Gold Coast surfers: No new tax but the chance of new surf breaks
It was all over the surfing press two weeks ago. You may have even read the article in the Courier Mail that started the racket: “Pay-wave plan as Gold Coast tackles surf rage,” ran the headline, and fearing our freedoms were being threatened surfers got all het up and vocal.
It wasn't supposed to be this way. Gold Coast Surf Council co-chairman Brad Farmer had booked a meeting with Mayor Tom Tate, prior to which he'd expressed the opinion that “all ideas were on the table.” Brad's desire for inclusion somewhat backfired when the Courier Mail journalist took the most extreme ideas – a pay-per-wave surfing tax, and regulated lineups – stripped them of context and put them into print. The usually apathetic surfing community roared in indignation.
Before he was part of the Gold Coast Surf Council, and before he started National Surfing Reserves, even before he started Surfrider Foundation, Brad was a journalist, so despite being misrepresented in the media he understood the benefit of a good beat up. Surfers have long been absent in community debate on the Gold Coast and now he finally had their attention. “I've always wanted surfers to have a discussion about the Gold Coast's future,” said Brad. “So then, let's have that discussion.” He promptly hit the media trail with the facts about the Gold Coast Surf Council and their Surf Management Plan.
First up, there'd be no Great Big Tax on surfing. Regulated lineups and pay-per-wave systems were patently unworkable, they weren't being seriously considered by anyone on the council. What was being considered was a broader level of consensus whereby surfers were invited to the negotiating table. In the past, actions such as the dredging of Currumbin Alley, the construction of Narrowneck artificial reef, and the proposed Palm Beach artificial reef have occurred without any input from surfers. On the other hand, stakeholders with regulatory bodies behind them - the fishing and boating communities for instance - were always consulted.
Rather than being a restriction on surfers' freedom, the Gold Coast Surf Management Plan is an opportunity for surfers to have a say in decisions that effect them. “Council engineers have been making decisions about the coast,” said Brad, “decisions that often adversely effect surfers, with no input from us.” The plan allows for surfers to have a united voice, similar to boaters and fishermen, and thereby influence coastal decision making.
The timing is fortuitous. The Gold Coast City Council is currently applying for permits to shift millions of cubic metres of sand and place it along the stretch of coast from Burleigh to the Spit. For this project, as for most others on the Gold Coast, surfing barely rates a mention in the plans or modelling. However, with a united voice the Gold Coast surfing community will finally be heard.
One proposal Brad has spoken of is the concentrated dumping of sand outside the impact zones on chosen beaches. This type of strategic deposition is called a 'sand slug' and has been studied by Sydney surfer and landscape architect Andrew Pitt. In 2012 Andrew had the opportunity to build a real life sand slug with dredged spoil at Cronulla, a project Brad Farmer worked as a consultant on. The Cronulla sand slug didn't receive enough sand to conclusively prove the idea works, however the quantity of sand the Gold Coast City Council plans to shift is enough to test the idea properly. And when it comes to spreading crowds and augmenting the quality of straight beachbreaks it's a very promising idea.
At this stage though the idea remains just that. Though with the Gold Coast Surfing Council now allowed a seat at the negotiating table, sand slugs – or any other actions the surfing community decide upon – are one step closer to being realised.
Interview with Andrew Pitt and the concept of the sand slug
Article: 'The Mechanics of the Sand Slug'
Comments
frothing i'd love to see burleigh to the spit work more than once a year!
There'll be no surfing tax under a government I lead........
Dont worry Clive, I will still vote for you. Jesus NZ looks like it was firing, I missed raglan, but I did get an island just north of the Mount that was epic- had two penguins jump up and squaked at me, scared the shit out of me.
Dont worry Clive, I will still vote for you. Jesus NZ looks like it was firing, I missed raglan, but I did get an island just north of the Mount that was epic- had two penguins jump up and squaked at me, scared the shit out of me.
Given his past history, does Brad Farmer have the credibility to represent any surfers anywhere?
What are you referring to Radiationrules ?
there is no point pointing fingers or going over the past. But the fact is, when submissions were asked for input into the Tweed River Sandbypass System, some submissions were changed and seemed quite weird. The Surfrider Foundation- stuey ball legend, and other major players in area did put in submissions, but all asked to be part of the Beach Monitoring Process once it was up and running. $86, 000 was allocated for this part. However, hidden back in page 700 to 800 was the clause that anybody involved in the project, including beach monitoring, were not allowed to point out any problems or publicly state any negative issues. So the boys hands were tied and not as much was said as could have been. I got Beach Monitoring changed to free local volunteers but we still did not get outlet at north kirra to remove excess sand, we had a dredge dump sand in the bay and the contractors still got paid everytime they pumped, even if it stuffed up the surfing banks.
But that's in the past, all of us look back in hindsight and know we could have done things differently.
The Future is where we need to focus, I like the sand slug idea but from my observation and being in the water bodysurfing, the current that sweeps around snapper and up the coast is so strong, i do not think sand slug will hold very long. It needs something hard there to hold it, reef/rocks, tyres filled with concrete, the sand will stick to these structures. Sure it will come and go, but it creates more potential for stability of sand to produce rideable ways.
Would be awesome to have more options north of Burleigh and soon if its feasible.
Can we get a concrete pathway with hand rails and a nice rubber jump off mat for burleigh point?
To those on the goldy, sunny coast, Manly, Bondi..... If you don't like crowds, the solution is simple.... Do what free ride did... Do what I did... Pack up and leave.... It's a big world out there, full of fun, waves, opportunity, and interesting people.....
Meeting you two blokes in the carpark at the same time would be a night mare;)
Blah blah this blah blah that, blah blah politics blah blah 3/10 reports.
Fetches this SE fetches that, Hpa Ascats, Hsigs...?
Just a mo come to think of it, it would deserve a beer in the hand and a good ear :)
Look... Out the back!!!! Is it a whale??? No!!!! Is it a Ferret? No!!!!! It's Tow in man!!!!!! Faster than a speeding Mal.... More powerful than an uplift uppercut!!! Mild mannered Clark wellymon during flat spells.... Super poo stance he man during 8 foot cyclone swells..... ;)
I'm not sure i have this correct , but it seems that we have unintentionally destroyed one consistent surf break to re ignite another famous but yet fickle icon.
I don't like to name surf breaks but I think this one is indeed dead for now . Im talking of the fingal sand pumping jetty, which was my go to spot for over 10 years whilst they were still pumping sand, since they stopped the sand to improve the iconic break of kirra it seems that we have lost a favourite gold coast uncrowded spot. Anyone else care to comment or maybe correct my train of thought??
hastoes, I have watched the demise of my other side. I live on river and used to paddle across. Mate, I think just be patient. The issue is one of sand build up or lack of. The good thing is you have the permanent structure of the eyesore-jetty, plus south wall and you know how much water can move in that confined space especially on big tides. This means creation of sand banks can be magnified and hang in there, not going to say what conditions- but if there is a solid wind plus 3-4 swell the sand will move back in corner and both sides of jetty. You are going to score champ- just beat the onshore. Been watching the swell and sand movement each day from d-bah side for weeks now- potential there- high tide shories first i reckon. Get one for me brother.
And, Dave, before the jetty, back in the '80s, I too would paddle across, but in those days there were waves breaking on the bar that one G Rawlins once commented while we out there on the most crowded day I had seen (15 people and the right across D Bah was breaking, too) that the wave reminded him of the waves he'd been surfing in Indo.
Never forget the day I surfed it at four to six feet, when the bar was particularly shallow, by myself for three hours and getting pitted off my head.
I paddled back around the north wall to a typically crowded D Bah, which was wind affected by the north-wester, and a guy asked me why I'd paddled around the wall into the beach. I just said, 'you'll have to figure that out for yourself ' - sometimes secret spots are right in front of our eyes.
I'll never forget how I would park up on the hill waiting for daylight on bigger days (when Kirra was pumping) and more often than not, Jim Banks (while he was on the Goldie for a short time) would already be out there. What a legend - the paddle across the inside gutter behind the bar was a freak out - it always smelled fishy - oh and there were the trawlers coming in, too, trailed by thousands of seagulls and whatever lurked below.
pigdogger yeah the paddle was spooky,that bloody smell and the trawlers- give me shivers even now. Did u ever surf with old mate Ian who was out there in yellow helmet. He was a frother. I being a goofy had some unbelievable and hairy moments out there. Neal P Jnr and China also said it was like epic indo.
BE good to see it again wouldn't it, if it happens and your still able, would you get a good one for me mate-stoked and grateful mate, great memories, best waves I had here
Would love to get out there again one day, but I'll probably leave that to my son, who lives up on the Goldie now. My lungs are a bit short off breath and the arthritis in my back makes it difficult to deal with heavy beatings these days. Got to get old sometime, though. Still surfing, but not near crowds - getting to my feet is the hardest part these days. Wouldn't want to kook it and kill someone in my way.
Used to work at the Gold Coast City Council in the 1980s - I remember talking to the engineer responsible for the sausage groins at north Kirra: "that'll never work,' I said. 'A few decent swells and they'll be gone.' And so it came to pass - more millions flushed down the shoot. Not to mention the Catalyst beat-up about the artificial reef at Narrow Neck - they showed people surfing at Tallebudgera and said the reef was working a treat - LOL more millions flushed down the shoot. And the list goes on.
The problem with the majority of the Gold Coast, the beachies between burleigh and the spit is the beach is just to long causing a strong South-North-South current leaving you with a deep gutter.
When you get a few days of straight east swell the banks can actually form up really good, filling the gutter and peeling from out the back all the way to the shore break.
On this stretch you could pump as much sand or put in sand slugs, but all that would happen is they would get moved by the current, the only way to improve the wave quality would be to catch the sand somehow, like underwater rock groynes, but expect they would still need a solid bottom to sit on.
The rest of the Goldie is fine and has great set ups some of the best in the world, personally id just leave them as they are.
I had probably the best surf of my life at the very unlikely venue of Main Beach on the Gold Coast. It was 1975, I was in grade 12 at school. A teacher had driven me and 2 mates to the beach early one morning in return for cleaning out these blocked drains at school. He just drove down and stopped at the most convenient car park at the nearest beach. Surprisingly, there seemed to be a nice peak straight in front of the car park. The waves had about 6 foot faces. There was a nice offshore. Me and my mates were bodysurfing. We were all competitive swimmers and very serious bodysurfers.
We swam out. Then the waves got really good, about 6am. Take off and straight into the tube. I can still remember watching these vertical ribs in the wave flatten out as you moved towards them due to the cover of the barrel. 3 or 4 second tubes. Just when you thought you were gone, the shoulder would bowl around, the end of the tube would open up further and kind of stop, and you would drive out onto the bowling shoulder.
There was us three bodysurfers, and three board riders, just sharing waves. The waves were a freak of nature. You could not go wrong. The board riders were standing in the tube and laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. Lasted for about an hour, then the wind changed and the waves went very ordinary. I have never surfed there since. Just one of those magic moments.
We swam back in and by 7:15 am we were driving back to Brisbane. The teacher had been watching us. As we walked up, he just stared at us agape. He had no idea that these 3 kids in school were actually mysterious ocean creatures with supernatural abilities. We just smiled humbly. We didn't tell him it was actually the waves and it isn't always like this.
Ahhh, wally, I was a 9 yo frothing surfmat grommet at main beach in 75.... Yeah, great memories... That whole stretch from the old marineland (where my quite older sister used to work) through to narrowneck used to get some great banks.......
How many new breaks at how much cost, financial and environmental, would need to be built to allow Gold Coast surfers to surf uncrowded waves? It's an impossible task, build it and they will come. No point harking back to the good 'ol days. Give it a few hundred years until natural resources are irrelevant, the barrier reef is gone and white people realise it's too hot in Australia and there'll be plenty of space in the line up.
You blokes should try living in Perth...now there's some shit waves that need help. We get heaps of swell but it's all wasted as there's very rarely any banks and if there is then there's at least 30 blokes on each. We have k's of straight beach that is crying out to be broken up with cement filled tyres or the like to produce banks. There was a Volcom comp here 10 or so years ago where they used a front end loader to push a small spit of sand out into the water at Scabs and this was enough to form two really good banks either side it. First and last time I've seen this happen but Stirling council need to get on board! Nature needs help.
quokka- so easy mate, every big low tide, do exactly that every 500 metres along beach- here they comb the sand with tractor anyway- put blade on front- low tide, go and build "sand banks". I have put this in report I sent to council here- easy to support cause studies on economic benefit of surfing been done here- but that's how you get stirling council to do it- economic activity and stress that they are using equipment they already own= sure these banks will be short term and wind/swell directionally impacted- but goodbye closeout city.
Cheers Dave. I'd be interested to read your report.
quokka, it was online questionnairre. bloke called Neil Lazarow did study while at Griffith Uni about economic benefit of surfing. google that, but good idea would be to use economic data of when clubbies went to scarbs, get local chamber of commerce onside- create media event- they'd love it- dozer or loader down beach- create lots of local interest. but get it done big low tide and get these chart whizz's here to let you know about swell. picture this, thursday, low tide, banks made- swell hits fri- yes it will be crowded- but helps support your cause- lots of people- with wallets- it works, so lets make more. seems like a mission- but can be done easily-iam sure the media attention of creating surfable waves would be very welcome rather than that of noah. I will write letter to Westralian to get it started for you, but u got to act on it to give it any momentum.
quokka- here is letter, whether it's published in paper or online up to editors, good luck if you have a crack- no fun looking at close outs all the time
To the Editor
Wow, what a great city Perth is, just beautiful. Kings Park unbelievable. But where are the surfable waves? As well as being a social benefit to a community, surfing can be a very good economic benefit as well. Why dont the local councils go down the beach on low tides and create sand mounds, so when tide comes in there would be good surfing waves everywhere? Locals would benefit, and lots more surfers/miners would stay and spend money in Perth rather than go overseas to find waves. There is a sustainable economic and social Goldmine sitting right under your noses, c'mon get the dozers/loaders onto the beaches and create surfable waves and fully utilise your natural assets A small investment for a long term return.
Thank you
Dave
quokka, The Westralian going to print letter, get onto it if you want to see some banks. Strike while the iron is hot. Get someone from the Uni over there to back you up and get locals to comment or write letters to editor supporting idea.
Daverave,did the goldy council ever face that compass in the correct direction.
no udo, i have been lost ever since- maybe i was off track all along- nothing like a detour on a surf safari hey!!!