North Coast perfection - video
Ruler edge perfection reeling down a North Coast point break during the recent Cyclone Victor swell.
Note: the author of the video has since removed it from Vimeo, however we have kept this article live as there is some interesting debate and discussion in the comments below. If the video resurfaces again, we will update our links.
Comments
A couple of years ago I had the privilege of surfing one of the worlds great waves on a stunning day with just four people out.
Perfect conditions , light offshore.
The spot is very well known but luckily it doesn't get anywhere near as much publicity as its quality would justify.
Therefore it's very possible to get it with a light crowd.
As I exited the water a fella arrived that had just travelled days to get there for his first ever visit.
Rather than get straight amongst the unbelievable waves on offer he chose to fuck around and attempt to film it with his drone.
By the time he got the thing in the air a brutal onshore wind had arrived rendering his drone inoperable, cancelling his video shoot that he planned to share on social media and causing him to miss the days surfing entirely.
The swell dropped overnight, the winds stayed bad and video boy left soon after and never caught a wave.
I Love a happy ending.
You know, I grew up surfing the Gold Coast and northern NSW points and in 30 years and despite what most people would think, it was very rare to get dropped in on and If you did a whistle or a 'yep' and most would kick out quickly. I think the reason for that are the potential consequences. A blatant drop in could genuinely result in a smack in the mouth.
I watch these vids and see these fuckwits who didn't earn their wave, didn't get themselves in the proper position, didn't take off deep enough but somehow feel they're entitled to take another blokes wave. Makes my blood boil.
Case in point, guy on the yellow board last wave in this vid. Old mate goofy not a particularly good surfer but took off on the guy forcing him to chase him down the line. No effort to kick out just pure arsehole.
I don't care who you are mate and on land you might be the nicest person in the world so I'll choose my next words carefully-
You are a prick!
Spot on Zen absolutely ruthless!
Word.
Goofy at Lennox, fancy new board in shark repellent yellow....wasn't bloody Shearer was it!?!? :-)
Looks like the same guy to me:
The one legged inside lip floater with head drag...........not as easy as they look....
crowds didn't look too bad considering the quality this swell??
One of my most favourite waves surfed it plenty of times in that late 90,s early 00's before uncrowded and pumping, looks fun but the bank doesn't look anything special.
Lennox ... The quiet achiever for so long.
fuk off drone.
you have been warned.
FR...I don't fly drones but do take water / land shots. What's the beef re drones ?
privacy, noise, reduction of public amenity for private gain, ratting out a spot for social media traction etc etc etc .
Re: the goofy drop in , not me. But an (admittedly biased) observation.
The Ox has a functioning pecking order and a mostly functioning lineup. Almost every beef I see in the water comes from carloads of people from the Goldy thinking they are at the Superbank where chaos reigns. People paddling up the inside (snaking) are politely informed that doesn't happen here. If they persist they get burned, before chaos sets in.
I've never seen a respectful visitor not have a great surf.
And we're not animals in a cage to be filmed, so fuck off drones.
What has drones got to do with snaking ? Privacy ? It seems it's just another angle to view maybe at times over done.
Sorry but yep we are animals. All of us.
I am with FR on this one. Any of that rubbish which spoils the moment is an unnecessary distraction and annoyance. Not as bad as a jet ski but still painful (like a mozzie). Just get out there and catch a few waves then take a few shots after that - on land. My idea of surfing is to leave the tech at work and surf as a break from it. I would love to shoot one down with a shot gun. Pull - bam.
I agree with Steve, most annoying fckn things when you are out in the surf. Is there no solace from all this shit ?Fck off drones.
social media and surf media crowding surf breaks for a few materialistic Facebook likes and Instagram follows. believe me it doesn't earn popularity in the real world. come enjoy, mind ya manners, be respectful, don't bring a carload. I don't recall in the unwritten surf trip rule book, naming, covering every major landscape detail and compiling a drone video. than the same people complain about the crowds. whatever happened to going and simply enjoying, free of social media approval and gratification. Also at what point and who has the right to say it's crowded, let's blast this to 105k people eg broken head - mat wilko. Like to see the end result doing this and drone videoing at angourie. for those who can't resist key board approval, wait till the end of a swell window, consider your audience and consider how you wish to be welcomed back. Better yet upload pics of your own home breaks and don't try create further super banks down here
New info has come to light that the above surfer I mentioned on the yellow board is actually a pretty good surfer and one whom i've seen surf a few times (impressively) on Sydney's northern beaches when I lived there. Also, he's a mutual aquaintance of a good mate of mine and by all accounts is a really nice bloke.
So in saying that, I retract my 'you are a prick' statement unreservedly and replace it with a hearty 'c'mon man, you should know better' and leave it at that.
^^^dont soften ya stance putting people up on a pedistal due to bloodlines and past accomplishments. that kind of attitude creates the ego and arrogance for said surfer to blatantly burn a equally skilled polite chap who's actually lived here his whole life
Fair enough HJ, not putting him on a pedestal just that if i took the vid on face value it was a pretty fucked drop in and the person who did it should know better. I also have it, that despite the bloodline, he is actually a pretty good bloke. So I suppose that leaves us with a back to basics- don't bloody well drop in whether you're an arsehole or Mother Theresa, it's just poor form.
People that blatantly drop in are often good blokes to some people ;).
I've come across some asshole locals at Lenny that couldn't give a fuck how long you've waited and respected the lineup. That said, most of the locals there are fantastic and considering the amount of blow ins they deal with, they remain chilled and polite.
Never a truer word been spoken.
I'm with freeride. I kind of understand grommets posting footage of themselves, but just can't understand why people post video of places on the pump, let alone name them so blatantly.
In my experience, those who do are rarely local and don't give a rats about putting the mob onto it, or are looking for kudos thru posting rather than thru their surfing. Kooks come on many shapes and sizes.
I was lucky to have some time with Lenny in the late 80s just before it got silly, and in 1990 Chris bystrom released Surf Assassins and called Lenny "somewhere way up north" without giving it away. Of course all the crew knew, but if you hadn't paid your dues you were left guessing. And that's the way it should be.
Beautiful pack squwarkup!!!
'Old mate goofy not a particularly good surfer but took off on the guy forcing him to chase him down the line. No effort to kick out just pure arsehole.'
'I'll choose my next words carefully-
You are a prick!'
And of course, head swillnutter stupe' posted his own photographic image, 'accurately' (sic) backing up foot soldier swillnutter zenny. Rabs and smitty sunk a sly boot in, then benzer a scientifical based one...
Swillnuts Ho!!!???!!!...
Then of course... the inevitable squwarkdown...
'Its aaaawwwlll fffffarrrkkkin swwwwweeeeeeeettt aaaayyye mmmmmaaaayyyyteeee!!!... 'EEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPP!!!'
Poor Dave.
'Izz juzz farkin isstree... aaaayyeee!!! Advance Oztralia fffffffffffaaaaaaiiiirrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!'
'It wuz farkin' stupe' sed it... aaaayyye...'
Carry orn swillnuttin!!!
Can you say that again? I didn't quite catch it.
You been drinkin' again?
Nah, zsennie's already farked up enuff aaayyyeee!!!!
Aggen!!!
Haha! No sly boot from me Uppitty. Just havin a laugh at a pretty funny pic.
I reckon you might of pulled off a few of those in ya time chargin Blaxxx mmmaaaaaattteee :)
Probably while wagging school;)
Fare enuff... I fink....
'Probably while wagging school;)'
And eliminating 'drones'... still a few hoverin' around but... and protectin' 'lejjanns'...as promised... well ya can't protect em all...
Didn't look too orderly to me . Have a look at the wave behind each one featured . Heaps of blokes dropping in , hassling , going over the falls etc .... Uppy get someone younger to have a look for you , could be a stretch to see past your good self ..
Brokeyback chicken soufle', did you light a fire on the point up there too... before you charged too hard, without gettin' wet, and missed the turn off... before ya pioneered all them uvver secret spots up there ... wiv ya boat... that no one else knew about... even the guys with planes... on ya drive frew... 'lejjy'. Well, that's version one anyway... they kinda change a bit... shall I post links to em all... back when ya shit yourself... because...
Throwing boards away seems to be in epidemic proportions at the moment as well in northern NSW. Happens every time the surf's over about 3 or 4 ft.
At 0.32, that can't be more than a 4ft wave.
Hold on to your boards fellas!
True dat, Andym, but at least he looks around to see what's behind him beforehand, and the wave was going to pitch on his head. But I do agree with you.
Much worse when you go out at 3-4 foot Maroubra and all manner of fools are doing it, with 10 people behind them ready to get killed. Why I rarely surf there anymore, through summer particularly.
Had a woman out there yesterday do that to me, and the wave wasn't even breaking!!! I avoided her like the plague after that, but every time I looked around she was there again. I'd paddle 30 metres away and within minutes she was there again.
Finally, looking for a last wave in, pick up a nice peak and there are 3 or 4 guys behind me (what are they doing, it's isn't a surprise, you get some notice of waves, but at least they are paddling and trying to move away. Chick is there also, right below me, gets off her board, dives, and leaves the board crossways on the wave face as I'm taking off. Evasive action, eat shit etc....
Let's face it, I am just competent on my good days, but I learned to surf at Maroubra and the first thing you learned was to get out of the effing way, and not ditch your board.
Heh, she loves you .... Not a bad way to pick up.
Batfink, sounds like you're a bit of a stallion. Maybe you've got the Kavorka...
On another note, it's refreshing to hear someone admit their surfing mediocrity. I always get the impression that there're a lot of very capable hard-core surfers on this site and like you, I'm only approaching reasonable on my best days but I put it down to being 6'3" and 100kg...
Anyhoo, I suspect you're right - I think when we were younger, the etiquette of say, paddling back towards the whitewater and generally staying out of the way was more strictly enforced.
It's about time Swellnet, Coastal Watch and Mad Seaweed had a policy on footage of drop ins or glory hunting clowns on jet skis buzzing through crowded lineups. either name and shame the arseholes or don't give them any publicity.
Good theory VL but unfortunately I reckon clicks/views/money talks loudest. Gotta agree with others around here and say that drones buzzing over the lineup can get rooted as well.
Odd theory. You think that people only commit dropins so they can see themselves on video? So by your theory, if we don't show the videos the dropins would stop?
Is that how you see it working..?
While you're stewing that one over, care to tell us how we'll find out all their names?
'While you're stewing that one over, care to tell us how we'll find out all their names?'
'New info has come to light that the above surfer I mentioned on the yellow board is actually'
Swillnutter zsenny's orn ver jorb vair stuuper!!!
Stu, maybe he's saying that by showing footage of, say, Mick Fanning fading people, you legitimise it? Not that it's going to make any difference on a day to day basis.
People can make up their own minds. We're not the Ministry Of Truth
As soon as I saw this footage yesterday I thought 'FR is going to get uppity about this'
haha
true enough.
sick 'em, FR.
***
Cue guy flying drone next swell. Up swaggers FR with a straw hat and a firm grimace. A face redder than his ginger locks.
'Piss of with that thing or I'll, I'll' I'll ... bloody complain is what I'll do'.
;-)
Bring a gun and we'll give this story is a dramatic twist, FR.
That's what he does; brings a gun, sits out to sea and takes all the sets. Bastard.
Jokes, FR ;)
Did I actually say that Stunet? Funny, I can't actually remember mentioning that theory of "mine".
Surf websites should just tell all the content providers not to have any drop ins or tow surfers (with paddlers in the water) in their clips. We all know that there's a bunch of kids, and start up surf brands desperate to get logos and their names out there. Camera on the beach or in the air puts pressure on featured surfers to get waves and enough footage to fill a 3 minute clip. Drop ins happen.
Re-editing is a pain in the arse, matching footage to music track length. Start telling the suppliers to remove the drop in footage and they will quickly learn not to put it in in the first place.
And drones suck, they show of my bald spot really badly.
really? You really think that this is doable and will happen? You really think such censorship would work? Come on. Be practical. It's a pie-in-the-sky idea.
It just needs an executive decision from the website owners and it's a done deal. Who likes footage of selfish c#nts anyway?
Here it is, written by you just 30 minutes earlier.
I think you're getting a little confused between all dropins and some dropins. The intentional dropins from people trying to get footage would stop straight away. The kook drop ins are another story. Neither deserve any publicity.
Think you're getting confused mate. You just made a distinction between dropins but ended the post "Neither deserve any publicity."
And how the fuck would I know if one is intentional, accidental, a mate just arseing around etc etc.?
C'mon the topic is too stupid to contemplate.
Stunet, You don't need to distinguish between the type of drop ins at all mate. Just don't show any of them.
The reality is, 5-10 years ago, no drop in would make the final cut. Today they are in there all the time because film makers are under pressure to stretch footage, and web based platforms have lowered their standards.
The simple fact is, showing drop ins just normalises this type of shit act. When groms watch endless videos containing burnings, do you think that encourages poor water etiquette?
The last thing surfing needs is for the SE Queensland and Northern NSW attitude to spread.
Let it go mate. You made a dumb, unworkable suggestion. It was late at night, you may have had a few drinks, hadn't thought the thing through. I get it.
But you've woken to a new day. Don't folow the same ridiculous thought pattern without the alibis of last night.
You're right Stunet, I should let it go. It's pretty obvious Swellnet will continue to glorify fucking tossers who burn people, and you simply don't care what impact this will have on the next generation of surfers. Keeping lowering the bar. Who knows what sort of footage you'll accept 3 years from now.
OK, one last time then I'm done with this:
1) All those sites you think should make an "executive decision" about drop ins are competitors not collaborators. I don't speak to any of them. They don't speak to each other.
2) The websites are spread across every time zone, so how much time and energy should we put into policing this?
3) Who joins the executive? Just the sites you mentioned? What about the 20+ other surf sites, are they free to run whatever they like? If they don't then what's the point, if they do then it's more work for everyone.
4) Who decides what's a nasty dropin and what isn't when the website moderators aren't there in the lineup?
5) Why would a videographer, who almost always do this work for free, go back and edit a vid for no extra return?
6) The impact of dropins on video: Ask Dean Morrisson if his "glorified dropin" at Kirra last year was good PR. If it wasn't seen by a wide audience on video there wouldn't have been a backlash.
7) Most people dont dropin to appear in a video - that's largely incidental - they dropin to get a good wave. That point says an awful lot about yourself - repressed glory seeker you are.
Funny how much faith people put in censorship...
Bloody storms!
Is that you uplift?! How is that training working out for you? The vocal chords are beaut, though.
Nooo... its a inside storm thing!
Agent Bournes -Anthem . https://m.
YEH THATS JOEL FITZGERALD DROPPING IN ON local boy LUKE HERNAGE, dont worry boys gave him a mouth full, he wont do that again , as for lennox , swells to east its not linning up thats why its not to crowded compared to other point breaks. as for u mister drone show some respect your just a fucking moron.
Just as a matter of interest anyone know the current rules for operating drones in public reserves/marine parks?
Im actually totally over this drone footage thing….YES the odd shot from the air mixed in with shots from land look good but when its a whole vid shot from air it gets old real quick, hoping as time goes on the novelty will wear off.
And Freeride you suck..i wish the Ox was my local :(
Yep, agree the drone angle has nothing to do with the drop in or Lennox as such. It is an angle that adds to presentation and has nothing to do with privacy. If want to know those details go to CASA - yes there are rules and regulations.
Since when was Lennox a 'secret' or 'not well known' spot ?
^^^ that's not really the point. swellnet should have enough class and brains than to blow into town and exploit breaks off their own call and there own personal gain. I know they wouldn't have the same balls to do that at other nearby world class locations and other spots around the globe.
Mate, we didn't "blow into town and exploit breaks off their own call". Someone took a video, uploaded it to Vimeo, and we've displayed it on our website, just like many other surf sites (and Facebook) who'll do the same. We don't have anything to do with the production of these videos.
For what it's worth, we removed the location title at our end (we changed it from "Lennox Point" to "North Coast perfection") - but we have no control over what's on the actual video (in this case, the location title in big letters). We did the same with the recent Sunny Coast video too - not disclosing the location - although thousands of Facebook punters seem happy to reveal the specifics.
Not a secret TB but it makes a massive difference when it's flying just under the radar versus being flogged to the whole world by some real estate wanker with his new toy who wants his dick stroked by online likes.
...or at least wait till its one foot and northerly. you's chose it and played it, I guess that's warrants having a choice in the matter. everywhere doesn't have to be like the super bank. and yes I understand this is not the first or last ox vid and many other media outlets do and will feature the same content
Mate, it could be weeks until it's one foot and northerly.
Love it or hate it, we're a website that publishes surf content, and in such a competitive media environment there's not much benefit in waiting a couple of weeks to post footage. Imagine if we'd adopted that stance with last week's Peahi footage? Everyone would simply check it out via every other website, and it'd be old news by now.
We try our best to publish content in an ethically responsible manner, but sometimes it's impossible to please everyone. Lennox is hardly a secret spot, and it's not the only East Coast location that was epic at some point during this TC Victor swell.
One thing Swellnet could do very easily is mandate videos not naming spots.
It would've taken that dude 30 seconds to edit that title out.
That all sounds fine in principle, but we don't have a direct line of communication with most of the videographers - and often when we've tried to touch base with them it can take days or weeks for them to respond (some are quick, others are not).
And depending on the circumstances, it may not be feasible: some of these video files are over 100MB in size, so even though the edit may not take especially long to adjust, it takes some time to re-export the finished file, and then an eternity to re-upload to Vimeo again. That's if the videographer is actually available to do it (if we find the video in the morning, and they spent the previous evening editing and uploading, they may not be immediately available to fix it up).
Point being: it's more than likely that the videographer will think "fuck it, leave it as it is". Especially if it's already embedded within a few websites and generating traffic. You can't edit an existing video (i.e. on Vimeo), so it'll result in a brand new upload and those already-embedded URL links will be redundant.
It's also worth me pointing out that we have actually contacted some videographers in the past and asked them to re-edit clips to remove location names, or some identifying features. Obviously, you'd never know that we'd done this (as we don't provide a running commentary of our editorial procedures) but there's a huge amount of stuff behind the scenes in running Swellnet here that is never know, and therefore never acknowledged.
I'm certainly happy to look at providing videographers (and photographers) with some 'best practise' guidelines, but there will always be outliers.
This is true. A video of that length in full HD would probably be pushing well past 1GB before 'dumbing down' for web viewing. Even on a recent MacBook Pro you'd be starting the rendering before you went to bed. Then there's the issues of dead URLs as mentioned...
As someone said, you can edit the vid all you like, but there will be no shortage of people on FB happy to name names for kudos points from the unkown.
Anyone who thinks drone footage will disappear anytime soon are in for some disappointment. Here is footage that was filmed with drone shots interspersed with standard camera angles. When used sparingly, it becomes just another dimension to a filmmaker (and doesn't bore the shit out of the viewer), but straight drone footage loses any appeal very quickly. To do that with surf shots requires someone on land, another in the water as well as the sky shots. Hardly worthwhile if you are looking to profit from your clip. But then profiting takes many forms these days, wether it be Youtube views, Facebook likes or the multitude of social media look-at-me outlets. It can even be in the form of adding your company logo to the clip (see above) and attract interest that way. It would be interesting to see if the company that filmed the Lennox video was actually licensed to film and promote with aerial footage, as that takes a major investment to become registered as a pilot and a business. Although, short of a major incident/accident, the chances of anyone getting harassed by CASA are minimal- just check out the multitude of drone clips on the web doing just about anything dumb/stupid/ignorant that can be done with a drone. And the video in the link below was filmed in one of the most heavily policed cities in the world. And they make a point of sticking up the middle finger at the authorities, both at the start of the video and at the end, having a laugh with the friendly NYC cop. It also has nearly 10,000,000 views in 2 days! I think drones might be here to stay.
valid points and I do appreciate the reply and acknowledge the surf world we live in. but like I mentioned before no one would ever do that at a world class point 90 mins south and put a name to it so why should here be any different
It is CURRENTLY illegal to fly your Phantom for commercial gain without certification.
WHEN (it has been promised for years now but STILL not available) the new laws come into effect there will be STRICT conditions under which you may potentially fly it legally for commercial gain.
What are the proposed new conditions? Basically the same as the current laws!! Below is a list of the current and future restrictions.
You may NOT fly closer than 30m to vehicles, boats, buildings that are not on YOUR private property or you must have explicit permission from the private property owner.
You are NOT allowed to fly over any populated areas such as beaches, other people’s backyards, heavily populated parks or sports ovals where there is a game on.
You may NOT operate within a RADIUS of 5.5km of any aerodrome, airfield, airport, seaplanes taking off or landing, helicopter landing sites which may be located at hospitals, police stations or other locations that you may not be aware of. It is YOUR responsibility to find out where they are and ignorance is no defense in the court of law. (Have a look at our app RPAS LOGGER which shows you almost all these locations around Australia)
You may ONLY operate during DAYLIGHT – NO night flying! Only in good weather and you MUST be in visual-line-of-site of the Remotely Piloted Aircraft – RPA.
You may NOT fly above 400ft (123m)
You may NOT fly FPV !!
What does this translate to? Real Estate photographers will usually NOT be able to conform with ALL these conditions and will therefor REQUIRE a UAV Operator Certificate (UOC) which is the CASA certificate to operate legally.
"It is CURRENTLY illegal to fly your Phantom for commercial gain without certification." is correct. This translates to-any real estate company using drones to promote their business- either by using the photos/footage or adding their logo to the said images/footage are doing so illegally if they are not a registered operator. If they are using someone to obtain that footage from, if that person is not registered, they are not insured, so the business is taking risks. But as stated above, getting 10 million views in 2 days from a clip would be a financially(or however they profit from) acceptable one me thinks. And how many people (anyone watching the Lennox clip) now know they have a real estate company in the Lennox area who do aerial footage?
Read posts below. They have the certification but have still broken rules.
CASA has been notified. Operator has been notified.
Everyone forgets that 1000 secret spots are displayed per day on social media ie instagram . U can think that its your local secret spot but really theres a lot more options being sold at the same time . Theres been a noticeable lack of talk from the east coast contributers recently on SN cos the surfs been good . Go get em !
unfortunately the biggest positive to social media is people sell out spots for likes so if you follow the clues you'll find the waves
Yes thats right hjohn & when its your local break it sux but if u find or get to see a new or secret break then thats ok isnt it everyone ?
Property Shot Photography has a UAV operators certificate.
"That demonstrates that you can not only fly a drone safely, but also that you’re aware of rules and regulations relating to drone flights in Australia."
They have broken the rules by flying over a populated beach area, in this case Lennox Point and may also be within the 5.5 k radius of Ballina Airport.
CASA can issue fines and revoke certificates if video footage is posted showing the rules being broken.
Property Shot Photography, you may wish to take down video because CASA is being notified of it's existence this morning.
Wow. Didn't realise there was a 5.5km limit - Lennox is around 4.5km from the airport.
This means any and all drone footage of Snapper to Kirra and D'Bah, and also the Tugun stretch through Currumbin and half way up Palm Beach is also breaking the same rules.
Lots of other surf spots where this will apply too (any airfield or aerodrome is classified the same as a domestic or international airport). Interestingly, Cape Solander is about 5.6km from the end of the Sydney runway, so it just scrapes in.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/search/airfield+australia/@-31.7025559,146.5223522,6.56z
Does that include private airfields ...farmers airstrips etc ?
As per FR's comment above - which appears to be an interpretation of the CASA guidelines:
"You may NOT operate within a RADIUS of 5.5km of any aerodrome, airfield, airport, seaplanes taking off or landing, helicopter landing sites which may be located at hospitals, police stations or other locations that you may not be aware of. It is YOUR responsibility to find out where they are and ignorance is no defense in the court of law."
The actual CASA rules from 2002 states (PDF):
"A person must not operate an unmanned aircraft at an altitude above 400 feet AGL within 3 nautical miles of an aerodrome unless:
(a) the operation is permitted by another provision of this Part; or
(b) permission has been given for the operation under regulation 101.080.
Penalty: 25 penalty units."
So maybe he's OK?
I'm looking forward to the outcome of this.
Ha ha….so funny we are having this conversation about Lennox one of the most well known point break in Australia.
But nothing was really said about that wave on the sunny coast which compared to Lennox has a very low profile.
I actually think Swellnet does a pretty good job of not blatantly naming or exposing spots.
Video is now subject of CASA safety report investigation.
Operator has been notified.
On drone footage. I don't feel I need to see another drone clip of Pipeline. Beach and water perspectives are much superior.
But long point waves are where drones are the best. The ability to rock up and get a single shot, from a consistently great pov, that shows a long point wave from start to finish is something that, in many spots, you could only do with drones.
prob get done for breaching landing patterns via the point with southerly winds. I agree swellnet do a great job with detailed surf reports and you'll never please everyone. but it's a impossible gig industry, live by the sword die by the sword. as for sunny coast that didn't go unnoticed (by the globe)
FR...don't hold your CASA to do much. What is the difference of land video of Lennox to drone. Add to this , water shots. Lennox has been in surfing movies since at least the 60s then of course the mags. Not many people hang around the point with the brown snakes baking on the rocks.
See post above TB where you asked the same question. it was answered there.
Sorry FR, could not see your response. For some reason you don't like drones - certified or not they are here to stay, as are water shots and land.
Keep fuelling the shark stories, that will keep your transients down.
Around major airports you also have Control Zones - administered by Air Services Australia, which in Sydney are from surface to 2500'. Just off the coast you also have an air route called Victor One used by small aircraft. Cape Solander is well within these boundaries so any filming done there would be illegal. The exception to these rules stated above by FR and others are that a permission to fly in these areas may be obtained by registered operators, by submitting flight plans, risk analysis etc and a significant processing fee, as well as at least a 3 week wait for that approval to be accepted(or not), and then hope the weather co-operates on the day (rain/wind = no-fly). For any surf related commercial activity, this makes it nearly impossible to implement, so most filming just gets done and ignorance is bliss.
Another point(pun intended) is a Phantom straight out of the box has a line of sight range of 2km -even more with antenna mods, so someone could be filming a "secret" spot from anywhere within line of sight Actually knowing where the filming was being shot from could be difficult.
*the drone itself is a formality, we just don't want to open the flood gates for every Tom dick and Harry with a camera, ala the sunny coast every predicted swell.
Lennox has been filmed for over fifty years - where have you been man ?
You seem to have spectacularly missed the point TB.
No argument there Tones, I just find them loud, annoying and rude.
Who goes out for a surf to have one of those things hovering over your head?
good onya freeride, this surf media thing has become ridiculous, obviously the media won't police itself as you can see from stubenet's responses (for the record they do try harder than others at least) but clearly self interest wins out
sniff out those rules, quiet spot, secret spot or not, a drone flying above is bloody annoying at best, good luck with the rules though, as the ski debacles have shown rules mean little. but those pilot crew do take these things more seriously than self interested lifesavers, so here's hoping...
yeh it's no secret spot but many places have managed to fly under the radar because surfers are quite fashion prone despite their tough talk, if such and such is surfing somewhere, everyone wants a piece of the action, so guard your quiet spots, the super b/wankers are always not far away.
Bit of a contradiction there Sypkan.
well, I was trying to be nice, and you do try...a little...but clearly not enough!
Yeah, understood. However, no-one save us actually knows how much we do. Worth noting that this video was online 24 hours earlier on another popular surf forecasting site and not a single thing was written in repsonse.
It's kinda hard to square up such inconsistencies.
Geez Stunet, Given the level of criticism about this video you'd think a bit of quiet reflection might be in order. Nitpicking your critics arguments and playing semantics is not a good look.
Been a few hours. Just thought you'd drop in, eh Vic Local?
Luckily no-one got it on video.
Ha Ha. Only time I do drop in. Except for quiet indo lineups when some peanut can't help himself and paddles to the inside. Normally said peanut is from the Gold Coast and his mate's on the beach with a camera.
An old school ging, some well selected gravel & a comfy chair well positioned on the grassy knoll. A pleasant morning or afternoon to be had....
Tie a few decent ball sinkers along a piece of heavy fishing line. Bunch it up, load slingshot, and fire away.
I heard.
Skis were banned from Lennox Point . Drones could easily be the same.
How? People stood up and said fuck that and started making a noise about it.
You can paddle Lennox as big as it gets and you won't get harassed by skis, hopefully we will be able to surf out there without machines buzzing around our heads and some real estate shyster who rides a SUP in the Bay posting it online.
Geez, I must have missed your point. I reckon you would be lucky to hear a drones over ten yards away. Anyway it can't be the noise you are annoyed with. Chasing the line at Lennox would keep you busy. Again what's the real estate bloke to do with this ? Once he has location shots - that's it.
Once more with feeling Tones:" Not a secret TB but it makes a massive difference when it's flying just under the radar versus being flogged to the whole world by some real estate wanker with his new toy who wants his dick stroked by online likes."
The Point (pardon the pun) .....that video put the Ox on the radar of I dunno, 5, ten , twenty thousand surfers all of which live within an hour or two's drive.
You see how that might make a difference?
Like the difference between, say 40 and a functioning crowd, and a total clusterfuk of 100 or more?
Can you acknowledge the point there?
Ok FR, comprendo. But I don't think the vid was for real estate. Maybe the bloke that did the video does real estate also ??
You have to say the Ox has been and is well known by any bloke that waxes a board. Especially where it is. Given the hype of 'that' swell, few spots would be under the radar.
Anyway a better snapshot was given later by Swellnet with both water and land shots.
Not related but you may hear about drones having drag races - like the red bull air races - coming soon.
You can get a bee in ya bonnet over nothing can't ya Freeride?
Seems like you have very flexible points of view depending on how you feel you are being impacted, eg your position on shark culls over in WA and then in your backyard. You certainly didn't pipe up when there was footage of sharks at Lennox which taken by drones. You didn't report them to CASA did you?
His flexible views all include whether he's getting paid or not. It's OK to sell out Lennox to the world's biggest website when it adds to his bank account.
http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/spot-check-lennox-head_77598/
Drones and real estate agents,what a combo.Both suck.
Probably a good idea if swellnet did what it was designed to do and predict and give surf reports , the endless expose the surf spot bit is wearing a bit thin and definitely adding to already crowded lineups . Sure this particular point in the video has been fairly crowded for a long time but because of exposure like this it will get worse . And as for drones , fuck that shit, piss off ya sell out pricks, most of us like you less than stand up paddlers and that's saying something
Here is a video of the same wave- same swell- filmed by drone, on land and from water.
Only three comments! How do they differ? Discuss-
http://www.swellnet.com/news/swellnet-dispatch/2016/01/27/thank-you-vict...
they don't, other than the fact that at the very least that dude didn't put the spot's name up in lights.
Same horse different jockey. He may as well have blasted the name in lights, what with the shots of the rocks and headland. And as if splitting the load bay few hundred yards makes a difference. You'd have to be a right frickin goose to miss those cues. I see someone has already applied the sh1tting in your own nest theory...
Perhaps we could hear from said videographer, mr Matt tibbey, or the bloke now immortalised with this footage...fellas, what is your actual motivation to post this? Have you thought it thru?
Well I would never have watched the clip but seeing theres such interest in it I might . Who would be watching this shit anyway ? Someone who's not surfing and is very very bored
I still think a gun would have made for a better story, FR.
This cease and desist legislative mumbo jumbo is hard to make engaging.
I guess i could have all the surfer-cum-lawyers doing crack cocaine on the side and mincing up backpackers into sausages out in the chook shed.
hahhaah, you're right Clif.
I'd love to get the Chinese Communist party security in here, they seem to know how to crack heads.
Can you pull any strings?
Look, lez focuz on ver farkin'pozatiffs ayyeee!!!
Swillnutta surfee drone zsenny dun good aaaayyee!!! Zsenny set ver rekawd strate aaayyee... farkin Joel Fitz iz a farkin kook, guy can't farkin' surf!!! Zsenny nose stuff aaaayyyee, he cawld it corze eee bin chargin' fick arse, deep wawta slabz, fick az dredjin' muvvas up ver farkin' sunny coast... aaaaayye!!! Zsennneee stitched blax, yeeeehhhh... easy az, yehhhhh... eeee dun!!! Ven 'ed swillnutta stuupe gort form on ver cunt tooo aaayee!!! Showd foters provin' Joel Fitz iz are farkin kook... guy carn't farkin surf aaaayyee!!! Swillnutta drones smitty, rabs and bendzky farkin buzzed in, and called 'im out too!!! Yeh... aaaaayyyee... yar farkin' kook Joel Fitz... zsenny rekuns eeeeze a farkin' prick too!!!
Ven swillnutta stuuupe an iz swillnuttin surfee drones set ver rekorwd strait 'orn ver point too... lurvvs a free foot norfy, wiv heaps a wyde sand, nuffin up ver top, and a bit a wind ayyye!!! 'Ad it farkin' ppppeeeeeerrrrrffffeeeeeeeckkkkk wweeeee dun AAAAYYYYYYEEEE MMMMAAAAYYYYTEEE!!! Yeh, 'ere, no bullshit... eye'll show's yars ver farkin' footij aaaayyye!!! Me swillnuttin' farkin drones gort it awlll!!! AAAAAYYYEEEE!!!
Iz awwll juzz 'farkin' iszztrree now aaayyyeee... mmmmaaaaayyyyyteeee!!!...???
You should stick to the positives more often Uplift.
So refreshing from you !
You've obviously got a lot to contribute to society.
Maybe a self help tome- share that " desert wisdom " with a few of the less enlightened plebs out there.
I'm thinking global release though.
The domestic market is too small for an intellectual giant such as yourself.
I'd suggest the USA as an obvious starting point.
It's really unfortunate what happened last time you were there.
A shame really.
Exhibit A : the crown rests it case . The prosecution beleives that defendant MB Uplift is criminally insane . The judge rules 2000 hours community service in a Gym with no mirrors .
Old mate's taken the video down.
Nice shootin, FR.
Had some very testy text exchanges with dude, offered to meet face to face to discuss it with him.
Waiting on response.
FR : anti-shark activist, pro-censorship activist.
Whether the creature be on land or sea, all must bow to FR's right to surf in his comfort place.
hhahahahhahaa, yeah Wally. Thats it mate. Hit the nail on the head.
Interesting reading all the comments , especially the distance of 5.5 km distance from airports , helicopter landing pads , my local has these facilities that effectively cover all our surf spots . On the 14 Jan 2015 a Qld man was fined by Casa for footage on youtube $850 for operation of a drone , fines can go up to $8000 , this is the link.http://www.news.com.au/technology/gadgets/qld-man-first-in-australia-to-...
Those Casa laws cover so many popular surfspots around Aust.
Gnarloo station has an airstrip, Angourie has a Helipad closeby ,Elliston .
Yes Yudo its amazing how many places have airstrips/ helipads that are covered by these laws near our surf zones , and at $850 a pop for each law you have broken eg flying over a crowd / restricted space etc is a good incentive not to post footage on to any site , Casa is watching and fining by the look of it ..
Nice work FR. Hope the face to face yarn is constructive.
To me this is a bit like getting Al Capone on an accounting technicality, but I like the outcome regardless of the process. The main point is that the actions of filming and posting on the web has an effect that ripples beyond the photog's ego or bank account. It actually affects the local crew in one way or another (extra focus on the wave that brings a slightly bigger crowd the next time - fact is there's degrees of exposure and it's not just about a spot being a total secret or not). Those affected have every right to take peaceful steps to minimise the effect that such films and blog posts have.
Power to the peaceful and all that.
Thanks Benski.
Thats my thoughts exactly, and I really hope the guy takes me up on the offer because there's plenty of room for peaceful compromise here.
vids been pulled?
As noted in the comments just above, and also just above from the vid itself (see top of page).
Good result, from my view mainly due to the naming and promo logo on the vid. I've surfed many uncrowded(and crowded) waves around Oz and internationally, and taken photos/vids of many of them, but stuffed if I would share the locations with the hoards on the web.It may be an utopic dream but I'm always hoping next time I return, the crowds are still clueless and absent. Their seems to be an ignorance of the fact by many that 2 minutes of fame on the net will satisfy some sort of look-at-me urge, without thinking of any consequences. Case in point, from another website- http://forum.realsurf.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&p=730553&sid=0b6b893df... - a blow by blow description of every aspect of surf utopia- just bring your esky full of beers! What ever happened to the spirit of adventure- get in the car, drive and be surprised (or not) at the results. Someone previously stated the irony of having these discussions on a surf forecasting site, that I use every day for the latest forecasts and webcams and entertainment, but sometimes people just need to engage the brain- not the ego( or desire to profit however that may be).
Stuff this shit- I'm going surfing!
Mate, that bloke on realsurf cant help himself.
Always blowin up spots just to make himself seem knowledgable. People's ego and self interest before the unwritten rules is the go here I think.
It's official. There are those among us who are beyond reproach:
http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/sport/surf-sports/mick-deserves-any-...
What a fucking joke. I smell a PR cover-up...
Vid still up on his Property shot facebook page.
EDIT: nope its not ,just a still pic with Lennox Head
remember this...just another reason to ban them, in my opinion. Good discussion, nice work freeride.
Well........ What a load of twat waffle...... Carry on.... Please, carry on.....
FR tell us please if you reported the drones filming the sharks awhile ago?? You wouldn't be that hypocritical would ya??
Speaking of hypocrites how is lom?? Complaining about giving up spots then he goes and posts a link from some obscure website that gives some info about Nth Straddy. What's funny is that info ain't a secret and well done lom for getting it out to the masses
Freedom will prevail. To suggest to anyone that Lennox is 'secret' or unknown is laughable. Drones will be continued to be used as a tool for creative art. Whether this specific video was any good is not the issue. The paradox will come when the local boys will one day sell their neat properties on the point. To you reckon they will use a drone shot for a Lennox location angle.
No-one is suggesting it's a secret spot or that drones will be continued to be used Tony.
Your missing the point, but its been explained many times so you probably don't/won't understand. Benski explained it well, maybe see if his explanation resonates?
King Kenny; can you see a difference between drones cruising the beaches spotting sharks and drones buzzing surfers so the latest swell at the point can be beamed in almost real time on social media? One is a public good the other is nothing but private gain. One helps local surfers the other is a pain in the arse and leads to greater crowding. There seems a pretty clear qualitative difference to me, and most of the crew I speak to. That said, we see far more choppers doing surveillance than drones.
FR, by that logic, you would agree that using weather tech to predict dangerous weather is good, but using it to predict if the surfs going to be cranking is bad.
Agreed if the spot that was cranking was named, if it's generic surf forecasting info then it's not as clear cut but your point is taken. That info can also be used to avoid crowds. It's definitely a spectrum, I think codes of practice and guidelines are being worked out as we go along......Ben or Stu might want to chime in on that.
If the drone is within, what did you say, 5.5 km of the airport, there is no difference... It's breaking the law... If the footage of the shark was sold to commercial tv, it's breaking the law.... If the drone is owned by a life saving club, or some state entity, then ok, it's providing a "real time" community service.... But just some footage taken by an amateur drone operator, and sold to ch9 for the 6pm bulletin is no different to surf footage.... Looking forward to your next phone call to the authorities, FR..... ;)
If you don't think a video that does nothing apart from espousing a specific break adds to crowds then hands up who didn't see the imaginatively titled Tamarind Bay expose and think......Hmmmmm, crowds don't look too bad, nice enough wave, think I'll look into it.
It was a sell out when it was alluded to as the forgotten island of Santosha.
Now it's pure self fellation for someone who's greatest talents amount to flying a foolproof mini copter.
I know its the offseason but still I'm just happy to see recently the attention off Indo, hopefully people will be booking trips to Philippine's, PNG, Mauritius, or a trip up the coast.
Thank you Swell net, please keep up the good work and keep these vids of other areas coming through the Indo season.
.
FR key point is that the ox like many other world class breaks, still maintains order. why is the the pass, broken, the super bank in there own category of 'lawless' order.. you'd be kidding yaself if you didn't think people's freedom of over exposure have a hand in it. ask Mitch Pearce, nothing more dangerous than a person armed with a camera. just the shear tenacity of some yob compiling that, no fks given or consideration of repercussions is mind boggling. Sunday surf type with no idea of surf etticat. same arguement as many sup riders. not the first or last vid. yeah it's been filmed for 50yrs, but anyone will tell ya, the 'current' web clips do the most damage whether it be 15 secs or 2 minutes. the gooses at the super bank pump the pics for weeks straight leading up to forecasted swells, not surprising people turn up. how people put stuff up with no second thought (even for personal safety) is wild. shit in your own nest for a quick hit non profit ❤️ like, feck me!!
FFS the guy took some footage thought it was cool, put it up on Vimeo. Probably had a very limited audience. Surfing site picked it up and made it public to 100s of thousands, picked up by other popular sites and social media.
Who is at fault? How were the crowds the day after or the day after that FR? Noticeable difference? Do you think your bit on Surfline has encouraged visitors to Lennox? You put info up on the worlds biggest surfing site, our real estate agent probably had a couple of hundred at most who follow his page before SN put it out there.
As Sheepdog rightly points out you have drawn a line in the sand with your anti drone stance. Can't have it both ways fella
^^^points taken, beats me how this instanet yougoogle works. kinda sounds like swellnet and others are happy to take the glory and just as happy to hang you out to dry. that being the likely case as mentioned above, that's vicious. concelation good advertisement if it's a hit I guess
Just saying Freeride ,but you do a pretty good job of highlighting the point ,and other local spots with your personal observations and surfing exploits posted on this site .
FR.... I was sort of playing devils advocate... Sort of..... I fuckn hate drones.... Reckon they should be banned.... Hateful fucktard equipment.... Invasion of privacy... One step closer to orwell.... I can picture running out to the back yard clothesline, or swimming in our private pool, and some freekn pervert zooming in on my wife's tits.... Hate the fuckers....... BUT.... If you are gonna use a law, use it across the board.... Don't turn a blind eye to illegal activity on one hand, just because you are pro shark kill, and then use the full force of the same law, just because you don't want your local break filmed from the air, or becaue you don't like real estate agents..... If I was the agent, I'd blow a grand next swell, and hire a fuckn chopper..... lol..... Cheers, man
Why not?
It's called hypocrisy... FR is quoting the "5.5km" law re' CASA, and the law stating a drone cannot be used for commercial purposes etc etc etc.... .... Both circumstances fall under the exact same law - illegal use of a drone..... FR has dobbed a bloke in for illegal use of a drone within a 5.5 km radius of an air strip - a work health and safety issue.... But he possibly has no problem with an illegal use of a drone within 5.5km of the same airstrip when a private operator films a shark, and sells that footage to eg a current affair.... He therefore turns a blind eye to breaking of the law for his own political persuasion..... If this was in regards to some form of illegal activity re' climate change, benski, you'd be all over it....
that's his prerogative SD. he is not a police man. he can choose to turn a blind eye so he pleases.
life aint just black and white, neither are people.
Hehe. Unlikely. I'm nowhere near motivated enough to piss into that wind.
I'm sure there's a distinction to be made between personal profit and public good on drones but I'll leave that to someone else to argue. Who cares about hypocrisy really. We all draw our own lines in the sand.
You wanted my opinion... I gave it...
But karma is a funny thing... When one starts squealing and dobbing, and then turning a blind eye, but yet at the same time making money from the surfing pie yourself, shit can come back in your face....
Personally, I think dobbing over this a bit of an over reach... A simple friendly "fuck off" from a bunch of locals would've been suffice....
And Marcus55.... Yeah man We all make our own bed.... If I had've been with Steve at the time, i would've done a rodney marsh.... "Nah mate.... Don't do it"......
But hey.....
I saw nothing wrong with the video, except the naming of the spot, which was in breach of a local protocol, a courtesy. That was bad manners.
There is that damned problem with the wonderful information super highway, it goes both ways.
FR...I think I do understand this issue. Correct me but you will were livid that the Ox was not only filmed by a drone but titled and placed on the net. An ordinary video that it was, this did not seem to diminish your argument of 'public good' as opposed to commercial gain. These latter arguments are very grey to say the least. You mentioned SUP and real estate agent (relevance ?). Maybe there were other motives that triggered your response. Regardless, drones are here to stay albeit with regulation and common use.
The Dutch have the answer to the Drone problem:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-02/eagles-vs-drones-dutch-police-trai...
Classic ,saw that.
drone footage is really really really stupid. its like theres something hardwired in my brain to make me annoyed everytime I watch a surfing clip with drone video in it