knee folded, and hips twisted as he squares up for the exit. (Photo Dean James / Layer Of Salt)
We interrupt this North Coast transmission with an empty wave at a South Coast rock ledge.
As the days wore on and the swell kept powering, the urgency to surf fell away. Surf checks involved a leisurely drive and a dawdle to the lookout, maybe a chat, then walk don't run to the jump rock.
As cups brimmed with great waves and good tidings, plus the call of work and family could no longer be ignored, the numbers in the lineup began to dwindle. (Photo Zach Bowden)
We resume transmission with another shaper, this time Dan Thomson, driving hard at a Northern Rivers pointbreak (Photo Dean James / Layer Of Salt)
The last word goes to Caiden Fowler positioned deep inside a northern pointbreak. This photo was taken on the Wednesday, four days after the swell began. (Photo Dean James / Layer Of Salt)
Comments
Hey Stu any chance of putting up the Harry Bryant photo without the title all over it?
Muchos grassyarse @Stu
zoom your screen out
@BarB how’d you do that?
Damn!!!
HOH
Fantastic stuff, that one of Kash is magic!
The unidentified casual surfer.
god any more casual and he'd be horizontal. that's so sick
Kash for the win. Once in a lifetime photo.
Another view of one of the waves featured in this article on the Sunday afternoon.
Incredible afternoon wasn't it?
Trying to clear a few sets late in the day and I felt like I was closer to the bommie than the headland.
As a Victorian surfcoast surfer it was my first ever time surfing here even though it’s a zone I’ve passed through many times I’ve either bypassed it for other options in more remote zones or in swells or it’s been way to big in the region to bother looking. However this is now going to be a rather staple in my appetite if it works in amongst the other waves I love to work in with a roady. The morning session proved more fruitful tallying up possibly 20 waves in just under 4 hours with two nice tubes and it is also the kinda of wave that makes you feel like you are ripping. The surf was 3-5ft a bit broken up and not the perfect swell direction but the waves were still lining up nicely and it was super consistent so picking off one amongst the crowd wasn’t too bad. By 1pm the first bigger sets started coming in and I would say it was just as I came in around 1:30 I really started to see the new energy show its teeth. The swell went from a standard 2-3x overhead clean ups to 4-5x overhead sets on the outside boil every few sets. I then went back out around 3 pm and I feel like the energy out the back had started to come back a tad from some of the sets I first saw when I came in however this session although cleaner and more empty after a morning full of paddling and a shifting lineup between sets and increasing current I found it a lot more difficult to duck and weave the big sets and line up one that carried through with nice wall. In saying this the waves I got were still really nice and I was very glad to get a taste of it as it’s really a remarkable spot with how much variety, length and it’s unique character it provides. In my opinion it is a much funner wave than somewhere like Winki and a lot easier to get waves. But maybe the grass is always greener. One interesting thing to note is that it’s at least twice as easy to duckdive sets out here as it would be on a big reef in vicco, with the energy not carrying near as far below the surface. If I had to duckdive a set worth of the 8fters in vicco you can easily end up way down the end and having to make your way the whole way up the point again. Where as here you could duck dive wave after wave pound for pound in size and you could relatively Maintain your position amongst the chaos
Love it. Great rundown @dbut. Cheers for that. Few little nuggets of gold in there!
Just for perspective how big is that right hander down the bottom of the photo?
Hey mate maybe 4 ft ish 1 and half overhead. This is on the inside bit where it has reformed and had to wrap in a bit. On the outside takeoff it would’ve been 4 x the size on some sets.
Sounds great. Would of been a fun surf.
Great pics and great in-depth captions.
Winning formula right there.
Stoked to see so many crew scoring.
Love the NPJ pic. Studied that tube stance til my eyes bled as a grom.
Geeze, Rasta is looking alot like Tom Hanks character from castaway...
Any chance he popped up out there with his volley ball. "wilson" and had a chat???
This is why I love this time of the year! Offshores / solid swells/ not too many punters in the lineups during the week & the water is still warm too! looks like the whole NSW coastline lit up to! Keep it coming Huey! GR8 article & images, the still of Rasta is awesome, as is the vid of MR. Casual in the pit!
I would die a happy man with a pic like kash got fucken Steeze in the tube. That’s a wall hanger!
As soon as I saw it - the mty wave - THE RIP CURL LOGO.
Thank you gentlemen, great photos and clips, from Stu and Craig plus from the peanut gallery.
Another rainy Saturday, 4th in a row, 6 of the last 8. My golf game is atrophying.
An incredible week of waves. Took the whole week off and had waves between 4-8 foot for five days in a row, offshore from sunrise to sunset. On Sunday was out at first light in a panic, but by Thursday I was watching empty waves for two hours before casually peeling on the (freezing) wetsuit. Felt like anything else I’d been thinking about the last year evaporated. More of it please!
That's really cool to.hear Dan, prioritize
South or East coasts or both.
You don't have to say.
I've spent some time in Taz in 08
Surfed all 4 coast and an island.
I surfed in the East and it paid off. Plenty of action in the South East but by all accounts the crowds were bigger and the wind shiftier. After pulling up to one on the only waves handling it on Monday, I was set up in the same spot less than 50m from the jump rock the entire swell. Needless to say this week of marking essays and no waves is a huge come down haha.
What a score Dan! It's been a pretty insane run on those east coasts eh!
Alan Parsons Project ,Sirius/Eye in the sky, is always good for watching Southerley lines marching up the coast!