Vivonne Bay 6 Star Pro...
How about your thoughts Zeph?
I didn't believe it when I first heard about it... I still can't believe it really. I reckon the music side of the event was great for the islands population -of humans!- but could've been held in a much better location, say one of the sporting ovals.
For me a few of the highlighted occurrences:
-No prior consultation with either Kangaroo Islanders or the wider surfing community of SA,
-Development approval given by the KI Council for the "temporary" boardwalk and adjoining platform in the dunes was rushed through (under very shady advisement from the Dept. of Env. and Natural Resources) and is still being investigated,
-Not enough entries to hold the wildcard/trail event (this was to the applaud of myself as it meant the event was cut from a 10 day fiasco to a 5 day fiasco),
-Surfrider foundation sitting on its hands, though I talked to a number within the organisation (Corey and National officials)... To see this organisation be overwhelmed by the "power" os State Government and Surfing SA was disheartening,
-The stories of Surfing SA's debt on the island. Turner Fuel, the toilet hirers, the builders and even a Council fine... No money for any of them!,
-The demonisation of the crew who didn't want to see the event happen at Vivonne Bay. I was given an AVO for assault against Tim Doman, SSA's event organiser for as much as a few words. This charge was later dropped completely. Dividing the surfing -and wider- which has not healed and with the threat of more competitions, serves to alienate members of the community.
-Interest from third party organisations and community members... On the whole alot of support from people not wanting Vivonne touched by the greed of the SATC and SSA. This includes the conservation organisations and Dr's completing case studies on the effect on the ecology of Vivonne Bay and also the effect on tourism through the so called KI TOMM plan.
I guess you'll have noticed that all my points are pretty negative. The positives were things like, instead of being completely over run like Sceale Bay locals, the community of Vivonne Bay did put up a bit of a fight and were successful in showing SSA to be scapegoats for a larger and more insidious plan for the surfing culture. Initiatives started with the "protestors" that were incorporated into the event plan and the worst case scenario (fire wiping the event out) not coming to pass.
The waves were shit as they were always going tobe, and this -from my point of view- is great for the surfers of KI and for the surfers of SA. If only the ecological importance of Vivonne Bay was not sacrificed in the name of money and greed the event would have met with much less opposition.
The ability for broadcasts to be shown to a large crowd in a paddock -or oval- not surrounded by incredibly threatened heathland could've meant the event was held somewhere responsibly.. instead SSA showed itself for the ugly beast it has become and.. fiasco.
So I guess that's a piece of my mind but I am truly interested on other peoples views of it and of its future (they plan to run another two, though the grumblings from the Island say "If they can't pay they can farkawf) so....
-Zeph
BTW: How up-the-arse is it: the majority of surf schools are forced to pay SSA for insurance (Lukes Surf and Sun being the exception) and then for additional greed, SSA run a surf school of their own in direct competition with the other companies...
peace
If that had the word UGGin it or Jewellryit would have been deleted.Nice rant.
Unfortunately mate, you could go anywhere in Australia, insert the name of that state and the governing surfing body into your story, and they will say yes that is true, it happened just like that.
I think the same zeph. Everyone knows KI is shit at that time of year. SSA's name is now hopefully rubbish around the whole state as they have fucked over everyone in every area they have come across. All it was is a government bureucrat having a light bulb PR moment and sucking in the dimwits at SSA to thinking it was a good idea. Well done mate on sticking up for what you believe in top stuff!! My advice is wait another 2 years until a change of gov/or they give up and SSA is broke and they wil lose interest pretty quickly. Then you can have it all back!
@barley - My protests weren't about keeping surfers or tourists off of KI's waves at all.
As I'm undertaking a bachelor of Environmental Science and Management, the stupidity and recklessness of holding such events in places like Vivonne Bay astound me profoundly and I was compelled to speak out... Hopefully negative environmental management decisions such as this can be avoided in the future, for it is the downfall of our populice (how we relate to and abuse areas of "remnant" ecology such as Vivonne Bay).
My protests were more about the tax payer funded SSA event -guided by the hand of Sealink- destroying what was a relatively untouched part of Vivonne Bay.
Destroying is perhaps a bit strong. In context though, the habitat at Spot-X was very secluded and hard to get to. Mass numbers of people were never seen there and the abundant -and significant- natural life patterns reflected this state by showing a very rich remnant trophic structure. This has now changed by way of the boardwalk and platform being placed -with taxpayer funding (this was before the "400 grand" bailout)- and the ecology is being watched to observe the inherent damage.
What was always clear to me was the fact these guys are dimwits, for the surf at Vivonne is crap! As soon as the event was released I knew it to be a shady deal for this fact ontop of the obvious -for anyone linked to VB- ecological significance to KI's species of National Environmental Significance at Vivonne Bay.
I fear more than just a Government bureucrat with a lightbulb was behind this. Corporate lobby group employed by Sealink instigating yet another unsustainable plan on South Australia's tourism management.
Cheers for the pep
how ya goin zepp...they shoulda had it at the island or yorkes where the waves woulda bn better....maybe even cape decoudi...that was smkn the other day and no one out i might add....what about a mobile comp by boat like the yanabi comp...no environmental impact?!! i got a good charter boat thatll do the job and i'm into the low environmental impact stuff..wildwestcharters.com.au
mr schmucko , while one has resited his feelings of wanting to throttle you , this my dear fellow has gone too far flogging yourself...um...wares here is not the done thing littleman ,going environmental for a dollar seems redundant does it not schmuky? mobile comp? only question .... whos going to freight up the running costs of you delapidated indo fishing boat with a new coat of paint? do you have your hand on it or your digit in it?
still not that wacko for schmuckos
this was bought to you by a wanting the new bloke to understand the intrcasies of this lineup HRH bigwayne
? you are lucky theres a minimum of 4 characters you tool.....BW over n out
Yeah goin pretty good Jef,
Been living up the East coast for a bit getting into the study-life. Few waves (recently found a left-hand ledge with only boogs out) around but find myself having to paddle out way before dawn to get away from the crowds.
Tim Doman, the former event organiser for SSA, asked some of us where we would hold the comp (this was during my alleged assault of him) and we brought up the exact same idea. Hold a roving comp on boats and stream the surfing back to a party somewhere like a sporting oval.
Definitely should've been held at de'coudic if they had to have it on KI at all. That time of year with the Sou-East'ers and with the magnectic pull on swell it has... Ah, well.. I dare say the silly fuckers probably won't get another chance and have given SSA a very tarnished record... Maybe should be praising them for setting a precedent I think State Government will be wary of repeating.
We suggested that the cray fleet could've been used as about half of them are surveyed and were not fishing. Bah!
Catch
Oh, a quick up-date for anyone interested.
Tim Doman (event organiser, Surfing South Australia), Steve Reddy (CEO, Surfing South Australia) and Ian Barburshear (CEO, South Australian Tourism Commission) all lost their respective positions because of their involvement in the KI Pro. Turns out environmental planning wasn't the only thing SSA was incapable of handling and they ended up more than half a million dollars in debt to bot Kangaroo Island and mainland businesses. There were more than a few "told you so's" going around the island and the general consensus is SSA will not be welcome again. Ended up costing tax-payers around three quaters of a million dollars. Don't forget a large part of this was to provide infrastructure of private land (owned by the multi-national conglomerate, Sealink Travel Group).
If ya have a look on youtube you'll see the guys got to surf 1-2 foot closeouts, though admittedly they did get lucky and it wasn't blown out the whole waiting period.
When i heard about that contest at Viv. Bay I thought it was a joke.I used to surf Cape DeCoudie by myself until the shark attack, last time i went there the seal population had exploded and the stench was rank.I love Rockies and Spooks but its a long walk and suss goat track for a contest site. The ranger used to wait at my car for me just to tell me what an idiot i was for surfing there.Ive heard the locals use shark pods when they surf it now.Beautiful spot but not for a contest. As it turned out they got NW wind and a few spots would have been pumping while they were tossing off at Vivonne.
Sorry if the image quality is unacceptable.
Epic photo old-dog, haven't seen too many lineups of that wave. Love the swell lines about to unload behind the one that's already broken!
If they hold a comp at Cape De Coudic some one will a)fall off the cliff accessing it b)get eaten by a big whitey d)get attacked by a bull fur seal getting to the jump rock d)get caught inside,washed onto the ledge in front of cliffs and heli-lifted off e)all off the above....hopefully.
NO COMPS ON KI. Leave KI to the people who want to pay the exorberant ferrie fees and can deal with the EXTREMELY fickle surf conditions...and the locals.
ps. please no more photos of spooks. To anyone thinking of going there it is called that for a reason
old dog....i like you! thanx for the pic...saw a few guys paddling it a few years ago....whats it like over 8 ft? still a real wave?
@Schmucker Last time I went there it was a huge swell Spooks was shutting down all over the place but surprisingly Rockies was holding it easily Ive had it 6-8ft heaps but this was twice that size and still breaking exactly the same which is quite an easy wave. I was there with the wife and watched it for hours trying to get the courage to go out alone. The normal keyhole entry was under 6 feet of whitewater and waves were washing right up into the big cave so I piked it.Instead of the usual 15-20 seals there were about 200 and two huge bulls were fighting right where you usually hang.
A blurry shot of Rockies
When you are sitting out at Spooks you look up at the cliff and it looks for all money like a huge spooky face with eyes nose and cake hole looking down over the wave,hence the name.
I always thought it was callad spooks because of the big spooky wide clean up sets that are sure to get you when it is eight ft plus
hmmmm spooks n ospreys.......origional as squirrels n goalposts....KI the land that time and SSA should have forgot!
Out on KI last Dec', and very suprised to hear about the comp' goin' down. Lots of grumbling vibes from the locals (as Zeph said) & short by a fair few $$$ for the work they put in (This approach does not work in a close knit community like KI). Astounded that ferry co put on free t'port, but I spose no-one would go if they had to pay !!!!. The Cape for a comp? faaaaark it would be a lively scene if a few of the local wildlife showed up for look during a heat!. KI is a smalll isolated backwater, and as far as surfing goes, should be left to those with enough spirit,figs and knowledge /experience to do the place justice (had similar feelings to our friend when contemplating a lone paddle out at D'E bay). About the shite surf @ VB though, I did manage a very nice little session there with just me & kids out, it was sublime. Perfect little kegs rolling into the Northerlies. With that turquoise water, white sand & bush setting,the session will be remembered for a long time to come by our family (but maybe still not comp' standard as you say Zeph ). Happy wanderings brothers & sistas.
Knew it would happen here with photos and all, yes folks, skiers and fisho's like southey & smuk ratting out isolated gnarly breaks they haven't even surfed! I hardened my balls at Spooks so why don't you blokes do it first then talk about it! BTW it's very uncomfortable between sets and a long paddle back around from the end of the left.
schralpz...cya outthere one day hopefully...although i never put the photo up i liked to see it...looks like a good wave...can we tow it?
Been a couple of times more than 20 years ago now and I was only 19, can't say I'm in a hurry to go back. You don't need a ski, it's one of those bommies near the shore i.e. a reef!
@smuks Its a good wave and compared to the mutant death pits on your doorstep that you frequent it would be a cake walk. I dont know where you would launch your ski from as the entire SW of KI is steep really high cliffs.When I saw it at 12ft plus you really did need a ski, the rip between the two breaks was ferocious with 3ft rapids and getting back in with so much water rushing over all those sharp rocks looked like suicide. I cant see this spot ever getting crowded on a regular basis as you are playing russian roulette thanks to the the stinking seals. One minute youre surrounded by the bastards then they all split to the safety of the rocks leaving you floundering around like a slow injured seal begging to be eaten.If I remember correctly ASL tubequest went there and surfed 4ft Rockies and compared the view to indo looking along the coast from Ulus to Padang.There were pics of Spooks lineup in ASL.in the 90s.
roga ol dog...i'm thinkn you definitley needn a ski out there over 8ft...had a good report of it 10-15ft and smokn, dunno what shralpz is sayn "ie reef close to shore"dont need to worry about the pointers when you are towing it either...take the ski off the boat or from land its gotta be ravine de corsairs or west bay....gotta be tracks in there ay? cant remember pics of it from the 90's myself....as for pics from the past, there's been so many photos of so many epic spots in SA and the place remains uncrowded or even less crowded so whats the problem? or is it paranoia fuelled fear of overcrowding?? hasnt happened yet and quite the contrary...
checked the south side of wedge island a couple days ago...big right hander there x 2 if anyone keen.
Schralps said " yes folks, skiers and fisho's like southey & smuk ratting out isolated gnarly " ....
Mate , I have towed before , i don't own a ski .... and any wave I've discussed ( note without naming names ) I've actually paddled ....
" So go Fuck Yourself San Diego " .....
Someone I know has photos of a couple of Hawaiians surfing Spooks back in the mid-80's, absolutely enormous. I've gotta try to get a copy of them.
I don't think there's any chance of KI getting too crowded, ever - the sharks are a major deterrent as is the cost of getting and staying there.
old-dog: I remember that edition of ASL too, you're spot on - Tubequest went right across the SA coast and they scored Spooks quite good. Here's a picture from Sean Davey, at what appears to be Daly Heads:
"I did this trip with Australian Surfing Life Magazine back in the early '90s where we drove this old mid '70s Ford Falcon across several thousand miles of coast line in South Australia and Victoria. We called it 'Operation Tubequest.' The car was affectionately known as Tubey."
I have a feeling that there may have been subsequent 'Operation Tubequests', and that KI was on a later trip - for some reason I recall seeing the pics in the early 2000's? Not entirely sure though.
Yeah those articles were classic,DC Green is one sick unit and my all time favourite journo,he writes like many of us think ,warts and all.That whole cactus Rio trip had me in hysterics. Didnt they have an HQ wagon as the tubemobile after the Ford? Skippy Island rings a bell.
Rockies from the cliff
The jump rock gets a bit busy
KI contest, seriously how can you spend so much tax payers money with such poor returns, incompetence and arrogance (sackable offences?)
I remember the tubequest articles too, quite harmless due to their subtleness and crypticness, something clearly lost on these pages.
maybe KI and WC have remained uncrowded not just bcos it is fukn sharky, but due to the diligence of surfers keeping their mouths shut "loose lips sink ships" (interesting how southey pumped Jeff for all he could, then only said this when Jeff started talking about his neck of the woods, but good onya for tryin to keep some stuff quiet). Jeff might think KI is backward, or the land that time forgot, but maybe that is the way people like it, not everyone is mesmerised by the technology, but I wouldnt expect Jeff to appreciate that, ie. someone else's opinion is just as valid as his. It was a christian that pointed out to me the irony of most chrstians' self righteousness, when the bible says something about, lord lead us not to the path of self righteousness.
And didnt I read on swellnet that they have a policy of censoring the forums to not upset locals etc., and had done so regarding NN on the east coast (of all places) and now SA is a free for all??
roolf, we have a policy for staff and surf reporters. However, monitoring our forums for instances where 'sensitive' locations are mentioned is impractical, and would be hideously expensive to implement. And, where do you draw the line on individual locations? It's obviously OK to mention Seaford, how about Gulls? Pondi should be OK.. how about Salmon Hole? PM's? G-Bowls? You get my drift.
roof....i dont think KI is backward at all...tight connections with same bloodline pioneering familiy over there as well as westcoast..the forefathers etched out a living at toolige hill/nowhereelse/sheringa and branched out from there...my great great granma was the first white female ever born west of penong, they went to wudinna kyancutta in the north to kangaroo island in the SE to robertstown in the northeast...pioneers they were!! and we are still havn a krak at it searching along the back of wedge island in the last big swell, a few laps of KI under the belt also.. you and your other critics can carry on all you want but we are still out there doing it...makes for a good wotd today by pete tom from blax...as far as path to self righteousness maybe you best be lookn at "judge not lest you be judged by the same measure"....i do agree wholeheartedly with you that "someone elses opinion is just as valid"...i cant help having an opinion that believes keeping things a secret in the surfing world is lined with selfishness...and this is just my opinion and we are in a free country where we can debate that!..
...ben, so i cant get a job reporting for you?haha...you guys love the shots and so do a lot of us so keep em coming!...go che chorley!!
I think you just breached your own policy Mr Ben. Maybe it is not easy, but I dont think it would be that expensive to implement when you guys read every post anyway (I can tell from your contributors timely and occasionally thoughtful responses). Most people would draw the line at Salmon Hole (the correct place in the spirit of our democracy) or you would err on the side of caution and draw it before Salmon Hole, as Nat Young did when he showed due respect.
"Of course, we can pick and choose what to post, and we can even censor some comments (which we do on our Facebook page when people name locations), but the beauty of the new media is that you, the viewer, are a part of it." (stunet, social media killed page)
"Example 2: Just about every single day we put the Wave of the Day picture on Facebook we get someone naming the spot. More often it's a few people naming it. This means we have to censor comments, which is never something I'm keen on doing. So what do we do if readers won't show discretion? Keep on censoring? Or turn comments off so no-one can comment anywhere?" (stunet, social media killed page)
it is not that hard!!!
I dont think it is selfish to keep some secrets when you have put in the hard yards
I'm not good with bible quotes but there is something about "love thy neighbour", i think love and respect are interchangeable
how can you say this rolf if "everyones opinion is as valid as his"...let them be, its you thats being oppressive isnt it?
yeah well love the neighbor as yourself is the whole deal so love ya rolf and goodonya
Re localsim. I dont like localism, Yes i have been on the recieving end, I have been dropped in on all over this country, but i know most locals feel a sense of entitlement and I let them go, I dont even say anything most of the time, im getting waves anyway. But when it comes to WC I understand those guys have done the cold hard winters with months of onshores and I understand how they feel when "blowins" (i hate that term) turn up on the one good day of the month.
I just dont see the need to gloat about waves/sessions, photos are fine but why name places, i dont think this falls under "localism"
These days a few clicks of the mouse on google earth and all the spots mentioned here come up with pics and ratings for all to see,at least these forums disappear and get lost in the archives after they run out of steam. Even so I will make this my last post re KI before the death threats start,I'll be over there in Sept. so Id better not shit off the locals too much. Sorry fellas, grovel,grovel. Re the Vivonne Bay contest the highlight for me was the quote from the disgruntled yocal "We don't mind people coming over and sharing our waves,just not fifteen thousand at once." Classic.
Oh , so this has become Slam Southey week .... hey
roolf "maybe KI and WC have remained uncrowded not just bcos it is fukn sharky, but due to the diligence of surfers keeping their mouths shut "loose lips sink ships" (interesting how southey pumped Jeff for all he could, then only said this when Jeff started talking about his neck of the woods, but good onya for tryin to keep some stuff quiet)."
Mate if you had of Read Earlier on you would have realised that people like Myself An Shaun were trying to direct the Conversations . Ie write in other Threads to bury certain threads , or change the topic , Or Multiple PM's being Flicked about .... The Problem with lots Of Forums is people waltzing in , signing up and then Open slather . In this regard , I've tended to be quite stategic , and I tried to discuss Etiquette with Jeff , whilst I'm here I have to say I definitely don't dislike him or others here . opinions will always differ and that should remain the same . MCD .
As for whatever wave wherever , in no way has anything I've discussed ; changed any place i choose to frequent , or the fact that for the last 10-15 years I've enjoyed the spoils of many remote regions . But as you get older sometimes you learn that Sweet's taste the best when shared . And I don't mean , turning into a " Look at Me , I'm the Town Bike " kind of attitude ...
If you look back through threads you'll see that i entered convo's at distinct times , to try Steer their direction . For better or worse the partcipants reactions . NOWHERE have I named Specific , spots . unless you had already Known a SPOT . I Haven't named them or Urged others to do like so ......... ( I am perhaps guilty of asking a few west bound acquaintices why they were overshooting some gold ) . But this was years ago , almost pre digital photography , and definitely before the Internet became a " lazy Surfers , best friend " .
NOW CONDITIONS , is another kettle of Fish ... , which I refuse to NOT discuss openly . It's amazing how many Islands Off Aust , turn on in the same conditions . And even share Geology /Geography & appearance traits .
Seen on the telly tonight that celebrities are being paid by the K.I. tourist board to twitter about the island and attractions, so how many of you guys are on the payroll? Hands up.
Speaking of the Rivermouth ........ Sorry , couldn't help myself ...
@Southey "NOWHERE have I named Specific , spots . unless you had already Known a SPOT . I Haven't named them or Urged others to do like"
Yes you have, even though you weren't even sure if it was a wave or just 'a bommie close to shore', i.e. a reef! You don't know & wouldn't go so just stfu.
WTF ?
Haha, yep Shaun, I'd say Old-dog is definitely on the pay role ;)
@southey: you were right & I apologise because it was 'sagreat', who was posting about the oily-seal-soup-shark-coast. Shoulda checked my facts as should everyone before they mouth off!
maybe all those that start with " S" should stick together .!!!! except for Sharks .... hahaha
All this reminds of the Monty Python vigilante mob scene,
Villager: We have found a witch, may we burn her?
Crowd: BURN!! BUUUURN HER!
Bedevere: But how do you *know* she is a witch?
Villager: She looks like one!
Other Villagers: Yeah! She looks like one!!!
It's not too surprising that the Kangaroo Island 6 Star QS event has been canned after only one year as a result of the $500k bailout by the government from its inaugural running last November.
It's gonna take a while to repair the damage done from this event and get the publics/governments trust again for future big events.
wow $500k on top of the $300k!. Well at least (i take it?) all the local business's got paid and arnt out of pocket. I guess in an in direct way KI got a fair bit of advertising (good & bad). But $700k (of govt money) on a surfing event could of been used on other sports that need it a lot more. Craig any chance of an interview with Surfing SA to get there side of the story.
I think that's $500K in total sorry AMB.
Looking into talking to someone who used to work for Surfing SA. Hopefully some light can be shed on the whole situation and how it got so far into debt.
Actually Craig, you'll find the $400,000 bailout was on top of an initial investment of $300,000 from the South Australian Tourism Commission. As well as this, Sealink wiped a further $150,000 owed to them by Surfing SA. No wonder Steve Reddy and Tim Doman lost their positions at Surfing SA over this event!
Thankfully, you're right about the fact that the Government will be especially wary of any future large scale surfing competitions in SA. Spurred on by this latest announcement, i'm asking Gail Gago's office for a full release of any investigation/review into the matter. Also waiting on the soon to be completed (early 2013) case study by a lecturer at Uni SA's school of tourism.
I see absolutely no reason the South Australian coasts need to opened up to the surfing industry and this definitely includes surfing competitions. Seriously, if young guys are keen on a career in the surfing industry, farkawf to the east coast... Keep SA free from the global surfing spotlight!
Good or Bad? Any thoughts youse mob?