North Point a go for Margs comp - photos
Despite having a license to run at North Point for the past few years, the organisers of the Margs Pro are yet to run a heat out there. That will all change tomorrow with word just coming through from the WSL that Round One will run at North Point.
Yesterday we got another taste of NP's potential as a comp site when an oversized SW swell hit and the better part of the Top 32, plus wildcards, plus locals, got drained across the bowl and launched off the end section.
Peter Jovic donned the flippers and glided among the pros as they laid down airs, barrels, and carves across NP's reeling canvas.
Kanoa Igarishi
Adriano De Souza setting up an inside bowl
ADS continued
Caio Ibelli launching
Ezekiel Lau
Jordy Smith
Michel Bourez
Mick Fanning over the step...
...and into the bowl
Michel Bourez
Mikey Wright
Unridden bomb set
Conner Coffin
Leonardo Fioravanti
Gabs Medina
Jordy Smith
Parko
Comments
Hope I'm wrong but looks to be to much south in forecasted swell to me
I'm doing the WA forecast now, and yes - I'm leaning that way too. Overall, the regional surf forecast is a little bigger from last week's expectations but not quite as big as yesterday - and it'll lose a heck of a lot of size as it wraps into Cowaramup Bay.
Fingers crossed north point gets the green light, would be great to see the first round go down out there. Looks like there's the potential for all 3 contest sites to be used, can't wait!
How good would it have been to sit back and watch that sesh go down.
In the water as a local? Not so.
I love all the winge going on about the wsl using np, we lose use of margs for 2 weeks (pretty much 4 in reality - the carpark has been locked up for nearly 2 weeks already) and now they are going to get a day in gracetown and all the np"locals" are having a cry about it, hypocrites. On another note the local shire knobs (along with just starting a muddy delay roadworks project on the way out to Margarets on one of the busiest beach use periods of the year -genius guys) in their homage to paying the wsl some lip service (no doubt hoping wa won't get cut tour next year) have handed back their wildcards to the wsl so instead of giving some up and coming west ozzies a shot at the contest we are getting an American and brazzillian instead, now that's something to winge about, pretty fucking weak AMRS.
The "locals" (??) are probably concerned that there is zero infrastructure in Gracetown to handle the masses. North Point has no fencing stopping human traffic on the fragile vegetation, Meanwhile at surfers point there has been millions put into a world class car park etc. Quite a reasonable concern really, anyways, You should be happy its at North Point, you can surf Margarets all on your own, with all the other "locals"
Don't think th punters will be allowed anywhere near the headland, Leroy. From an interview with Mark Lane last year:
If conditions present themselves, where would the judging tower sit [at North Point]?
The judging tower would sit on a purpose built scaffold deck.
And where would spectators watch from?
Spectators, after we bus them in from a free parking location would need to view from the beach in the middle of the bay. Alternatively, they can watch it on the big screens on the main event site in Margaret River, or of course on phones, tablets, and TV.
Full interview here.
Sounds more like a case of NIMB leyroy? Have you seen the scaffold built for the box right on top of the dune where the rest of the year has signs about keeping off in the name of the hooded plovers? Anyhow I don't think spectators allowed so should keep those rocks in gracetown fairly safe and if you actually live in the bay you'll be able to dominate huzza louies without all the kids and chicks for a change.
The organizers have said they will do their best to keep punters off the vegetation but the froth will be that strong that I doubt the local cow bay board riders members will be able to stop them (I hope I'm wrong) I don't mind the contest being at North Point, it will be as exciting, I just hope the shire and organizers have got plans in place to protect the small ecosystem that has struggled to come back after the fire a few years ago. (Or rocks as you say....) As for the Nimby call, maybe read your first post, I haven't heard any crew spewing about it, there was a few years ago when they first brought the idea forward but its almost like every one is keen on seeing what these guys can do in decent surf.
For what its worth, I'm thinking the swell may be to south.
How big is main break going to be ?
Pointed out a tropical low off madagascar last week.... It has moved into the southern storm belt.. Definitely part of the mix.
Just updated the WA forecast here (plenty of notes on my thoughts re: Main Break and North Point).
Been a little while since I've looked at WA charts, feels a little rusty (it's especially hard to pick up the notes just as a new swell is about to hit the coast) but I reckon the broader picture is pretty straightforward to identify.
https://www.swellnet.com/reports/forecaster-notes/western-australia/2017...
The winds are looking good all day for Norths on Wednesday. I understand they will put up a boom gate across the top car park and the main bottom car park will be closed to the public as well, with the exception of two of the long bays reserved for marine rescue. It will be interesting to see how much of the swell swings into the bay.
Ben i think you are under calling weds for main break @8-10ft .
i think the next day Thursday will be what the contest & surfers will call 8-10ft . Anyway main break will be cranking at triple the size of norths ,
fkn dimwits !
What's your estimate for today's size?
What a disgrace, whoever is "in charge" of giving access to the coast in sw wa have bent over to take whoever want to have a go. Nowhere else in the world has given in to so much access and exposure. The wa gov is bankrolling the whole show and the millions of dollars poured into the contest area ended up being the backup venue. End result wa getting boned as usual, spectators getting a very raw deal and the surf industry/wsl flogs/blooming conga line of race to the bottom photo/video spammers.
Well said kellywho? Your right .
Worth looking at the Cape Naturaliste buoy data from the last 72 hours. This shows the size that was reached to produce the waves in the images above at North Point on Monday.
And, that swell had more SW than S in the swell direction compared to what's expected today.
It's still only 3am local Margs time but wave heights are currently about half of Monday's swell that at the buoy. So we have a LONG way to go before North Point will be big enough.
The good news is that the new swell is on the way, as per the Albany buoy (much further to the south). However, this also shows that the swell has a LOT of south in its direction, which further reduces size confidence for the Margs coast (and especially North Point).
IMO I wouldn't be surprised if North Point falls just short of expectations today.
Thanks Ben, it seems like it it playing out as expected. Big call to move it considering moving all of the equipment back is such a mission.
I think they will still run it at north for the odd pit to masdive air section, will still be entertaining....
Latest data from Cape Nat still hasn't registered the new swell.
Albany is picking up 4.8m @ 18 seconds (very impressive!) but the direction is slightly S of S/SW. Size is trending up steadily though which is promising.
Sunrise is in around an hour so it'll be interesting to see what unfolds.
What sort of delay do these bouys have on sending or receiving info seems like alot of the time they are any where between 1 to 3 hours behind? Can you confirm?
Depends on the agency who owns the buoys. Usually a minimum of 30-60 mins but sometimes up to 3 hours.
Early word from the carpark isn't promising. Apparently it doesn't sound like the swell has arrived (which matches the buoy data).
F-leroy , that's best scenario ( 1-3hr ) more often 3-6 hrs behind realtime .
The Alarm bell is already warning that northy will be pissant unless that buoy doubles its energy-meter .
Fkn dimwits !
The directional buoy NAT is showing approximately the arrow pointing as fas South as that buoy ever shows . Meaning that the swell is about 45 degrees too south a direction for north pt .
Pancia's got a story on ABC about the future of this comp.
Shouldn't they be out at 10ft + Boatramps with the south swell?Mainbreak at least? Silly bugger's.
Thanks for that vision ben . You go well on the commentary .
So its pumping with perfect winds and instead of running somewhere else they're sitting tight hoping the swell may eventually start wrapping into north point ?
Much bigger at Margs10ft+ sets but still bit inco,couple paddlers, access still limited with traffic controllers so maybe keeping options open ( but no way they would send pro surfers out at margs today. Word is they are going to run the chicks at north's until (if) swell gets big enough for it to be good.
Margs has got some big big waves going through, only 3 guys out. 10 - 12 ft. Slightly slow but the 8 - 10ft insiders are going mad.
Yes totally agree with the South in the swell not getting into NP enough. What haven't been mentioned is that a swell with lots of South in it sort of splits the break in half with smaller sets focusing on the deeper section while the bigger sets break wide. This scenario is really annoying to surf as the smaller sets close out before you get to the bowl and the bigger sets go fat too early or are very short. The more West that is in the swell makes for a long fast wave where on the right wave you can get barrelled all the way across.
MP,
Looks like you nailed it with the swellnet break breakdown!
Looks really tricky out there .
I pity the backsiders at small norths.
main break will be 15ft bombing in a few hrs by the sounds. Get out there for a few campbell
Here's a nice set from earlier this morning - go full screen and you'll see old mate getting thoroughly shacked. Size looks close to forecast expectations so far, if anything a little under.
Shacked on the end bowl....
Is the wsl taking the piss, on hold till 10 am local time they could of had 6 heats done by the time they might start, and they might not even run at 10 am. Can they just give up with north point and go main break bloody hell
What a joke....finally they get the swell and wind they've been looking for and now they are in the wrong spot. hahahahah
They cant take it back today, to much infrastructure to move. Once it is called at North it is North for the day or nothing.
the worlds best surfers in the worlds best waves UNLESS ITS A BIT BIG FFS!!!
hahahaha spot on.....
How's this sequence off our Margs surfcam? Images are around one frame every couple of seconds. Hard to gauge size - first wave looks around 8ft+ to me; the bigger one out the back at the end of the sequence nearer 10ft+.
(live: https://www.swellnet.com/surfcams/margaret-river)
Looks like its going to be massive & epic this arvo going by the latest j-curves on NAT & albany buoy readings
Looks like Albany peaked around 6-8am this morning? And is now levelling out and/or beginning a slow easing trend.
Buoy reading 4@16 still spiking @ nat buoy .
even northies will start to dish out a few pipes .
It is looking a lot like vland out there.
swell doesn't seem to be building atm
Already peaked on the buoy by the looks now .
Lankydean are there good tubes ? Whos surfing ?
got so excited to get home from work and watch North Point comp. tune in and see JJF heat has started. rub my hands and grab a beer. what a let down
I didn't catch it. What happened?
nothing. thats the thing haha. but last 5 mins JJF has grabbed a few. Very Very Very slow out there and judging by the average waves scores of the last 5 heats its been theme of the day
then i go for a look at the heat anyalzer for some action. average wave scores around 2-3 mark for 4 outta 5 heats. seems like the ulitmate fizzle fuck up
Connor O'Leary, ripped off.
WSL judging starting true to form again this year.
Problem they ripped off that brazilian surfer for his first wave so he won the heat and consequentially Connor underscored
Seems like its going to be a nice arvo, not massive but some cleaaaan 4 ft right pits . Margs area is pretty big at the moment....
At least the beer will taste good.
And Pottz just keeps "biting off more than he can chew"......
Pretty boring IMO. The pros and the public would rather see them in the bigger stuff catching heaps of waves, surely. Guess they rolled the dice,and lost.....
Pretty happy with my call for today. Very close for North Point, slightly under for Manibreak but pretty good overall.
"As for size? Our surf model typically undercalls long period energy across the Margaret River region, so I’m expecting set waves in and around the 8-10ft+ mark at most open reefs (i.e. Main Break) on Wednesday. Some deepwater offshore reefs should be quite a lot bigger. But, protected bays and points will see considerably smaller surf.
And with the WSL in town I can’t shy away from a call on North Point.
Whilst I am quite concerned with how much size will be lost due to the strong southerly component in the swell direction, I think it’s a good decision to prepare for North Point on Wednesday - because Main Break in the 10ft range is quite unruly, and not neccesarily an ideal competition wave.
Using yesterday’s images as a reference (see here), and with wave heights expected to be smaller at exposed spots - plus with the extra south in the swell direction - I think we’re probably looking at 4-5ft sets at North Point. The swell direction will also have an effect on consistency, lowering it a little. Conditions should be very good here though with moderate E/SE thru’ SE winds (there may be some chatter up the face if the wind gets above 12-15kts, but we should be good for the most part)."
wow heat just finished was won by Jules with a combined score totalling a massive 4. something and Kerrsy didnt get a wave.......awesome comp.......zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
cant wait for the next heat.........zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz yawn
Wow that was a siiicccckkkk barrel.
Yep slick barrell but 36 of the worlds best surfers and there was only twenty six waves all day that scored better than a four. If that's a spectacle I might spend more time appreciating the local scenery!
Couldnt believe Seabass made that and yep they needed that to spice up the day a bit. Pretty dreary otherwise but still some good gems ridden. I Can't imagine main break would have been much of a spectacle today. What chance the box tomorrow in this swell?
Box don't like the south swells much PM
If it was held at main break today people would whinge and say why are the holding it there, the waves are solid but watching cut backs is pretty boring, they should of held it at North Point there is some bombs coming through there, blah blah blah.
It is what it is.
You shouldn't need to cutback on a 15ft main break wave tho .
i guess they would have been taking off on the shoulder those pros
How's Margs this morning? Looks incredible on the surfcam.
https://www.swellnet.com/surfcams/margaret-river
New WA Forecaster Notes here. We should see a straight run through until Sunday. Likely to see lay days Mon-Wed with the next swell due on Thursday though winds won't be perfect.
https://www.swellnet.com/reports/forecaster-notes/western-australia/2017...
Finally got to see the SeaBass barrel in HD on the news ...so good!
Latest Margs video report, with some deets on the buoy data for today's swell event compared to Wednesday's.
Nice work on the buoy data ben .
the report a local surfer told me was that today was 8ft . They always undercall i know, They Said Weds Was 15ft !
Wierd how albany didnt get much bigger for sure considering tassie is almost 7m@18s , SA almost 6@18s , ESP 3@?
8ft and the rest. Locals always want to seem like they have the biggest dicks.
It was a girl surfer actually quokka , and im not saying i believed them but its an interesting perspective when they say weds was 15ft but sat was 8ft .
Who knows how girls measure waves , at least theres less testosterone involved in the size call .
I want to know how big it was so anything ,or your opinion is appreciated thanks.
Cows Wednesday :
Maybe she saw it early Clam as it jacked pretty quickly. I'd call yesterday solid 10-12ft, Wed was definitely bigger.
Photo of Cow taken by my cousin, people say it's also a fat wave...