Excellent week ahead for experienced surfers
Victoria Forecast by Craig Brokensha (issued Monday 2nd May)
Best Days: Surf Coast for experienced surfers from midday Tuesday through Friday, east of Melbourne selected days when winds more favourable
Recap
Tiny start to the weekend, best east of Melbourne with inconsistent 3ft sets. Sunday also started small with the first of a couple of pulses of W/SW groundswell being a little slow off the mark.
By midday though, good 2-3ft sets were breaking on the Surf Coast with a gusty offshore wind, reaching 3-4ft into the afternoon with the stronger pulse.
Today the W/SW swells are on the ease with good clean 3ft+ sets on the Surf Coast and 5-6ft waves on the Mornington Peninsula under N/NW offshores.
This week (May 3 - 6)
We'll see the weekend's W/SW swells continue to ease into tomorrow morning, and this will be the low point in activity ahead of a significant swell event.
The Surf Coast will likely only be small with 2-3ft sets across exposed breaks with some mid-period W'ly swell, but through the day we'll see this mid-period energy starting to build and growing in strength.
This will be related to the head of the vigorous and expansive polar front projecting north-east towards us producing a pre-frontal fetch of W/NW gales through our western swell window.
The Surf Coast should build through the day, reaching 4-6ft at exposed breaks later in the day, with the Mornington Peninsula building upwards of 8ft. Conditions will be best on the Surf Coast with a fresh and gusty NW tending W/NW breeze.
Now, to Wednesday's outlook.
Winding back a bit, and on Saturday evening a vigorous polar low formed in the Heard Island region. This low has generated a fetch of severe-gale to storm-force W'ly winds while projecting north-east up towards the country (due to a strong node of the Long Wave Trough), since weakening slightly but growing in length and width, spanning roughly 3,000km.
Currently the vast fetch of severe-gale SW winds is stalling, stretched out south-west of the country, producing open ocean swells in excess of 42ft.
An XXL swell will result for exposed south-west and west facing coasts across the south coast of WA, SA and Victoria, with the swell pushing in from the W/SW through Bass Strait overnight Tuesday, peaking during the day Wednesday.
There's been no real change to the size forecast since last week, with the Surf Coast expected to see large consistent 6-8ft surf across most open locations (larger 10ft bomb sets at swell magnets) at the peak of the swell with 10-12ft+ sets on the Mornington Peninsula.
This swell will only be for the most experienced surfers, so don't enter the water unless you're more than confident in your ability.
Conditions are looking excellent for the Surf Coast as an approaching front swings winds back to the NW and only moderate to fresh in strength.
Due to the vast fetch generating the swell, the easing trend will be slow, with easing sets in the 6ft range on the Surf Coast Thursday morning, and 8-10ft on the Mornington Peninsula.
This easing trend will also be softened Thursday afternoon and Friday morning by a reinforcing W/SW groundswell from a pre-frontal fetch of severe-gale W/NW winds pushing in under the country.
With this, the Surf Coast should still offer 4-5ft sets Friday morning with 8ft waves on the Mornington Peninsula, easing back through the day and further Saturday.
Winds will remain favourable as well with offshore and gusty N/NW winds Thursday morning, easing through the afternoon and then NW tending variable winds Friday.
Into the weekend a fun new moderate sized W/SW swell is due from weaker trailing frontal activity on the back of the major swell producer and this should keep 3-4ft sets hitting the Surf Coast Saturday and possibly Sunday with N'ly winds on the former ahead of a SW change Sunday. More on this Wednesday though.
Comments
13th Beach wasn't looking too shabby a few hours ago...
There was not that many out either. Its often full up these days. Put up pics up of your own local. Not mine. DICK!
shut up black dog you fuck wit!
Oooh look out! I'd rather fuck wit than fuck dicks, lover boy. (sorry no offence intended to the gay people out there)
haha congratulations that was quite possibly the worse insult i have ever heard
Hey Craig (and others), it seemed last autumn and winter we had a number of good swells, possibly similar to this. We've had a bit of swell this autumn too. Is this well more substantial than what we've seen of late, or in a couple of years? Or is the excitement just the fact it's lining up with perfect winds? I mean, reading the report exposed spots on the surf coast will be 6-8ft (with the odd bomb), that's not too unusual.
Also, what's the criteria associated with a XXL swell? Is there a XL, or XXXL? Does this come from WSL or some other surfing body?
The unique thing about this swell compared to similar large events seen in the last few years is the winds.
They're good through the peak of the swell for selected locations in SA, Vic, Tas which with such a large swell isn't common.
Also XXL for me is 15-20ft upwards, brought in by Bill Sharp as a marketing term for the Billabong XXL awards.
Wa also there craig ; what does it mean , you say that the embedded front softens the swell ? Does this cell actually damage the already existing pure swell ?
Embedded fronts softens the easing trend through Thursday afternoon/Friday morning.
This front isn't anywhere near as good for SA with the W/NW fetch aimed away from it. It will help swing winds NW though.
Please explain why you say "soften " ?
Maybe slow/lessen is a better word.
Soften, as in soften the blow.. so slow the easing trend more than if the reinforcing swell didn't arrive.
Keeping the swell up longer.
Geez craig around about way of saying that its gunna fuck the swell up a bit hey ?
No not at all.
I'm saying the swell will stay larger for longer in Vicco because of a new W/SW swell arriving off the W/NW winds.
Otherwise the swell will just drop away slowly.
But instead we'll see the swell drop overnight Wednesday evening, further through the day Thursday, steadying later in the day Thursday and Friday before easing again through Friday afternoon.
Yeah well funny you say that finally , it doesn't make sense to say "softens "
You're not reading it correctly.
I didn't write 'softens the swell'.
I wrote 'softens the easing trend'...
Thanks for explaining finally craig , I thought that from the start , that it could boost the swell but then obviously read it wrong , but you wrote it wrong haha
I would have written 'arrested the easing trend' but I'm scared to think what you would have made of that Camel!
Craig, to avoid confusion next time, can you just say that it's "easing the easing trend".
Thats not what you said actually craig
Not that i should be involved in grammar discussions , but it is in bold ....... within the one sentence
" softened " is used to describe something that is being " re inforced " .........
Camel 1 , Craig 0 ....... Southey -65 .
I think it's quite explicit actually..
"This easing trend will also be softened Thursday afternoon and Friday morning"
Stated clearly, that the only thing being softened is the easing of surf, not the reinforcing pulse...
I'm with Ben .
I would have used delayed , but unfortunately this would not have helped this situation .
I apologise , the only reason i read the description was that their was conjecture .
I must just go back to appeasing Gary , and upsetting Mick . Oh the irony ....
Ha, well at least we all know what I mean.
i know full well that Caml does too , its just he's getting excited / twitchy and perhaps looking at it TOO hard .
Totally, hard to keep excitement under control though.
i can see a few surprises come out of this in other states .Especially wind wise .
So do you think it might be a bit too big for me to get out on the bodyboard, Craig?
Any places suitable for me other than Port Phillip Bay?
Wheres bohdi?
That's just the lemon next to the pie. It's going to get bigger.
It is , and im matt johnson
Bear called it.
Gary Would Go.
Well I would, cause you all know Gary is a beacon of extreme surfing, but I seem to have done myself a bit of an injury in the lead up. I was trying to add a bit of extra bulk so I could be as XXL as the swell was.
In any case, I gave the Mad Hueys a call so they should be able to dominate in Gary's absence. Just imagine getting towed in at Winki while drinking a beer? Those guys are such innovators.
Yes and soooooo sophisticated.
The Mad Hueys were spotted creating havoc on Lebongan on Saturday
This is a two Gary swell.
so if the garry scale tops out at 5garrys were in for a hell of a paddle out wensday morning being a double garry swell...thank god its high tide in the morning might make it a little more manageable getting out....but most proberbly going to get flogged if timed wrong!
A Gary Gary
...if a wave breaks and there's no Gary there to ride it did it even break at all
Gary Gary Beers, the patron saint of all Garys.
hey Gary ,
we haven't heard from yourself in a while . ( obviously knee deep in MILFS at the Gym ) .
If you unable to attend , due to said injury . Is there a chance we maybe blessed by your brother : Kenny taking your place in the lineup . ?! Being windy and all .
PS . I'm not sure about GGB ....... it appears he maybe a False God .... How dare his Parents use two R's in his first name ...... disapointing .
Maybe I'm just not cultured enough but am I the only one who has never laughed at one of Gary G's jokes?
Jokes?
Gary's feed is closer to a documentary than a comedy, Goofy.
No offence gaz
None taken, your choice of swimwear shows that we're clearly cut from the same cloth. And that cloth is Lycra.
Cmon Goofy you have to admit that was pretty funny
From todays Age : "The State Emergency Service has warned that the average significant wave height for western Bass Strait would be about 2.8 metres".
For today?
Craig,
It says "Waves of more than 7 metres are expected to hit Victoria's west coast overnight Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The SES has warned that the average significant wave height for western Bass Strait would be about 2.8 metres".
Seems like those SES boys are on Hawaiian scale.
Near shore waters would be pretty spot on for the surf coast .
She's gonna be a blowin ' hard offshores , otway down draft katabatic and all .
What the Age article said was that the average wave height for Western Bass Strait was normally around 2.8 metres. For this event it is expected to be 7 metres. We often get large swells that disappoint but with a 17 sec period and NW winds it could be "special" as Bruce would say, as long as it doesn't have too much west in the direction.
I suppose the long fetch will improve the consistency too?
Ok . Will Wa sa Tas win the highest buoy reading ?
Esp & nat buoys down is unfortunate
sorell is on the way up with 6.7m significunt height, 12.4m max. only 11.5 sex max energy. don't fuck nose what the utters are doing.
Which buoy will win out of SA/Tas, jeez that's a real tough one. Gonna be super close!
I'm tempted to say Sorell but then again it's better aimed into South Oz and the front is right up there.
Ok, I'm going SA, Cape du Couedic for the win (peak in Sig Wave Height). Period could be a touch stronger Sorell becuase of the extra travel distance and growing wave period.
Also annoying having the WA buoys down.
Hey Craig Albany is not down, in fact you would have to say it is up right now. How steep is the rise!
The crew filming Breath in Denmark are either rubbing there hands together with glee or shitting themselves right now.
Yeah for sure, but Naturaliste is the one that's killing me, hard to verify swells for Margaret River besides using our reporter and the cams.
I can hear the thunder.
The lads employed for the film aren't too happy about the big onshore swell today whilst missing out of waves elsewhere
I can guess.
And as a back up, by the looks of things there is a nice bit of action about one ocean away that should be with us in a week or so.
I sat here all summer looking at swell after swell going into Hawaii. Maybe it's our turn now.
Lakes Entrance is starting to build, 6" to 12" with a few 18" bombs. :)
Two km's inland and I can hear a definate roar.
That would be the ski teams going past :)
Ha ha. No, bit early mate. Only the crazy are up at this time..
Well your in good company then :), where are you wbat, I guess not in vicco as the swell has not reach here yet.
Margaret River
Yep craig pick sounds good , for the buoy stakes , some mates going to cows bombie this morn so it will be able to guess the pseudo nat buoy there
Swells starting to lift at Lake Entrance, 24"@18minutes.
Ha.
It's blustery as, bro. Lines looking very long. Not much size as yet.
Yeah mainly mid-period energy today and strong winds, not the best combo. Wait till later in the day, but tomorrow is the standout.
Gee Hako ,
With step ladder jump in swell like that Seaspray may live up to its name again .
Remember that swell back in '34 when it breached the dunes and guys were surfing Lake Wellington .
Sheepdog's all over it , he's been shaking his head and fist at every ski he's been passing in the opposite direction as he heads east .
I also think that the " Froth Bouy " at Swellnet ( site traffic ) has hit 11 this morning . The first time since that W.I.L thread really got going .
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that PNP will get the biggest period . Sorell height . Not that it matters , only ones that won't be disapointed will be windfarms .
I agree with you on PNP getting largest periods, it's the most sensitive, and also a touch further distance than Sorell.
Sticking with SA for the Significant Wave Height though.
Taken care of shortdog, tipped off the dog catcher in Barnsdale.
Rodger that southey about the period but that was the easy part of the guess
I'll just concentrate on the high percentage gambles . It was low hanging fruit .
Craig , distance has less to do with than , refraction and protection filtering out the noise .
We'll see about height .
At these sizes Bathymetry will come into action on the Bouy readings .
When do you reckon the swell will peak around the Surfcoast ? Frothing !!!
Tomorrow morning/midday I reckon.
Sweeto, right around low tide ... (: Just a question if you know it off the top of your head ... don't wanna waste your time cus it's unrelated, but do you know if the pressure gradient is positive or negative for low pressure systems ? If not no worries ... cheers !
Actually nvm sorted
Realistic surf for Bells on Thursday?
Realistic surf expectations for Bells on Thursday?
Swell swell swell. Plenty of it it seems. How about a wind question?
It looks as though were looking at NW's for the better part of this swell. My question is why does a NW fuck up the whole Morn Pen coastline (Portsea to Gunna)? I ask this because lets just say for arguments sake that NE is dead offshore for MP. (Theres a bit of a kink throughout the coastline). On a NW the rights are un surfable and the lefts are super chopped up but a little bit clean. On the otherhand a SE wind (so where talking 90 degrees either way of NE) is completely surfable. Lefts and rights work and you could almost say the coast preforms better on a SE. My only thought too the reason why is something to do with the predominant SW angled swells??
Any takers?
It has a little to with forecaster notes. I wanna know why we cant enjoy this swell too :)
For me there shouldn't be too much of a difference, all things being equal wind strength from the NW to SE.
But, lets think of the weather patterns leading to these winds.
Usually you'll be surfing a SE'ly sea breeze, so the morning will be clean with an offshore NE'ly or E/NE'ly, with slowly deteriorating conditions as the wind swings SE and start messing up the once clean waves.
A NW'ly is usually pre-frontal, stronger and you may be seeing that wind from the get go, so bumpy conditions from early, deteriorating further through the day.
So I think you'll find the weaker SE sea breezes more surfable than the strengthening pre-frontal NW'ly.
One other thing, the rights on a NW'ly should still be decent with less chops and smoother faces, as with any wind coming from the back of the wave rather than straight up the face.
Im picking up what your putting down. But even in summer season with days on end SE's you can still get a wave. It makes it peaker from the windswell. But with a NW or W we dont get any peaky windswell. Just really lame waves
Ah, this is because the SE wind has much more area to blow over through Bass Strait, generating windswell as well.
The NW wind is limited by the Surf Coast, so fetch is much smaller.
All too true. You can sometimes get better waves on a southerly and even south west than NW and W as long as they are not too strong. WP is the only answer and it is a novelty at best.
Id go more fickle than novel.
With the right swell wind and tide, if you know where to look, you will be surprised with what you might find in WP.
Keep telling myself that after 30 years and have had the odd good session and the usual suspects but the beachies when they are on kill it.
Western Port absolutely sucks hairy dog dick
Very eloquently phrased and not too far off point in my opinion.
The MP coast isn't straight, as you alluded to earlier.
Down at the Gunna end, SE is cross-off and you've got the Cape sheltering it a bit as well (and maybe funneling winds a bit?), and a NW is cross-on.
But up the other end, SE is cross-on and a light NW is still cleanish.
And I agree, WP is not just novelty waves. But it's just ridiculously crowded most of the time.
Yeah there is a difference between gunna and portsea but portsea is still shit under NW as opposed to fine under a SE. As the old saying goes "When a W comes to stay, the devil wants to play."
As for the bay, all the set ups in the world just going to waste. Weeeeeeeeeeeee.....
SA buoy will get the highest reading. And when that happens, there's usually more west in the swell.
Might mean a 6ft max swell on surfcoast.
Hope I'm wrong.
Wilba 82 good call there .correct
Technically yes . Only on HSig . Hmax was Sorell . Also Sorell averaged the same for about twice as long if not 3x . All with contaminating winds .
And yes he was pretty cloe on the bells call , maybe throw in a few 8 ft sets .
Wednesday, is there anywhere along the surf coast you could recommend for those of intermediate ability?
Fishos around Torquay, and also past Lorne there are plenty of sheltered spots that will be more accessible and in the 3-4ft range and smaller.
I believe you're referring to a couple of spots I like to call 'Gary's', Craig.
Hi Craig, Any thoughts on the strength of this NW wind 'washing off' some of the size anticipated?
I reckon, was defintely not 4-6ft this arvo ... just another over hyped swell ):
Don't worry, today's kick was only mid-period and less favourably aligned energy.
Real stuff just starting to hit Sorell now.
Hi Crag, how will this swill compare to the Easter swell of 1984?
Hi Craig after reading southeys and hako's post we are off to Lakes what time will the swell peak there oh and do the locals allow photographs. Yewwwwwww
You can take photos, but you've gotta show the locals your paid up AirBnB receipt for your weekend holiday house so they can see that you're a local too.
Thats how it works Gaz. Keen to check out the mouth of Lake Wellington hopefully the banks lined up nicely.
Hi Nick,
You still get the swell on the east coast perhaps even larger. It very simple take a look at a map of Victoria. Look at the changes to the coast line angles of where the wind is blowing directly off shore and where north is. You can easily work out that on the west coast offshore winds are generally Nth West. From Point Impossible right through the coast line down south. There are some exceptions like Lorne and Kennett , Roadknight and a few other spots. As you move further down south the coastline changes again and so offshore angles change. If you go back towards the East to 13th beach where off shore is Nth to Nth East. The Grove is Nth to Nth West. This is simply the angle of the coast line. East coast is generally Nth to Nth East. Western Port is different again and so is the Island etc etc.
Was that me for me?
No he just wanted to pretend he know stuff.
What about the refracting west swell off of the east coast of Flinders island into Port Albert Geoff?
Is that the 90 mile Hako breaks like a right hand skeleton bay?
So much hype too much attention let the punters learn to read weather maps and learn the coast put in some effort for reward. Oh and Craig what time should I arrive at Bells for optimum conditions?
Bit of lean here..
Haha I was on a crossing like that on the old Spirit about 25 yrs ago fucking mental but I was around 15 so didn't think about dying! The decks were going from 45 to 225 and there's no way you could walk, you always ended up running due to the angle, shit was flying everywhere. The dunnies were absolutely feral, coated in spew. Not sure I'd want to go through it again. Flew into Melbourne today from Perth, fuck me the pilots earnt their money. Craig will the surf coast (Bells/Winki) be better Thu or Fri from a wind perspective?
Haha what is that from Craig?!
This is eralevent but does anyone know about the surf at indented heads
That's the spirit of Tasmania last night that is fucked I would of shat my pants
And Craig won't pointbreaks like Kennet river and point roadnight cause the swell is so big wont it just miss the point completely and break wide that's what I have heard about Kennet river at Least not sure what would make it miss the point but people say it just travels wide cheers
On the last big swell on the day of the final of bells comp was like 6ft everywhere bigger at bells and I I went to fishos on high tide and point roadnight on low tide and point roadnight was shit it just broke out the back but didn't wrap into the point area was just fat which makes me think that it will happen again is there an explanation for this. Also with Kennett there is the reef out the back to the side it is a swell magnet and cause it will be like 15ft there surly Kennet will be not that good. Anyone ever surfed Kennet on a big swell ?. If it was me I would not be going there or point roadnight better waves around and the wind is the wrong direction for both but that's just my two sense worth
Fucking hell, that would be no fun!
Reckon you might be altering course if you were the Officer of the Watch!
And possibly wiping the remnants of dinner off your chin.
Indented heads pumps willi butler . Right hander at half moon bay peels as does the right and lefts of the point at the end of Taylor's reserve. Tomorrow you should go there it will be on . Gary g you should check it out, plenty of Milfs there now, and lots of hairy Maltese boys who grow mo's just to look like their mums.
Who's going to own up to being Dave /Rob , @ 305 am requesting AB Original -too black too strong on the J's . Whilst on a 'storm watching ' road trip ! ?!
Bowl looking sweet!
That set is wider than Gary's man-spread (aka 'The Shop Window') while sitting on public transport, and on the morning high tide no less.
Yeah Gaz s right, the bowl is quite full almost overflowing :)))
I think Ben over at SN's competition site has been getting lessons from our own Gary G.
Their Instagram post today is embarrassing. Wankers. Not you Gaz.
Join us for a quick chat before we film our Chief Forecaster copping a triple Gary on the button.
Great morning, I'd say a consistent 4-6ft with sets at 8-10ft out at Winki. Bells was breaking very wide. Crowd was barely an issue when I surfed it. Not much sweep and warm water for Vicco standards.
More photographers than surfers and a couple of drones buzzing around first thing. Crowd was building when I left, the hype was in the air. Ginormous was a big overcall, chatted to a photog/fisho before paddling out and he said the swell was 7m+. Really though, when you're blasting down a smoothly groomed wall into the sunrise the rest just fades into the background.
Thanks for the feeback Stok!
Took grom out in that intermediate area Craig mentioned above, probably on the money with 3ft, as you drifted or paddled east a bit maybe got bigger... Wind was not too bad, waves got bowly for their smaller size as tide fell. Maybe it was a little bigger on the higher tide as more amplitude of the swell got in? No heroics, just a bit of fun.
Within the swell itself, I noticed the majority of waves were smaller, with larger waves coming in alone, considerably bigger. Like a mini version of what stok has written.
Awesome, good to get the grommy into some of the energy as well but at a smaller size.
I was thinking exactly that about the energy too! We did easter sunday at 6ft together which was amazing so he's pretty much ready for it, but no family transport today so we had to walk so stayed close to home. School bus breaking down was fortuitous (today of all days, must be Huey...), and first surf on a new board for him so an epic day no matter the size.
FFS you muppets. See that big red arrow on the swell graphic? See how much west is in the swell? See how it points to cape otway? Do you fuckers even know how far the Surf Coast is tucked in behind the Cape? You've massively overcalled it again. The Coastal Watch clown was on radio today whipping up the punters with talk of huge seas.
Just got in from a 3 hour surf at Winki and it was 6 foot. Nice and consistent but nothing bigger.
Stok. 8-10ft? Go back to Queensland.
I just called it as I saw it VicLocal, without any pretense. I'd say there were a couple of 8-10ft sets in the hour and a half or so I was out this morning. For me double overhead is 6ft, triple overheard 8ft, bigger than triple 8-10ft. I've never been out in anything significantly over triple overhead +. I'm not interested in competing with other surfers regarding their interpretation of our insanely variable surf 'size' measurement system.
I don't think it was overcalled, I think you just need to re-calibrate your measurement. I mean, for me the forecast was spot on. It might not have been ginormous, XXL or (insert clickbait here) on the surf coast, but it was big. I think 4-6ft with 8ft+ sets was a good call, which is what most forecast sites were saying. Just because you think it was only 6ft today, doesn't make it 6ft.
Vic local,
So if your saying winki was 6ft nothing more and it's a swell magnet normally 1 to 2ft bigger then everywhere else then your saying places like Jan juc, torqauy and places out of town around the area were 4-5ft. Give me a spell mate surly your not serious. I don't care how much west the swell has in it wasn't 4-5ft and 6ft it was clearly bigger. Get of your high horse vid local and sort yourself out
Umm - about the size - it's definitely big enough for all of us :))
Regardless of how big it was forecast and how big everyone calls 8 foot, it was over-hyped.
Sure, it was a good day of surfing, but was it all it was hyped up to be? I can remember lots of days as good or considerably better than today. I can't recall any other swell getting so much attention; 132+ comments on Swellnet, Coastalwatch live from bells, social media coverage etc.
Can someone tell me why this swell created so much more froth than other similar and better days over the last few years?
There's a slightly cynical answer to that - More hype equals more website hits, more likes/shares on social media and even exposure on traditional media. All of this equates to better advertising dollars.
But the optimist in me just thinks that the Swellnet team are frothers, and just love reporting/talking about swells!
Either way, I like it. Makes it more exciting to more people (me included). It also puts off a lot of the older jaded/aggro crew as they know it will be crowded so they don't bother.
"There's a slightly cynical answer to that - More hype equals more website hits, more likes/shares on social media and even exposure on traditional media. All of this equates to better advertising dollars."
Surprisingly: no, no and no.
Kinda hard to explain unless you're a publisher, but our business model doesn't run on clickbait.
Well that's refreshing to hear. My comment was more directed towards other sites anyway - and news sites. Swellnet is satisfyingly not a contributor to clickbait - the bane of our modern web.
I would've thought though that these swell events would be good for traffic - not that you guys over hype them. As mentioned, the forecasts were spot on and the wording used definitely appropriate.
Never though it was going to biggest ever etc on the Surf Coast, just a good swell with west in it.
The interest was more about how big exposed breaks west of Bass Strait across Southern Austalia etc were going to be, because we don't often get swells this big with workable winds.
And I just put down my normal thoughts as I always do in the forecast notes.
Didn't mention epic/ginormous/biggest in a decade, etc.. only said XXL for exposed breaks, which they were.
Funny how some vicco crew think the Southern ocean is the Bells bowl. Just going through some old pics i took of this swell somewhere else on the southern ocean, with guys surfing. There's one pic of a guy on a wave bigger than any wave in the Eddie of 2016. I personally think it's the biggest surfed wave ever photographed in Australia. Top to bottom too. Wish i could share it but ya know.....
What made you come back yo this.
Just going through the old pics i hadn't seen for a while NB. I watched some highlights of the Eddie from 2016 earlier. I thought i'd go back and have a peek at the old pics i took from May 4 2016 just to see how they compared to that swell and it was right in the ballpark, i'd say bigger than the Eddie. The closeout set wave that Dorian caught and the one Mason Ho got weren't quite as big as the biggest waves rolling through at this reef on that day. I just hope i haven't sparked excitement amongst the vicco surfers seeing this thread pop up on the homepage thinking it's this week! Apologies!! hehe
Were they paddling this day bd or towing?
Would of been good viewing either way
Both @goofy. Morning tow only, then arvo paddlers tried their luck amongst the tow. The pics of the biggest waves were tow. Was cool to see and one of those times i was most happy to be a spectator. Reading back looks like you got some sick ones on that swell too. Yew!
"There's one pic of a guy on a wave bigger than any wave in the Eddie of 2016. I personally think it's the biggest surfed wave ever photographed in Australia......." Well the 2014 Pedra waves are concrete proof of 2 of the largest waves ever surfed in Oz waters ( est. 64-68 ft) wouldn't give much creedence to big statements like this without evidence.
There was a really remarkable red blob sitting directly below Australia, it's magnitude far beyond the usual storm offering. What surfer isn't going to take interest?
Sure, there'll be plenty of bigger days, and there'll be sly ones that sneak beneath the radar, but why the surprise that surfers are getting excited? That system was a work of art.
A work of art with a significant flaw
Indeed. It should've formed in the Tasman Sea.
Hi Ed: Yep agree - Maybe its this media taking off, people taking considerable more time going over maps etc. because its available. And maybe there was little else in the way of news :)
It's started with Mc Cartney , Swellnet felt obliged to keep up , we all put in our 2cents ...
Personally if their was a live feed /interview with BMC within 20 feet , I would have knuckled him cameras rolling and all .
Yes a good day was had , and big winner here was the fuel companies , servo latte sellers , designer hoodies , and gumboot sales when totally inappropriate footwear was trashed in the early morning mud .
Swell did well to hang in for 10-12 hrs , which is impressive considering it came from a cutoff .
And yes Stu , I don't think it would have fit in the Tasman sea .
Lastly from where I was standing it wasn't much west of SW . Infact it looked stock standard SW .
From memory the wind had more Nth in it or swung NW quicker/earlier than forecast .
FFS I hope you guys start getting some ECL's soon , the spotlight and lenses have been poking out of bushes too long in this state . Should end a week after bells comp . Bloody global warming and bath water ......
Haha, this is the sound of Southey scoring!
No I'm angry .
But this will sort itself out in due course .
Fuck I hate lieing weasels .
Vanda is pretty spot on with his size calls..
Wow, that looks terrible.
And then there's this...
This is exactly the hype I'm referring to. I never said your forecast was wrong or that the swell wasn't worth being excited for. My point is that it was hyped up a lot more than many comparable and/or bigger swells and I don't understand why.
That's the point I was making, this isn't our hype.
I never said it was your hype. What I'm asking, and it is a genuine question, is why was this swell hyped up so much more than others?
I'm not having a dig at you. I am just surprised by how much attention this swell got.
Ah sorry. I think because it was such a significant storm and frontal progression. They aren't this significant too often.
Didn't look any bigger than many other swells we get in a year down here at Phillip Island and nothing of any quality to surf, although im sure big enough to completely wash away the recent decent banks :(
Bummer!
Central island reefs no good today?
Went down to watch at about 930am. Heaps of people watching and plenty in the water at Bells and Winki (maybe 20-30 at each). I say heaps because last time I went down when it was called to be really big there was only a few guys in but that was a lot bigger than this I think.
Anyhow, took a few shaky vids with the ten year old camcorder as below. Yes I know it's jerky, yes I know you hate the music, yes I should zoom in more and yes I should get a tripod. But tbh I was more focused on eating my egg and bacon roll and drinking my coffee with my spare hand... Gives an idea of size anyway.
For a video shot while heavily under the influence of the much needed egg, pork and beans: I tip my hat to you good sir. I even like the music.
Cool vid man, thanks for that. Well captured.
looks a typically soft vicco 6ft
Spot on FR was relatively tame out there.
Enough of the Torquay/Bells sh!tfight over the size.
Are there any reports/pictures from west of Cape Otway where the swell should of hit properly?
Didn't see a wave over six foot in that vid.
your point being? "Craig lied to us all" "Another swell hyped" "I am too advanced to surf bells under six foot"? Can't you just enjoy the fact that we got some great swell hitting our coast? Or are you one of those guys really obsessed with the size of things? Maybe you should ride a mal then...
Your funny, my point is that I didn't see a wave on that vid over six foot.
I love love surfing 2 foot waves so size is not an issue for me. Me ride a mal? na rather a sup. Cause that would annoy you even more.
Craig and Ben don't lie, but they do a good job of stirring up the frothers :)) It's good business to get more people down to the surfcoast where they can spend their money at shops like..........Patagonia come to mind :)))))))
It's all good, I mean I personally am in for the long haul , but the frothers can only take so many days off during the week before they fall behind in the job. I've done the work over the last 6 months, so I'm on a 5 day surf week:)
The same swell late August / Sept would have gone unnoticed.
I think you guys misunderstand us so called grumpy cunt, we are quite happy surfing all day all week, I think some of you just get a bit angry cause you never organized your life to surf enough, so please don't take you frustration out on us as you are to blame.:)
I wish I could trump you by writing that I take out the goat boat on a 4 ft day :) But that would be cheating. I actually do like Patagonia, not because they support the Malloy brothers. But somewhere deep down I believe we can make a diffenrence as a surfing breed. Good on ya that you get to surf this beautiful coast line without the crowds. Mid week morning can reveal some true hidden gems. Not sure about the not organising my surf life bit. But in the end we share the same stoke. Apologies for being a dick. Comes with the terrotory nowadays... Godspeed
No worries beard, everybody is a dick, just some don't realize it making them a bigger dick:) I have a goat boat too, cross training mate, but never in public you have to draw a line some where;)
Geez Hako you're a self-righteous dickhead. "I've got a perfect life and you haven't so you're all fuckwits and lowlife incompetent losers and I can surf all week and you can't haha coz I suffered coz I got my priorities sorted out and I'm wonderful.." yeah yeah blah blah shut the fuck up.
I'm not angry coz I can't surf whenever I want. Not now - maybe 35 years ago when I was a frothing young'un with no money and with school in Melbourne etc. But now I'm over all that.
I'm angry because I hate self-important pricks like you who say they're right and I'm not, just because they have DIFFERENT priorities.
Yes, I wish I could surf during the week more but surfing is NOT my entire life, it's not what I live and breathe. I have other things I like to do and yes, I have commitments (like finding another job right now) so I am ok with a weekend surf somewhere away from crowds (yes, I can find places with good waves with only a few others out).
Thanks crip, I am a dickhead but life isn't perfect, but not to worry I've bought a tattslotto ticket and hopefully that will solve the problem. Chin up mate you'll find a job to keep up the payments for that black Prado .:)
Fair bit of complaining going on on here about this swell..
I just surfed 8-10ft clean as a whistle long wally waves with 3 other guys as the sun set.
Fucken great way to finish off the day.
im stoked
Love it!!
Good shit, goof.
So which state has the most grumpy cnuts?
Vicco seems to have a clear lead for mine.
Probably vicco but SA has better quality more intense grumpy cunts by a country mile.
Are you a Desert Stormer GF?
yep
So we can assume it went pretty good then?
Yeah it was a great surf Stu, probably the best one I've had on it.
The ease that they paddle into waves is ridiculous.
Grab yourself one you won't be disappointed.
Ha ha...I'm sorted. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious.
Goofy. I know it was 8-10 foot.
But look into this empty bottle of VB.
You are Victorian.
It was 4-6 foot.
It was 4-6 foot.
It was 4-6 foot.
Don't care how big it was but mate that bells stuff looked so much fun. The cow was only just breaking, missed most of the swell. 8 guys out paddling, they all got a few.
Don't care if it wasn't the one. Just good to start the winter off with a bang.
Looks like another is not to far away.
good on ya!
Interesting article just went up on fairfax.
Any complainants from this thread going to make them aware of their displeasure?
Got a link?
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/surfers-flock-to-massive-waves-on-vict...
Ha ha
Wait till MC gets wind that Pedro said that he ( Quik ) supplied Ross the boards .......
Quiksilver is dead financially , and it looks like they are going down swinging ?!?
Luckily the age has a readership lower than the water storages of the area .
I came in and saw the photographer take the photo of the broken board. Poor bugger, breaks a board and then gets a shit by-line in The Age. As for the fucker talking about "cooking" in that video, fuck off and never come back.
I came in and saw the photographer take the photo of the broken board. Poor bugger, breaks a board and then gets a shit by-line in The Age. As for the fucker talking about "cooking" in that video, fuck off and never come back.
That Cooking fella was just a little excited.
They mentioned Two Mile in the Age , Idiots it was all happening at Easter Reef.
My 2 bob's worth:
Yeah it was a good swell but I was a bit underwhelmed. Those weather maps were the best I've seen for years and I was getting excited from them, not from all the frothing here and elsewhere.
So, I rocked up to the Winki carpark and fuck me, cars everywhere. Bells looked like an ants nest with black bodies all over the place. Winki's crowd looked do-able and some really nice waves coming through with some going unridden.
I'd call them 10-12ft faces (whatever other forms of measurement you'd like to use), a good double overhead. Later, just before dark, I watched Winki & Bells again, and I'd say that it was a tad bigger and definitely cleaner, with Bells looking a bit bigger than Winki. Some maybe triple overhead.
It was a good swell, the sort you get maybe a dozen times a year. But not what I expected from the weather maps.
I wanted to go for a drive down to the other side of the Cape (just to watch), but with the wind I thought it wasn't worth it. Can someone post how big it was down that way? No specifics, just in general?
Crip your 2 bobs worth got it bang on. So FYI South Coast was 15-20 foot Wednesday and 10-15 foot Thursday. Conditions clean in mornings (though I did miss the first morning was at Bells). A local trough moved in Thursday arvo. Sorry no photos. Cameras are removed at the Cape Otway border.
Sorry should be in the new Swellnet measurement of choice. Wednesday was 5-6 Garys and Thursday was 4-5 Garys
Nothing extraordinary .
I would say the afternoon thing was more a swell direction thing .
Still nice and happy Hako . Can't see your Cheshire smile in that photo ?
And yeah. The old saying still rings true , a picture is worse than a thousand words !?
Geelong/Surfcoast well on the way to being the next GC . All you need is Warrick Capper , hang on. Darryn Lyons was the mayor !?!
Which coast were you on?
I don't surf around there anymore southey, well occasionally. I was smiling but somewhere completely different.
sorry man , i was refering to the other photo of where i presumed you were , especially since you tail gated the recently unemployed .
Which was also the last place you were SEEN in these walls .
My mental health issues don't allow me to surf there on internet swells and I enjoy more interesting waves, bit more grunt and quirkier and a bit off the beaten track.
This whole system of how this forum works is crap, if you reply or quote something it gets buried on a page back and you need to have a good look to find it. Took me ages to find Mick-frees comment , I was expecting him to report that port campell had a population of 5000 people cause he got there at lunchtime and all the chinese from the 12 aps. tours were having lunch in town. :-)))
Fark you lost me there O Hako but happy to report there was plenty of Chinese, maybe Korean but mate don't really understand Mandarin or Korean let alone break down the demographics for you.
But I couldn't get into Port Campbell mate place is over run with high vis. workers. No accom anyway. Had to bunker down with some German and Swedish Backpackers for the night.
You can't even get into the local pub unless you wearing your high vis gear. My buddy Brownie took this photo of this bloke Shaun. Not sure if you recognise him.
Shaun's never had a job in his life.
Yeah, may not have reached expectations but gee zzz its look fun.
You've just earned the Gary G 'Chest Bump Salute', TonyBarber.
Yes, there was a lot of froth over the storm, which translated into a lot of surf coast froth ("this morning, reporting liiiiiiive from Bells Beach"). If you'll allow Gary a moment of reflection:
One could bicker for days about how big, ripped, cut, and good looking it was on the Gary scale, but at the end of the day it looks like there were some great waves ridden yesterday, and Gary can speak from first hand experience that there were some great waves ridden this morning too.
yes, this happens at many stages throughout the winter on the surf coast. It is after all, known as the SURF coast.
After all is said and done, the riding of and prospect of good faceys (even if not ridden by yourself) is what drives the froth. If you're frothing, it means you're enjoying surf and surfing. What more does one want?
Anyways, I've earned myself a spell in the solarium. Ta Ta
Great day on the surf coast reefs yesterday. How big? Could talk numbers all day and get no where so here are few things I noticed that may tell the story.
Watched bells and winki between about 11-noon and there were 50 people out at each. The big days are usually half that, a lot of times less.
Boobs/ steps had about 15 out at each between 12-3. Again, The big days usually clear these out and leave them almost unsurfable. Same for the rest of the jan juc reefs, were plenty out everywhere yesterday.
Peaks on the end of point danger were about head high on the sets.
Bombies out from fishos were barely noticeable.
To me all of that points to a good decent size day that we get about 10 of each winter. A little bigger and none of the above observations would apply which is not uncommon.
Most unusual thing was no SW change to beat and no 4/3!
Ron nailed it .
An extraordinary long offshore spell . The second half of which supplied quality waves .
The fact that this system was the only source of swell and not acting upon a previous system or energy ( ie it as tiny in the days leading up to it ) and behind this low was s stalled( blocking high ) probably stopped it getting exceptionally big .
Ben I think you guys in the office need to keep in touch more often .
Craig knows where I was .
Craig getting a mention on aunty this morning!
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-06/monster-swells-off-victorias-south...
Nice, didn't see that.
it was the blocking high near NZ that stopped/slowed the frontal progression and maintained that NW flow as opposed to the post front SW flow.
The swell hit west coast NZ pretty strong today. Maybe 8 foot on outside points at Rags and a couple of offshore reefs got surfed at 10 foot. I couldn't believe how powerful it was compared to normal swells. Even duck diving 5 footers tonight at Manu was hard work. Super long period but got contaminated by a bit of short period wind swell but made for good double ups. Interesting but met service had on their marine forecast today SW swell of 3.0m with unusually long period. Never heard them say that before and we get heaps of swells over 15-17 secs but maybe not as big as this one.
Looks like I may need to go on another road trip. The east coast is now dead
after 2&3/4 years of the most consistent all year round swell ive ever experienced.
Who else saw this on the home page and had a small, short lived jolt of dopamine?
Apologies @stok and all Vicco surfers. I know by adding this comment it's just making it worse...hehehe
Second ya, been stalking conditions every day to find an opening. I am currently on school holidays and had to sesh urbnsurf to get a fix today.
Yes, saw 'Excellent week ahead....... (Vic) and thought someone was playing mind games with us. Had to have a look. May 2016. Can't remember that week in particular but have memories of autumn and winter of that year being very good generally on the SC. Looked through a few of the comments, some classic banter from Vic Local and Gary G among others. Had to laugh.
I'm not even joking. I've gone full forensic on the two swells. I've properly lined up the wave of Jamie O and Shane Dorian on their Waimea closeout bomb with the pic i took from a land based Southern Ocean reef and, fark, it's inches in it. I think the Southern Ocean one is a smidge bigger, but it would be open to debate. But point being, Ben, Stu and Craig put it out there that this was a significant swell event, and it got ridiculed by the peanut gallery that lived on the protected side of Cape Otway, when it was clearly a swell with a helluva lot of West in it that completely obliterated everywhere between the Cape and Albany. Even watching it live, the West was obvious. Well it turned out it was a swell that rivalled if not outdid the biggest and baddest Eddie swell in history. But no apologies. No one humbly acknowledging that this swell was a one in a million. Which is why i posted in the first place. How many times i've seen these blokes ripped into because the swell didn't reach expectations at some part time surfers particular little granny reef, it's bloody hilarious. Hat's off Stu, Ben, Craig and Steve. Swell forecasting to an active audience must be one of the most brutal things to put out there. Personally, i take all your cues and tips and knowledge., blend it with what i know and go from there. No one to blame, the charts never lie. Much appreciation for all the amazing waves i've somehow locked into because of you legends. Three cheers. Hip Hip Hooray!! Cheers! And for the non believers...i've looked at the pics i took and i still think the pics are of the biggest waves ever surfed in Australia (nearshore). I'll have to take them to my grave but trust me, i've never seen published pics of waves this size ridden in oz before.
Bluediamond, I don’t suppose we can get a heavily cropped photo or two to see the size?
There’s plenty of photos around of cow bombie and Pedra in Tassie that are wayyy bigger than any Waimea waves I’ve seen.
“ I personally think it's the biggest surfed wave ever photographed in Australia. ”
That’s a big call BD haha, but without seeing it I guess we will never know!
“And for the non believers...i've looked at the pics i took and i still think the pics are of the biggest waves ever surfed in Australia (nearshore). “
He wrote this further down, I think to exclude offshore bombies such as Cow and Pedra
Ah ok, I missed that in my speed reading.
Apologies bd!
yep nearshore folks. Pedra and Cow in another league. That's more like Peahi stuff. Sorry the pics have to stay off the internet. If i ever bump into ya's happy to show you.
Understood. Will use my imagination!