We know your secrets
A short tale on a week when secret spots have been the topic du jour:
About fifteen years ago I was sitting at a semi-remote campfire with a mate of mine and a few other people who, like us, were camping nearby. In the evening two guys rolled into camp, joined the fire and made introductions. The beer and conversation flowed. All sweet.
When the talk turned to surf, as it inevitably does, someone asked the new fellas if there were any good waves were they were from. "Nah, none at all," said Bloke #1.
And once the conversation rolled on he shot a furtive glance at Bloke #2, revealing the barest smirk on his lips. It lasted half a second tops. No-one else picked up on it but my mate and I did. We talked about it later that night. What was that about?
Two days later we acted on gut instinct, packed up our tent and went driving. Fuelled by the promise in that fleeting glance we went to their town and proceeded to take every dirt road to the coast - paved, dirt, and goat track - till we found the wave they were protecting. We surfed it a few times over the years and figured out the best conditions. We never told anyone, though word got out about it in other ways. You've all seen it in videos by now.
Earlier this week two online clips dropped almost simultaneously, creating tremors across the landscape, exciting some surfers and sending deep chills through others. Both clips featured perfect ‘secret spots’ and one of them made little effort to hide the location. Sacrilege in surfing terms.
Perhaps they thought they did enough to protect it, yet they patently underestimated the wily nature of their fellow surfers. Clearly I’m not the only surfer out there parsing the data because within 24 hours it was named across multiple platforms. Between myself and the Swellnet team, we’ve found every wave that’s ever been give the bum steer. Every single one of them. It’s a challenge, nothing less, and our record remains intact.
When Mick surfed the Snake I paid kudos to Rip Curl for the lengths they went to hiding the wave. Still found it but. Took a while but we got there. The location was confirmed when RC revealed all the data from Mick’s latest trip on their GPS watch. It also revealed that Mick had just two surfs of 30 minutes each.
And that last part got me thinking: The latest batch of ‘secret spots’, the places surfed by Mick, Kepa Acero, Natxo Gonzalez, Nic Von Rupp, and Antonio Silva, all have inconsistency as the common denominator. The reason it’s taken this long to find them is their position within unfavourable swell windows. They’ll sit dormant for weeks, sometimes months, then break for a day before returning to lake-like dormancy. And to a tee, they’re all in expensive, hard to reach places.
Which doesn’t make exposure any more acceptable, though it puts some perspective on a response. Most people who got upset at the exposure aren’t railing against crowds - chances are they’ll never surf those waves anyway - the indignation comes from the code violation. Surfers behaving in an inappropriate way.
There’s no moral to this story. Fact is, the surfing world is getting more crowded and as much as you want people to act a certain way, they rarely will. Yet even when they do, some prick sitting across the campfire will figure out the secret anyway.
Comments
yes keep the secrets, don't put it on facebook or Instagram and don't tell people when its gonna be good
I don't even surf.
Empty and good trumps busy and good every time. Travel light and quiet.
It’s hard to quantify just what a secret spot is these days . It’s mostly a matter of perspective and experience. What you or I may consider as widely accepted and part of every surfer’s atlas could be completely unknown to others.
A quick glimpse at the comments below most YouTube clips of what I’d consider obvious waves will show an extensive list of crew asking its name and where it’s located.
Yet there is , without doubt , a select group of surfers that consider what you and I may understand as the known surfing universe, to be limited and ignorant.
We need a system to rate spots based on their relative infamy in the surfing world.
Here goes -
Grade 5 : The iconic surf break . Not just recognised by all surfers but by many non surfers .
Average crowd level = intense. Jostling for waves.
Example = Pipeline
Grade 4 : Hot spot. Vast majority of surfers are aware of its existence and might have surfed it themselves. Surf trip destination.
Average crowd = competitive
Example = Angourie
Grade 3 : Open secret . Locals discuss this regularly. Keen distant surfers have probably heard of it , though may not have surfed it themselves.
Average crowd = Quite busy when good. Quiet when it’s not so obviously pumping.
Example = Hmmm....sorry. If you mention it then I’ll talk about it . If not then I’m not bringing it up unless I trust you.
Grade 2 : Hush hush. A lucky few know . The vast , vast majority of surfers are totally unaware of its existence.
Average crowd=It’s been surfed before but some epic sessions are still totally empty.
Example = If I told you then I’d have to kill you. Unless you’re providing the boat and the fuel and you swear on your mother’s good name to never blab.
Grade 1: True secret spot: The complete unknown.
Average crowd= If its ever been ridden at all then it’s very infrequently visited.
Example= Come on , mate . Just a hint ....please ! I swear I won’t tell a soul.
I was watching the Nias pro online the other week, despite the name of the event etc...its crazy the number off people still asking where it was :D
Amazing how much of surf history is being, well, not erased, but is fading from view. I speak to a lot of younger crew and their lack of knowledge around surf history is astonishing.
Not knowing Nias though? I reckon that's a European adult learner phenomenon.
There are spots I know locally that are pretty well known and even listed in surf guides but they have historically often been uncrowded. This has been because they are a little tricky to get on with the right conditions or a little out of the way although they provide epic conditions when good.
Since the advent of social media they are getting more and more crowded, people post pics, they sometimes don't name names but that is like crack for surf sleuths. when I call people out they come back with "but these spots are well known anyway". My policy is post nothing but the most well known locations otherwise your just shitting in your own backyard for a bit of ego boost and a few likes. Of course people who don't surf these places often have no motivation to keep them quiet, they're more interested in the likes and gloating and ego boost.
The spot in NZ where the shooting was recently. I think that went from Grade 1 to grade 3 overnight!
Well, not really. It's a well known spot(s), but it's also well known that you're very much not invited, thank you very much.
And it breaks the wrong way, anyway :-)
Very well done...... well written
Love it Blowin, very well graded
Snitches
......wear stitches.
.....and wind up in ditches.
My old man has a few SW mags from the 60's with maps and precise directions to all the hot new waves. Different times.
.
SELL OUT: One who betrays a cause for personal/affiliated advancement.
Mick Fanning= SELL OUT
Natxo Gonzalez= SELL OUT
Arita Aranburu= SELL OUT
Nic Von Rup= SELL OUT
Most of the waves in question are on coasts fringed by sand dunes, really dynamic places that change shape frequently. Fr'instance, twenty years ago Skeleton Bay was unrecognisable to the wave it is now, the sand has changed that much - the tip of the point is about 1 km further north than it was in 1998.
So unlike the immutability of reefs, these sand bottomed waves come into creation relatively quickly and perhaps get lost just as fast.
Something to cheer up the downcast surfer. I think.
Word
Skillz for a wannabe internet detective? Im looking but im not seeing. Gimme some hacks.
Im always confused at what point a spot is secret or is no longer secret?
I just call them little known waves these days.
Secret spots are fewer and farther between now because back in the day (60's thru to 80's) there were a lot less people surfing so even word of mouth stayed within certain circles and kept spots fairly quiet. I grew up in South Oz and there were spots that would only break under certain conditions which were held amongst tight knit crew which kept the numbers low when they did break. I surfed a spot over on Yorke Peninsula that I was INVITED to surf by a local gun back in the eighties and that took years of me surfing Yorkes regularly with respect shown to the local crew. I sure as shit wasn't going to let others know about it!!
These days, with all the cameras and mobile phones and the whole look at me culture along with increasing numbers in the water the old secret spot is disappearing I guess.
I remember being threatened with some very real intent if my two mates and I exposed a rare, left that works on gale force south westerlies, this was in the mid 70's. Mind you we were introduced to it by the same bloke, who should have been dealt the same punishment according to his own standards. Nowadays it's far from a secret, which just means there is far more surfers than back then, it was really quiet compared to now and you had to make a phone call from a phone box, not a hand held GPS, camera, computer, internet machine, that plays and makes movies, that is still called naively a phone.
Ash,
I assume you're talking South Oz.
I used go there in the early eighties first time, not too many about.
Probably busy as hell when it's on these days?
CMC I assume so, I live in Port Elliot and don't bother with it, I haven't surfed there in 15 years. There's enough here without wasting the time and fuel.
Yes busy as hell when it's on
Aha Ash. Got it. Made me smile and think of the rewards of fish & chips afterwards.
Essentially, besides the nature based early Polynesian peoples, those who had the halcyon days of great surf with good board development and no crowds were mostly born from the mid to late 1940's until about 1957. Mass media, surf fashion, ego-based surf cool, crass opportunist commercialism, the professional circuit and overpopulation have fucked things up completely - there's no going back. The crowds and wayfaring hipster-searchers trying to emulate their predecessors (in what is a radically augmented world) are only going to exponentiate - nothing is sacred anymore. Like death and taxes, Google Earth and further plunder are guaranteed.
Nicely worded. I can say that there was a bit of this for us in the 1990s in WA (for people born after 1957) but you had to be prepared to dig a Kingswood out of sand :)
And there are a few coasts I can think of in Oz where this is still possible, but of course mum's the word
I’ve surfed a few nice grade 2 spots in Oz in the last few months.
They’re still out there !
Yep totally. You have been on travels Blowin, out through my former stomping grounds? There are some gems where you wish there were others out. There are some other places I've been where the locals would offer you a board to paddle out with them, reduce the risk I guess...
Edit: that category post should be a sticky somewhere here on Swellnet
Plenty in Vicco on a winter week day
Well worded.
I live near a town with one of the most famous waves in the world yet I get to surf quality waves with few crowds most of the time 20 - 30 minutes either side of it. A bit of knowledge, petrol and ingenuity goes a long way. Follow and fight the crowds if you will - it's not hard if you put in a bit of effort (at least in my neck of the woods).
About 25 years ago at a local boardriders meeting one of the masters made the off hand remark "surfing is one of the most selfish things you can do.." Whenever these discussions come up those words haunt me. I'm as guilty as the next guy of paddling out in the dark and keeping my mouth shut to avoid sharing waves with every man and his dog.. I've got three kids now and I'm wondering how much I want them to get into surfing... Do we need a new "code"? Are we right to point the finger at the pro's, they're just doing whatever it takes to get as many waves as they can to themselves, because that's the goal, right? Are we making the world a better place with a shut the gate attitude? I don't know, maybe I'm just turning into a hippie...
The secret is to find an okay wave in close proximity to a pumping wave that works in the same conditions. You’ll surf it with less than a handful of people every time, even in bigger cities. My friends this is the herd mentality and it’s reach goes far beyond surfing.
This has been my strategy for many years, particularly as someone who isn't skilled or interested in hustling for waves and dealing with aggro dudes.
Happy to live with a lesser quality wave if I don't have to share it.
Found the wave! This game is fun!
i don't even bother.......
lol, honestly you'd be waiting a bit for the swell window to be perfect. There are so many coasts and setups around the planet like this, what price a reliable local with alright waves consistently?
@ Stu net,
The right is also on the cover of the new surfers journal. With a full article showing wave from various angles , land marks, .........You get the drift.
Though i go by the rule that when one new secret wave is found, another two are forgotten.
People are also spending more time online watching and reading about surfing then ever before. The surfing population is also growing......
I think it used to bother me more.......
Great article, Stu.
There are still secret spots out there, even right around the corner. GE will only show the obvious point breaks, while epic reefs go unnoticed. There's still lots to be found by actually going looking.
Others will eventually find these places, but in the meantime we can enjoy and share with close friends.
As recently discussed in relation to the Kalbarri fiasco it’s all about hype these days. Reduced hype = reduced crowds. Very simple.
Best comment so far goes to Daisy Duke HaHaHa! nup,me neither
Perfection is over rated if you bother to read the comments on kellys wave pool.
One of my most fun surfs in the ments was at a b grade spot with a relatvely short ride. Huge wave count and one great section to carve. Rippability is an under rated thing. Some junky spots with the right curves can be more fun than the perfect sand bar.
" b grade spot with a relatively short ride. Huge wave count and one great section to carve. Rippability is an under rated thing. Some junky spots with the right curves can be more fun than the perfect"
Same analogy can be made about women :)
If it's surf adventures one is chasing, can still be found not by air but one must put in the time to sail, don't need a big expensive boat, just knowledge, well set up boat,good set of sails, and time. Lots of swells out there
You forgot money....only a boat owner knows the feeling.
Ah i have one ready to go cheap price for you! half the price of a flash 4WD, cheap to run, sail away today and chase the dreams !
Thanks .... I'm ok though .
I like the cut of your jib. Hoist the bilges. let us away.
Secret Spot maybe out out of reach for most but never give in.
City folk still have their moment in the sun we call it the magic hour.
Smart'ass long term locals never give up their secrets ...
Which swell/wind direction even tide is a mystery to many newbies of 5-10 years.
Fair to say locals have a few hours jump on the pack ...Maybe a day! Never days anymore.
Magic usually chalms one free session until next lot of conditions on nearby beach align.
Not giving away secrets just sharing some tricks to buy that magic hour.
Some beaches backwash flooded peaks early on South Swell
Others drain sizable peelers on last day of a North swell.
Surprisingly good for whole arvo.
Quite a few here know another secret is to foresee an empty break on all tides.
Dial Ben's Swellnet Decoder & your good to go...Score! Another 2 hour session!
Locals know winds fluctuate on certain beaches...Lock that in for another 2 hour session.
Laugh your guts out as all go home on heavy cross on! Hangers on...cross off all arvo. Shh!
Many can swan a swell thru the day sniffing out wind & tide (Mostly winter)...buys 2hrs.
Rip tides are a basherz hotspot as many boardriderz shy from intense paddle...Score 2hrs
#1 reason I bodybash is to surf without crowds.
Anytime you like you trawl the selection...may take some sorting, but there you go!
You can get every wave to yourself...4 hours plus that's the biggest kept secret at all.
terd
actually most surfers are fuckin terds... udo case in point.
Turd's a bit old school but will most definitely by a good hour of surf to yourself.
Secrets still matter, and I get frustrated by people who try to turn quiet places into their personal profit and profile. It’s always the same story and people refuse to admit they’ve become a sellout.
But in my surfing life secret spots have become much less important. A few weeks ago I was surfing 6-8 foot Uluwatu by myself for an hour, earlier this winter I shared good quality Tassie points with two others until it was too dark to see, had incredible beachy sessions on one of our most well known and popular stretches of sand. It’s made me question all those times I’ve invested hours and hours into heading into the lesser known spots in an effort to get away from everyone else.
Tell em nothing. Take em nowhere.
".. And that last part got me thinking: The latest batch of ‘secret spots’, the places surfed by Mick, Kepa Acero, Natxo Gonzalez, Nic Von Rupp, and Antonio Silva, all have inconsistency as the common denominator. The reason it’s taken this long to find them is their position within unfavourable swell windows. They’ll sit dormant for weeks, sometimes months, then break for a day before returning to lake-like dormancy. And to a tee, they’re all in expensive, hard to reach places."
This paragraph shows why secret spots are so special. More often than not they are flukey, rarely breaking. Requiring the biggest of swells, or a funny direction. Associated howling winds, cyclones, odd conditions, often only adding to their flukeyness.
This is the only thing that has kept them relatively secret. It also means when they're on, often there's nowhere else to surf in said conditions, which only adds to the value of keeping them secret.
I can think of a big swell/storm spot for just about every surf region of oz, with a heap of them on the east coast funnily enough.
Whilst you could say every surfer worth his salt knows of these spots. With the growing new breed of backpacker/bucket list/glamourpuss type surfers just growing exponentially, it only makes protection of these spots all the more important.
Absolutely Sypkan. Hold on tight to that hard won knowledge of what works when. It's a tragedy when that stuff slips out to the masses.
"Whilst you could say every surfer worth his salt knows of these spots. With the growing new breed of backpacker/bucket list/glamourpuss type surfers just growing exponentially, it only makes protection of these spots all the more important."
Love this comment!
Get at least 3 hours drive away from population centres over 100,000 and avoid school holidays and there's plenty of waves.
Ive got a few secrets in indo i bet nobody knows about.well maybe four people or so.
The best method for finding secret spots is to track a big swell (rare angle) and look for where it'll be offshore. Chances are if it doesn't break often, it'll be empty.
Watched the right hander clip. Read a few comments under the clip. Found the location in under 5 minutes. Loose lips sink ships. Did a cut and paste from the comment below & BINGO............
Peace Soup
2 days ago
6 luxury developments have planning permission to build here. 2 in construction as we speak, the developers web site says "The master plan will incorporate an impressive marina". which from researching the developer they have build before and boy is it ugly.
If they went 500 meters to the left..............and over that headland.
Massive great whites in CV, numerous people taken, bitten in half and never reported
Is Avalon still a secret?
Maybe . I can honestly say that I’ve never met someone who wasn’t from the area who has considered going there to surf. Is this because it’s low key ?
That's because in summer it's flat and winter windy windy as fuk Blowin. In the 90's a man moored up at Boa Vista, jumped of his boat into the beautiful blue water and was promptly bitten in half by a great white.
I was talking about Avalon !
haha, my mistake
Avalon is a state of mind.
Sparrows fart.
What the..... people, it's a novelty wave people.
It's off the beaten surf path.
The further remote , the colder , the sharkier , the wild.
Every year people flee on planes to hop on boats to surf crowded surf charters.
I encourage people to not fly and truly explore their own backyards or their neighbours.
I once read a quote about" a Biologist who went on a month long field trip and only made it halfway across his own backyard."
I guess for some, there is the easy and convenience.
For others there is the claim ,then the brag.
Then there is the one who scores and tells no one, cause there was no one around to tell.
Just a thought about crowds:
If you're a parent who has taught or encouraged your children to surf, you have absolutely no right to complain about crowds in the water. You created them.
Great article Stu, and I like Blowins scale rating. These days it seems like as soon as someone can make money out of it, the secret spot is gone.
Having said that though, when you know the right conditions it is seriously cool how Ben’s forecast reports let us know when our own little secret spots are about to do their thing.
At least we can get a session or two a head of the crowd :)
Surf News: Stu's secret story gets stowed away in Huey's sea chest.
Guru Stu hightails the muckraking snakes to appease our Surf God...Waves all round!
Beach Party for Swellnet Fans reserving Wave of the Day for their Guru ~ ~~/C..~{ Stu )
The Surfer's Journal, Greg Long in the far Eastern Atlantic, perhaps contemplating the benefits of length over height
Mag turned up in mail box last week or so ago.
Way to many photos giving location of "the other wave they scored" .
Hence forth leaving a baited trail for any subscriber, reader,
They give away one every month with the spin the globe though.
Shame , shame but different.......
I only surf waves that only I can see
Yep.
those depth charts come in handy eh stu
I could be wrong, but haven't these waves been surfed by kite boarders
for some time ? How did they keep it low key for so long ?
Yeah, nah if we're on the same page.
I should have re - worded it Craig At least one of the waves has been
surfed by kite boarders. The question still remains on how it was kept
hush hush from regular surfers.
My guess: There are less avenues for pro careers in kiteboarding so kiters dont blow spots open for the sake of personal promotion.