Forecast: 2025 Gold Coast Pro
Gold Coast Pro
May 3rd - 13th, 2025
This Saturday we’ll see the Gold Coast Pro return to Snapper Rocks...I mean Burleigh Heads.
With the WSL's return to Snapper Rocks announced and anticipated, Tropical Cyclone Alfred threw a spanner in the works, rearranging the perfect right pointbreak into a fragmented mess of a wave. A huge sand slug was dumped north of the point, creating a very poor right hander and slightly better left, while Snapper itself was stripped of sand, better for fishing than surfing.
The misshapen sand is slowly sorting itself out, however the WSL took early action knowing it wouldn't be ready in time. Thus the decision was made to move the event to Burleigh Heads and the quality of the bank there isn’t too shabby at all.
Burleigh sparkling (WSL)
So what’s in store for the coming event window?
Plenty of easterly trade-swell - possibly even too much at times - with multiple opportunities to run the event.
The source of the easterly swell will be a strong high pressure system filling out into the Tasman Sea later this week and into the weekend as a couple of low pressure troughs squeeze its north-eastern flank.
An initial surge of strong south-east winds through the Tasman Sea on Thursday and Friday should generate a good pulse of 3 foot mid-period south-east swell for Saturday, the opening day of the waiting period. Conditions will be clean through the early-to-mid morning with a gusty S/SW breeze, deteriorating from later morning as winds shift more south-east and strengthens.
Sand aside, the mid-morning wind switch will be the biggest difference between Snapper and Burleigh, with Snapper through to Rainbow better angled to handle a south-east wind than Burleigh with its more exposed headland.
As the weekend progresses, the strong high is due to continue moving slowly east, while tropical instability to the north will squeeze pressure gradients, setting up a broad, elongated fetch of easterly trade-winds that will slowly retract to the east along with the movement of the high.
This is a great setup to provide consistent, moderate levels of easterly trade-swell to the Queensland coast, with initially weak, low period energy on Sunday, again in the 3 foot range, expected to slowly strengthen and increase in size through next week.
At this stage we should see the trade-swell reaching 4-5 feet through early-mid next week and persisting at this size for the entire event window, though there’s the possibility for further intensifications which would boost the swell into the large size range. We'll keep a close eye on those developments so check back in.
As the high and easterly trade-fetch slowly retract to the east, local winds will back off in strength and become more favourable, though still following the general pattern of morning south-southwesterlies ahead of fresh afternoon south-easterlies.
The main question is, will the organisers get a quick start and run in smaller cross-shore surf this weekend, or focus on the better quality easterly trade-swell next week onwards? We're tipping more towards the latter than the former.
We’ll provide running updates on any upgrades in next week’s swell in the commentary below.
Comments
Thanks for the forecast, it really feels like this is the first time we’ve had a relatively promising one in about two years
There will be waves, it’ll be consistent and I think that’s really all you need.
I do think the short period and fragmented nature of Burleigh may not necessarily lend itself to the traditional point surfers. I’m sure the air boys will be well in the mix.
Place looks quite deep on the high also. Beachie and cove seem to be able to handle it. Morning lows should coincide nicely with the lighter winds.
Should be an enjoyable one. Nice to see different locales. The Woz will dine out on drone shots of the headland and talle. Such a beautiful place. Thanks Craig.
Should see the performance bar lifted for this comp, Very promising by the sounds of it.
Ethan and LOB to shine.
Kanoa will do well too.
I guessed this wave was at Burleigh.
?si=lyerLt3UjKSQMDGvhttps://juliettejade.bandcamp.com/track/dawn
Pick the winning forecast for 12 May 2025?
Be interesting to see how it pans out. The forecast is pretty much ideal if it were any other time and snapper had a decent sand set-up. Not sold on the state of burleighs banks, they look pretty horrible to me. Disjointed but long if that's a thing. Think it would prefer more SE angle on the swell to run along the bank more. E swell looks a bit straight onto the bank. Looking more like beachies style waves than point break. As mentioned elsewhere Burleigh has been a shadow of its former self for years now. Old school Burleigh would've been pumping on this
forecast.
Forecast would have been incredible if snapper had banks. Unfortunately the banks at Burleigh are only just passable right now. Still there will be fun waves and the setup is HUGE. Going to be a fun weekend and i can't wait. Burleigh is a great place for a surf comp.
Yeah I love Burleigh as a venue. I'm not into cricket, but it seems to have that same vibe as The Hill at Adelaide Oval.
don't have to enjoy cricket to enjoy The Hill ; )
(whatta buzz, looking promising, cheers craig)
The crowds have arrived already. Italo apparently out yesterday early. I saw Kanoa this morning. Small fun waves around. Should be a lot of fun to watch.
Can't wait will be up there next week.
@Roadkill if staying at Cooly easier to just get a bus rather than drive and find parking?
Yeah Newdoggy, get a bus 100% Parking will be torture.
100% bus. Parking is atrocious now. Lots of construction for the light rail has removed a lot of parking spots. Lots of diversions and lanes taken out is the current situation.
I got down this morning just before 5 and there was only a couple of parks left.
Also at $0.50 each way its a bargain!
I asked in the Bells thread, where are you going to go to find a better competition venue than Bells Beach?
Burleigh Heads - it was hectic fun back in The Stubbies days on the hill. The wave broke along the rocks then though..
Send it Huey
With Margret Dupre sitting on said rocks .
So many stories Supa…
Wow low numbers on the swell 8 seconds? I have never seen a swell in VIC with those numbers, so are you reliant on deep water to the bank to give it a bit of oomph?
The East Coast loves these mid-period swells, less continental shelf, loss of energy to bottom friction etc.
What happens if you get a 17 sec monster.
It closes out the entire state.
Ha, ha I am not sure if you pulling my leg or not however double the grunt would probably do it.
Different game here Memla.
Swell direction and bathymetry far more important than swell periods.
We actually get quite a few glancing long period S swells but they rarely show much up here.
A straight E/SE to E/NE swell in the 8-10 second band slamming onto shallow sand bars will be far more impactful than a 17 second S swell.
We love an 8-10 sec around here.
Any swell direction with an E in it and a good bank = good surf
easter long weekend was a long period up on the sunnycoast, some people like them. i prefer the short period swells more peaks and more waves at my local. the long period made my local a right hand point break, way less waves coming through and when they did was pretty much one peak. easter crowd was mental too
whenever i hear "burleigh heads" all i can think of is butt implants, lip collagen injection, botox, carpark drama in that order. and question myself is this the origional birthplace of the bogan.
Bogans can’t afford butt implants and
Collagen ,
Botox injections,
They need money for new mags .
Bogan NSW near Parkes.
Beenleigh Heads. !
I think you're getting mixed up with Surfers Paradise. That place is a world away from Burls and there's an invisible Trump Wall called Hooker Boulevard that southerners rarely go north of.
tell me more smorto
Burley Crew salute #1 swellnet for stoking our Gold Coast
Complimentary [Locals Only] Welcome Back Pack...enjoy The Point.
https://www.instagram.com/redbullsurfing/reel/DITiDwoNbJa/?locale=
Robbo on a roll at the moment and will be hard to stop with any punch and energy in the forecast.
Sentimental fave Lobby, hope he finally cracks his first win.
Izz gonna be hard to stop also on a roll.
LOB certainly a CT level surfer. Been unlucky and hope he makes the cut.
In other news today, whilst most pros trying to click in their HPSB in undersized waves, the current female world champ was styling on a twinnie. How good is that?
@TBB, while enjoying the comp froth, did you check out the Wedge bodysurf comp on the weekend?
https://coolumwedge.com/index.html
Agree with sentiments above- would be an all-time f/cast for Snapper with what looks more like a good late Summer synoptic pattern.
Bank at Burleigh look serviceable but it will be more like a beachie than classic point surf- we may even see some lefts scored.
It won't handle too much size so hopefully there should be plenty of days in that sweet spot 3-4 (occ.5) ft range.
Clean slate as far as local knowledge or form goes.
My gut says Sammy Pupo- he will love those random, beachiue style waves with one or two big turns and a close-out air/hit.
Looks like the squeeze has backed off a little and will sit in that sweet spot of 3-5ft. Fun.
My tip is LOB at home with a huge vocal backing rivalling a Rio crowd is gonna finally get acknowledged by the judges.
It’s time.
bloody qld letting us down once again.. move it to lennox and be done with it
impossible to see the Brazil crew not doing well in this event.
would love to see LOB punch his way through to the finals.
either way, looking forward to watching a bit of Burleigh WSL style.
Does anyone know who’s in the trials?
decent size and offshore winds is all we need, gunna be a fun comp
Is Medina in this one? He’s in the fantasy team list.
he was also in Bells fantasy teams. It was updated after the trials.
Not sure Don, heat draw not up yet.