Daly Head
Good on you FBEAG. I've been enjoying the area for decades but have always been saddened by what we surfer have done to the environment as we race down cliffs and sandhills to get to the surf. So I'm all for re-vegitating, more walkways (especially at Dalys - if they can do it at Granites...)and maybe a bit of education. So here's a little ditty of a story for you.
A few years back i was surfing out at Trespassers with just my mates. I paddled out for a set and to the left a pod of 50+ dolphins were racing for the first wave. I stopped paddling to enjoy the show when the lead dolphin seemingly aimed the pod directly at me and when it was no more than ten feet in front of me he or she launched out of the wave. The last thing I remember was its snout inches from my face. The next thing I remember was being underwater, upside down and coming to with a searing pain in my head and neck and dark shapes around me. I made it to the surface, dolphins milling around. I was not in a good way and was slimmed from head to chin. My first reaction was "what the fuck did you do that for?". They really seemed to be checking me out. I swore at them a few times which must of convinced them i was okay - and they vanished. My mates hadn't seen what happened as I got washed to shore by the rest of the set. But two young guys half in their wets suits had and helped me out. They were so freaked by it "the weirdest shit they'd ever seen" that they got dressed and left (its a 30 min walk in). By this time my mates had worked out something was up. Both are physios so were checking I could still feel everything. They half carried me out of there - and watched over me as we drove home. Wash up: Post traumatic concussion, a big crease across the top of my head. Apparently it rolled at the last second and got me with its fin. Said crease had a fungal infection for over a year thanks to the slime (try and explain that to a doc) and my neck ... once all the strained muscles recovered that surfers neck of 30 years was cured! Must have given it one hell of a crack. The dophins still come and visit me but now I lie very flat and make myself a small target and quietly say "love you guys but go away". Great coast.
At risk of sounding like a grumpy old man I'd hate to see a bitumen road and one of those sterile,sanitised gravel carparks (complete with disabled parks that never gets used)designed so you can no longer see the ocean from the comfort of your vehicle. Personally I reckon they've ruined the bottom end,it seems they wont be happy until there is nowhere left where you can grill a few up while watching the action.They've done West Cape,Ethels,Gyms etc etc.Give me the good old days with million dollar views at the end of corrugated pot holed tracks and gruelling climbs up cliffs after lonely surfs.BTW there were no local surfers at all in the 70s so where did all these blowjobs come from,you roll up at the hole at first light on a week day and all the Pines turkeys are already out there acting like they own the joint.I guess I should just be thankful I experienced the place when it was real.Cheers.
GoPatter,
Suprisingly I have heard a very very very similar story from another guy about a pod of dolphins at trespassers.. did almost exactly the same thing to him and launched into his face
Err,?, whats a pines turkey? never heard of them, please explain.
Suspect he means people that live at the Pines 'over-it'. The Pines is about 5km north of Corny.
Had a similar experience with dolphins at Daly Head. Only difference was that none of them actually hit us but flew between us at pace. Left us all feeling pretty lucky that we werent involved in a huge collision. Not sure if they are playing or getting a bit pissed off but they'd do some real damage, thats for sure.
Hey old dog its still one of the best places to park and take it all in. I agree, hate to see it become a parking lot. I guess its finding the balance - remain wild but with a few things to stop the dramatic erosion.
Another dolphin boy! Ha - I always suspected that the one that hit me had jumped surfers before - it just wasn't expecting me to be sitting up. You out there dolphin boy 2?
Had a much more peaceful dolphin encounter at a beach not far to the south of yours gopatter, right on Christmas day last year. A small pod, complete with babies, swam right up to me. The big mama stuck her head out of the water not 5 feet from my board and squeaked at me a couple of times while the rest circled around just out of reach. They buggered off down the beach and I paddled in, but when they headed back up towards us my wife swam out and they did the same thing to her, only about 20 metres from shore.
Magic - no slime, no creased skull. Guess I was lucky...
Its what makes SA worth hanging in for - its so damn wild at times - as you say surfstarved - magic. Then there is the tale of watching dolphins and Bronzies teaming up to herd and devour a massive school of salmon, we figured we'd surf down the beach from them because there was no interest in us.
@ gopatter,actually it's about the only place left where you can see the action from your car,you just can't beat getting back to your rig after a long hard surf and pigging out while watching the next shift and resting up for your next dig.I remember when it was like that at West Cape,then they built a Mccarpark 50m back with a walking trail to the esplanade.Go figure.
Yeah Right,the pines turkies, is that just past the Old-Dog Tavern?
Yes it is - instead of turning right at the Howling-Dog on the road back to Adelaide you go straight ahead on the dirt road. After about 4-5km you turn left to the Pines.
Sounds like the same group of dolphins who surrounded me down the beach at Dust Bowl many years ago. Around thirty or forty of 'em all in a tight bunch; they were getting frisky too. Wasn't a pleasant experience - I had no idea whether they were taking the piss or if they were protecting their babies (and were aiming to make a charge at me). Ended up without an incident but I've been wary of large dolphin packs at Yorkes ever since.
Give me dolphins any day over Mr Big Bad Bitey fish
I was sitting out at Rockpools alone when I felt something brush against my lower back,I turned around to see a perfectly formed 2ft.shark resting on the tail of my brand new Fred Pyke,I pushed it off and paddled away but it kept following me and playing with my legrope,every time I paddled back out after a wave it was waiting for me.It looked a bit sick so I let it rest on the deck and as I patted it it looked up at me with sad thankful eyes and then snapped catching the tip of my index finger and drawing blood.With this I grabbed it by the tail and tossed it as far as I could and thought shit I hope its mother isn't around. I took the next wave straight in between the rocks and lazily jumped off my board not realizing that my leggie was severed and watched my board wash onto the rocks snapping off the nose.When I got back to my gear I asked my chick if she got it on film but the batteries had been used up the previous day at Dalys when I had vainly tried to remove a fishing float wrapped around the tail of a whale.
Dolphins are wild. We've all got stories about close encounters, be they warm & cuddly, downright scary, or something in between. A memorable story, that fits category three I guess, involved a man most of us in SA know (who shaped most of our boards over the years down on the south coast) and a particularly 'friendly' and persistent dolphin who, one day at the Bay, tried (unsuccessfully?) to mount the aforementioned man in a surprise attack from behind. As I said, dolphins are wild...wet & wild!!
Great story old dog!!,classic. im with mozzie on the preference of sea life to share the waves with, and, agree its a special place. You'd be pretty game to claim to be a true local at Daly Head, were all just visitors really. The FBEAG proposal is really just providing council with a legitimate body of actual users of the area to consult with before they make the decision of whatever is on their agenda. get my drift? Thats our main aim anyway, i cant see a bitumen road just yet or a macca's, but a dunny might help, who'd wanna. film rockies with. alll those landmines were some one snap ped one off and hasnt even dug a hole!!? Just that and hopefully a couple . more boardwalks an informative sign or two. Bit of regeneration would hurt either. What were still searching for also is that alltime line up shot for a booklet covershot. seems it doesnt line up like it used to in the good old days. if youve got one and wouldnt mind it being used email it to ([email protected]) or if you dare post it...i accept no responsibility.. keep them stories coming, and happy sunny offshore days to those who deserve it.
This area is probably as close to nature as i have ever found myself, one mid week afternoon back in 2010 i found myself sitting out at the boils alone after a whole day of all time smole (s#!t you not direction of the swell was doing good good things on the inside of the first rock), the one other bloke i had been sharing it with had just driven off up over the hill and i had just pulled my legs up onto my board after a cool chill went down my spine, which isn't too unusual but not a second after a deafening crack and a splash and i turn around to see a whale (Big Southern right i reckon) about twenty meters away just smashing his tail around. Most awesome encounter to this day. After a few more waves i was on my way back out for "just one more" between the last rock and the boils and this big old sea lion (i think... maybe a seal but he seemed quite large)pops up and just started huffing at me through his nose as if he was going to charge me like a bull, i just turned around and hoped ignoring him he would go away, but soon after he popped up again with a 40 odd centimeter fish in his gob and just started crunching it while looking me right in the eye. That was enough for me that day, it really felt Yorkes was telling me that it was time for the long drive home. Of the countless fun waves i had traded off with one other bloke all that day, the thing that stayed with me was the crunching sound of that poor fish. Had a smile on my face the whole way home though. This area is such a treasure and the thought of it de-stresses me like nothing else, like everything it has to change but hopefully it's protected. On frisky dolphins... i swear i was being sized up for pack rape one time out at the wave up from ponde, damn things were rolling over to show me their thrill drills and everything.... scary stuff.
here's one from the pharmer,
Best mate was out surfing inco 2nd reef Dalys, alone, real inco, anyway this whaler turns up, starts circling him, bumpin him, just wont fuck off. right, he's starting to think, i gotta get outta here, catch a wave in, this bronze is as big as his board, and its a 10 ft mal, luckily a half a wave is on offer, a west set. he paddles into it easily, jumps up but is way to deep to make the section, he falls,. no legrope, board washes in, he's half way between 1st and 2nd reef. Its at this moment he starts thinking, if its gunna eat me, its gunna eat me now, and starts the dreaded swim in.. each stroke he wondering where the fuck that bronzie is and hoping he's not on the menu. the whaler doesn't come back and. me mate lives to tell the tale..happy endings are always the best;)
If anyone can claim to be local at Dalys it might be the crew that built the humpy into the sie of the hill many years ago. Any stories there? Was before my time but I remember seeing bits of it around still in the 80's
I remember a big pod of dolphins that always seemed to cruise past S/hole around midday.
One Day they came from the Dustbowl side and another pod came form Daly's way and they met up in between and just went off when they joined up! We couldn't work out if was a party or was more sinister but the thing is it almost seemed planned that they would meet at that spot there together at that time.
don't ask me why...it just felt that way.
weasel bedford and sunny from cactus built that humpy at dalys i think in the early to mid 70s,weasel has pics of it and maybe some super 8 films that show it, his S.A. surf history site is worth alook. interseting that graham treloar elder brother of baddy treloar [angourie] was once a s.a. state champ.
I've camped in that little shack, last time would have been late 80's. Was full of bees though so we laid our swags outside anyway, great view from there looking straight into the rights, have good memories of glassy days that just pumped waves all day. Hardly anyone would ever be out at Dalys back then.
I seem to remember a tall goofy footer named Shaun living in the Dalys humpy in the mid-late 70s,he now lives at Streaky and is still as keen as ever.I cant see how the lineup could have been any better back then,it always was a very easy take off out the back with all the time in the world to line up the end bowl section,such an easy fun wave for its size. I remember it was so much fun you couldnt stop laughing while surfing it.I recall being over there when a bunch of East coast pros incl. George Wales and Robbie bain scored big time,calling it 10 ft. with an article and pics in SW mag.Next day SH was pumping and crowded so they hit an empty R.P.s and they tore apart the double overhead waves carving top to bottom like we'd never seen before and making the crew at SH look like pikers hiding in a protected corner.
Love to see a photo of inside the humpy or looking out of it over the Daly bowl. Yeah its an easy take off but one to many reo's you can cop quite a hiding on the inside bowl, trust me i know. learnt my lesson the hard way. Seen some old photos of it lined up pertectly from 3rd reef, 5 or 6 wave line up. Ive never been lucky enough to surf it that good. Heard a story of a bloke getting one from 3rd reef and riding it to the beach!! now thats a long ride.
Hmm, all of these nice words about Daly's as a wave - I always thought it was a fat burger. There's the odd random section from time to time but they always seemed to pop up randomly (unlike many other waves down there). Could certainly hold quite a bit of size but it's never been high on my priority list.
Baby Daly's though.. it's a rare event but geez it lines up well.
Daly's 4ft waves with 20ft drops as for babie's well there is no such thing Benny. Nothing but fat straighthanders 'round here. Shit waves all over much better if you go west !
Agreed Barley, its a hoax, but yes it does line up very nicely, just once a decade if your really lucky. such a fickle wave and like its big daddy, highly over rated most of the time. West is Best
Dalys gets really good when swell direction, size and tide allign. Not common but it does have its day.
Dalys has its place in south aussie surf folklore, i could imagine the early pioneers being pretty stoked to find a reef peak that offered protection from prevailing summer winds. Its really better suited to longboarding most of the time.
Them's fighting words there pharmer - can't say I've ever seen a long board out there and yes it can get pretty ordinary, but it can get good(ish) and large enough to make you think and best of all rarely crowed and often empty when SH is packed and the wind is into RP's - anyway all's good - these days i prefer marginal empty over crowed every man and woman for them selves.
BTW - good to see you got the natives chatting about the little gem that is yorkes
By Baby Daly's(sounds a tad gay to me)I take it you mean Daly's Point which can get O.K on massive swells when Daly's is a giant mush burger.A lot of people call it Crab-grinders which is actually in front of rocks on the beach further in.I know this because I was there when a young Bruce Martin first named it and now it even appears on some surf maps of the area.What about the old stories about Moose roaming the clifftops with a shotgun shooting at crew who dared to surf his waves back in the pioneer days?
ahhh brucey martin what a bloke ,still chargin over at streaky....a rat atat tat. peter 'moose' baker , his waves ? didnt he blow in from manly ? what happened to nevcat from warooka ?
The Nev Cat!! Now there's one for the punters, havn't seen him in years!! Probably still on the "Mitsiwikcon" or was it the juicy fruit? Straight up from the sambuca bottle, blue label i reckon, shared many a mysterious sessions with him on the land and in the ocean, that is until i rode a NXT instead of full tilting it. He never spoke to me again until he said "you should have pulled in", which i took his advuce on next set i caught, Theres a funny story about the cat and the chi bowl but this is a forum about Daly's so i wont mention that one, @go patter, the longest ride ive witnessed along the northern point was a local longboarder, 2nd and a 1/2 reef way wide all the way to crabbys take off. Crabbys, another very fickle wave but holy smokes, it can do a pretty good barry manilow on its day..no doubt... A very special area, worthy of NSR status and worth protecting for our children.
The rarely ever surfed Fishbum Bombie picks up more swell than Daly's and Rockpools, is about 200m west of the hole and despite a nasty mid wave boil peels perfectly...The pictured wave would have to be easily double overhead.
@old dog
have you seen the size of the granite boulder this waves sucks off below sea level?? like an STA bus, It would put the wind up most!! Not the only STA bus sized thing that frequents this and all other breaks close by. It looks good from a distance but the only bloke ive seen paddle into it, returned after 1 wave, i watched him from the hole and saw him dissappear below sea level, He was a long boarder too!! Dont think he plans on ever paddling it again. Nice photo though mate.
Its gotta be at least double the size of your photo to even be considered, and a pair of brass nuts is also advised and an out of conrol mortgage may help. Its probably one ot the heaviest waves in south oz?? According to the only bloke i know who has had the pleasure of coming unstuck trying to get inside its deep double/ triple dreging cavern!!
Anyone who has any knowledge of who and when they named some of the breaks in the Dalys's region, we would love to hear from ya. And were still looking for a classic photo of Daly's, we have got plenty of the other breaks included in the FBEAG NSR proposal.
@ pharmer, bit of sniffing around found sir nev cat living down yankalilla way. fit and healthy and still enjoying what you described .
@the pharmer,if that bombie was in Sydney they'd be all over it like a rash.That pic is a still from video showing it peeling top to bottom for 100m after an easy take-off, completely unaffected by the rock which rears its ugly head half way along some of the smaller ones.The swell direction and tide must have been perfect on this day.Obviously your longboarder mate needs to reevaluate his choice of equipment if he wants to surf real waves.
Only surfed FB's once and I regret it. Made the first one, felt pretty good, got cocky, paddled back out too close to the inside and snapped the nose off duck-diving into a rock that I'm pretty sure jumped out at me, maybe it was a solid 2m of water sucking off as I went down. Either way, its a crazy wave.
@old dog, have you been out there for a closer look? I have, and its a lot sketchyer than it looks from the car park, theres a massive boulder it sucks off,real deep water the other side and if you blow the take off your gunna get smashed on the rock. bit like the suck rock but 100 times the size and on the peak.. Swell direction is critical, and agree if it was in Sydney it would be surfed a lot more. It does get mental, as you described, but dont think paddleing in is the best option.. Theres a few tow crews that are now starting to charge it when its on and ive witnessed some crazy sessions out there. Havn't yet taken off out there but its on the list. Maybe look the other way when its smaller, you may be surprised. happy days !!
pharmer, are they local peninsula tow crews ? how many skis in the area ? are they accepted or frowned upon. do u reckon nev cat deserves his own thread ? really want to hear that chi's bowl story..........and more...
@the-pharmer Yeah totally agree,its normally very sketchy,but once or twice I have seen it looking very glassy and inviting with no chandeliers falling from the sky or ugly steps in the face, but S.Hole was going off its nuts and that will do me ,Im no hero.I have had a bash at the left that runs towards it on a small day but it felt really sharky around there and I didnt last long.Cheers.
Yeah i know the left, surfed it before a few times when the crowd factor at the hole does my head in. We know it as Slingshots, or Elevators, it to has many moods but can also fire up some meaty slabs. You weren't just imagining the spooky feeling, there's some big whites that frequent the area, sometimes like clockwork, its notorious for all kinds of sharks, i & friends have caught some off the rocks there i couldn't even identify?? dont worry, mainly little ones that could only nip ya finger off!!, aggresive little fucks when they know there gone!! Anyways, victor, there is 4 maybe 5 local tow crews, only a couple are really on it. (the others have jobs and familys, and as you know the waves on the bootleg are fickle as). Theres heaps of potential for towin it in the area, can make a normally unsurfable wave into a uncrowded gem, get it?. there will soon be one more ski in the area , this reveller will be right onto it, trust me ;-) ..we ocassionally get a few other ski's from adelaide?? but theres plenty to go round mate...The general rule is if theres more than 2 paddlers, the skis are outta there. I have never had any trouble personally with skis getting in the way, infact quite the opposite, got a lift out one day, paddled a few, took a serious beating, then grabbed the rope and made some big ones!!ans then escorted to the beach!!Some of my favourite young crew unfortunatley have had a bad expierience with some ski's recently..i see both sides..As for the Nev cat, he was always pretty easy to sniff out.. Is he worthy of his own thread?? theres plenty worse threads out there!! I could tell a few crackers, but have to say i spent a lot of memorable sessions with the cat, priceless memories, so i dont want bag him out to much anyway!! You'll have to get a personal version of the chi bowl story, others could tell it better than me.!! How were the waves today after lunch!! ruler straight and offshore!!the pharmer had some rain to, hard not to smile in my sleep.
Hey All
I believe I've seen a pic of Daly Head's featuring on Swellnet WOTD years back. I recognised it from the rocks in front of the take-off. I'd be hard pressed to describe it as 'epic' but from the pic I'd definitely make the drive over from Adelaide to see it.
I vaguely remember it being sometime in 2005 - 7 years ago. I acually saved the pic on a hard drive at the time but I've since lost it. Thermal do you have all the archived WOTD images?
I was sent this from a mate that I used to surf with in Adelaide.
Seems appropriate looking back at the previous stories of aggressive dolphins at the start of the thread :o
What were you sent? I can't see anything.
Is this true Swellnet team?, Has Dalys made WOTD before? love to see it if you can dig it up..Also keep in mind the FBEAG is planning to hold a rockin party mid january, to celebrate the Daly's Region. If anyone knows anyone talented like "Dave the clown" who would like to get up and have a crack, email the team on ([email protected]).. we want to raise the bar to new levels.. any suggestions will be welcome also. cheers.
I vaguely recall that Daly Heads may have made WOTD but jeez it would have been a long time ago (could be extremely hard to find too; our WOTD are not saved with location metadata). Can't think who the photog would have been either - maybe Che Chorley?
Planning to do a road trip to SA and WA next winter. Will be returning to Dalys Head for the 1st time in 20 years. Can you still park/ camp with your dog there (will also be heading to Streaky and Cactus and the same question applies). Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, Dave.
I have a coupla old black and white shots of Dalys from the 80s at a reasonable size. How do u upload pics on here?
Hey Peoples,
As some of you are probably aware the Formby Bay Environment Action Group(FBEAG) is seeking National Surfing Reserve status for the Daly Head region. We believe if we are sucessful with our nomination it will raise awareness with our local council of the importance of protecting our precious coastal environments.
some of you guys probably attended our last party/ gathering "50 years down the line",it was a great night.
What we are looking for now is some more stories, past or present of adventures had in the area. Any feedback, suggestions, positive or negative would be appreciated.
Cheers