Pumping surf on the Points this weekend with more options next week as swell slowly settles
South-east Queensland and Northern NSW Surf Forecast by Steve Shearer (issued Fri Dec31)
SEQLD/NENSW Forecast Summary (tl;dr)
- Size ramping up Sat as tropical low tracks south, waves on the Points with E/SE winds, favouring SEQLD
- Swell pumping Sun across the region with SE winds, swell direction beginning to tend more E/SE on Sunny Coast
- Strong, large, longer period E'ly pulse favouring NENSW for most size Mon, with lighter winds potentially opening up beachbreak options on Sunny Coast. Size diminishing rapidly in SEQLD
- Rebuilding in SEQLD of fun sized E/SE-SE swell Tues, persisting at fun levels Wed/Thurs with light winds
- Stronger E/SE swell NENSW Tues, persisting at fun levels Wed/Thurs with improving winds
- Fun leftovers likely Fri with NE winds
- Plenty more surf into the New Year, stay tuned for revision
Recap
Conditions have been a bit ordinary with a constant SE to E flow, although pockets of lighter winds have been observed on the Mid-North Coast. Surf size has hovered around the 2-3ft range since Wed, offering a few small options on the Points and plenty of scrappy beach break for those not averse to onshore winds. A tropical hybrid low is now tracking SE down the Coral Sea, roughly parallel to the QLD coast. This will bring plenty of solid swell to the f/cast region over the short term. Details below.
Overhead but raggedy on the Outer Points
Inner Points just starting to show
This weekend (Jan 1 - 2)
OK, here we go. By New Years day the tropical low will be off the Capricorn Coast. It’s the very expansive wind field supporting the southwards moving low which will generate swell for Sat. This fetch of mostly strong winds extends from New Caledonia across the Coral Sea and down to sub-tropical latitudes. This will see surf from the E-E/NE build during Sat under a prevailing SE/ESE flow , more E’ly south of Byron.
Expect size to build from the 3-4ft range up into the 4-5ft range, with size constrained by surfable locations being confined to more protected Points. Larger 6ft surf on the open beaches will be torn apart by onshore winds.
Sunday is a different story. Overnight Sat the system intensifies and tracks southwards, aiming E’ly gales and severe gales straight back at the coast as it transitions into a “sub-tropical gale force” low. This will generate surf of a much greater magnitude than Sat, with swell direction being of prime importance, especially for sheltered N facing Points.
Expect a morning peak in size on the Sunny Coast Points in the 4-6ft range, easing during the day as swell direction tends slightly away from E/NE to due E. Less sheltered Points will hold size, with bigger 5-6ft surf expected, although strong S’ly winds will constrain surfing options.
The Gold Coast will see a more substantial increase in size during the morning. Sets are likely to build into the 6-8ft range at exposed breaks, wth some bigger bombs possible. Size will diminish at more sheltered, inner Points but they will still have plenty of size. SE winds will tend fresh S’ly as the system tracks southwards.
Very strong E swell will also build in NENSW into the 6-8ft range, with some bigger sets at the more exposed Pointbreaks and winds tending SE, then fresh S’ly. South of Coffs will see a more E/SE flow, with a later increase in size.
Surf will be solid Sun, with tons of water moving around so get your kicks at a spot where you won’t need to be rescued.
Next week (Jan3 onwards)
Monday will be a game of two halves across the region. Decreasing surf in SEQLD as the low tracks south away from the swell window and super solid surf in NENSW. This will be primarily generated by a SW retrograde of the low Sun, along with a possible intensification with storm force winds possible.
This fetch is aimed directly at NENSW. Thus it’s reasonable to expect this area to have the biggest swells from this system on the whole NSW Coast.
How big?
Based on analogues it’s likely models are under-calling the swell and solid 8-10ft sets are on the menu across NENSW. Only a few spots will be rideable at that size, especially under fresh SW/S winds. Paddle out with extreme caution at these breaks. Size will gradually roll off through the a’noon in NENSW, with the easing trend delayed in the south.
SEQLD will be a much more subdued 4-5ft early, declining during the day. Sunshine Coast will be smaller, likely tiny/flat on the Points with some 3ft sets on the beachbreaks.
The swell is expected to have a long tail, as the low stalls off the NSW North Coast, and slowly dissipates.
There’s still some model variance surrounding the movement and position of the stalled low which suggests revision on Mon.
Broad based estimates suggest a very slowly easing signal in NENSW through Tues and Wed and possibly Thurs with E/SE swell from the stalled low supplying 3-5ft surf, slowly easing down into the 3-4ft range towards the latter part of Thurs. Winds will depend on the position of the low but fresh SW to S winds Tues should ease back leading to a lighter SW morning flow Wed/Thurs, before winds tend SE to E during the day. Looks like plenty of excellent surfing days there, sandbanks permitting.
SEQLD will see smaller surf in the 3ft range, rebuilding from the SE/ESE Tues after bottoming out Mon a’noon. Lighter winds promise great morning conditions with some small surf on the Points in the a’noon as winds tend SE.
Into the end of next week and there’ll be some leftovers from the E to E/SE on the menu, likely getting into the 2-3ft range, with NE winds expected to develop.
Small waves are expected for next weekend.
Longer term and GFS suggests a rebuilding tradewind flow through the Coral Sea south from New Caledonia, with another tropical low developing.
That suggests more surf from the E into the medium term.
Stay tuned for an update on Mon, have a great NYE and seeya next year!
Comments
Hope it doesn't drift past too close and we get rain , wind and storm surf
Welcome TC Seth! That's a nice lookin' recurve.
Congratulations, what a handsome young man
God, what a cheeky devil just after JTWC downgraded chances of forming a TC.
"Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert WTPS21 Cancelled"
Haha cheeky AF!
is it a coincidence that two cams that would show this swell building have now gone offline, or is it Huey trying some crowd control?????
have to say the place to the north that friends told me was quite good, has not really impressed me. watched it a bit and there are way better waves up that way than what this spot has shown. but as we all know, on any given day!
Tech issue, rebooted should be back soon.
Is there issues with the app? the cams never seem to load anymore.
I'm fairly certain a bird did a shit on the Kirra big groyne cam at about 9.17am as i was watching it. For all you avian enthusiasts out there.
I have to take back what I said earlier, actually viewed some pretty decent waves throughout the day at the northern point. locals must be stoked to start the new year this way.
Does it turning into a cyclone change swell predictions ?
not at this stage.
but we'll watch and update as needed.
Is every cam down/overloaded with gawkers trying to track the swell on the way down the coast?
Back.
Byron?
Appreciate your work and knowledge Steve, happy new year to you and yours and all the swellnet mob.
Happy new year to the swnet team and to all regular and less regular contributors too,
Craig is it fair to say, that of all the surfing coasts in the coral sea& (sw pacific basin??) SE qld/nnsw trumps everywhere in systems like these? Places like Port Moresby& the Solomons would just be crap,yeh?
SEQ for the win on the weekend. Winds south of Yamba look garbage till Monday. Maybe some early morning action we’ll see
Yip winds are potentially going to fuk us over this swell event.
Overhyped
Totally overhyped but understandably so since there hasn't been waves in some areas in months!
Wave starved surfers ready to feast upon this swell like a bunch of frothing sailers in a whore house.
Totally Overhyped....by Whom ?
Not really over-hyped, perhaps could be more clear for some by saying something like, a handful of overcrowded pumping points with hunderds of k's of shithouse beachys in between.
Not sure it has to be made more clear?
The only hype is usually inside people’s minds when they see a low enter the coral sea. Rarely does reality match the build up. We all know it will be crowded, we all know the price of admission to go surf the points.
Enjoy
Hows the Noosa cam this morning! Not much there and no crowd, ha!
Sands shit.
There was fuck all out yesterday arvo/ evening.
Sand looks pretty good to me! Maybe the tide got to it when you looked
Too much east in the wind this morning. Central sunny coast is shithouse.
Models showing larger surf now for GC all the way until Wednesday.
Take note of swell direction if you’re surfing the GC. Monday will likely be half the size of Sunday at the points.
Few out. Seen a couple barrels made already.
cleanish 3-4ft around here this morning.
Looks like TC Seth becomes a sub-tropical hybrid low Sun and then goes into a very weak steering environment.
Essentially meandering wherever it wants to go.
Very low confidence in track = large error bars for surf predictions.
stay tuned.
Yeah seems like each update from bom has it coming closer and closer to hitting the mainland.
Watching the Agnes cam, seems quite a high quality of surfing.
Locals or southern tourist influx?
Traffic into Noosa like Legian street
selfishly relieved to see my fave point not actually pumping yet seeing as i cant go ...
Surf better than forecast this morning in my region. Wind light and variable until I got out at midday thanks to the low cloud and occasional drizzle. Can’t complain.
Hold!
Kaos is hard to predict.
But,Noosa Kaos
Coolanghetto Kaos
The MTB trails were empty and slick...thanks !!
Large Aggressive Bully
https://www.dorsalwatch.com/report/index.html?id=27711
Odds of that being a gee up?
Yes
unfortunately very high !
What are the chances
Was no JetSki at national at the time and before the time of the report, so definBS report,
Noosa's a zoo, but First Point is pretty hollow.
Just got out from noosa.... Busy but the most fun i had in a month!!!! Getting better as i left, get amongst it yewww!!!
Def come up in size.
Yep best Noosa surf I’ve prob had, hugged the inside and got half a dozen leg burners in 3 laps
Looks like a constant conveyor belt of waves.
Wind swung to the South on the GC. Will be some fun late arvo waves today with longer period lines beginning to show.
Tomorrow will be a different beast
Finally linked a tube from enos through boiling pot, best cyclone Noosa surf I’ve had. Traffic is the worst I’ve seen though
2 good laps 1 shit one at Noosa. Constant waves minimal sweep for its size. Good as.
yeah, looks to be just thickening up now.
you get some Burleigh?
Snapper through greeny with the onshore flow. Was ok, not great though.
https://zoom.earth/storms/seth-2022/
Latest model runs keep ex-TC Seth off the Northern NSW/SE Qld coast until next Thurs!
How's that retrograding sub tropical low E/NE of New Zealand?
And another cyclone near Fiji next weekend.
Welcome to La Nina, East Coast style.
Yep, I surfed earlier and was planning on surfing again this afternoon, however looking at the updated run it’s going to be a marathon not a sprint and decided to rest.
Always is with these setups, might meet you at the end of the marathon for a sprint home, ha!
Looking at the cams there is still a reverse sweep at snapper (been like that all day) but down Kirra the sweep is charging to the north.
How is that possible?
swell direction still slightly N of E.
Yep freeride consistency was a major factor in fun level
Was constant
Traffic and parking nuts took 30 mins to find a park and had to gamble on a 30 minute limit slot in the village
Also was 100metres from having to aid in assisting someone In trouble - couple of other blokes were closer - swimmer waving for help with friend on the beach also a waving for help down near the groyne, he managed to get in without too much assistance before really needing a rescue
Hope the swell doesn’t take lives but we all know it’s high risk with such a consistent large size, medium period swell in the guts of holiday season
Keep safe all and keep an eye out for others
Was an ocean swimmer at boiling pot that almost got cleaned up. Don’t understand why someone would swim through the lineup at Noosa in a cyclone with their head down the whole time
Seth making a West track tonight, possible land crossing? Any confirmation on this..
Read what Ben wrote above
Stoked to hear the crew are scoring even with the crowds. Froth.
Highly uncertain track as it meanders, but it looks unlikely to cross.
Unlikely, not certain.
Wind dropped right out here this arvo, light and variable.
Fun glassy/lumpy 4footers.
Keep your eyes peeled, mate had a 3m GW swim under him just north of Coffs this eve.
Watched Kirra cam for a while this arvo. Sideshore and not perfect, but uncrowded and looked fun as shit!
Surf it. Was so so, kinda sectiony, a bit full. Sweep was hard work.
surfed nationals all afternoon after the turn of the tide.
Of course it was stupidly crowded. A couple ok waves out behind the pot and some longboard peelers down johnsons/little cove. Standard summer mush. Vibe in the water wasn't too bad.
Was just a windchop today, not a proper swell.
The road into and out of nationals carpark was basically gridlocked all day. On the way out it took 1hr to get from nationals carpark to the roundabout on Hastings... Yay Noosa...!
Let's see what tomorrow brings...hopefully some actual swell...
So long as everyone enjoys themselves and keeps to those crowded well known points I’m happy. Hope everyone gets their fill.
If today is anything to go off.... Noosa is the place to be tomorrow. 5 points to choose from.... Get amongst it people!!!
Imagine missing out.... FOMO.....No insta story.... No bragging rights.
Just do it.
guess you rang all your mates too lol
Have heard heaps of contrasting testimonials about today at Alex Bluff… there was a consensus RE the parking situation though; probably better to walk in from the main strip.
I’m tempted to get the free bus in
Probably a decent bet if you’re heading at low-tide o’clock
Yep, agree only 5 spots along the whole east coast to surf and no one should stray from them.
Yeah Ben, we’d be frothing over that low near NZ if we didn’t have closer froth!
Alex/maroochy stretch was pus when i checked(lunchtime)... Kept on rolling to noosa and found the pot of gold!!
Busy but good vibes all round.... Even got a front row carpark!!!!
Filled my boots and ready to do it all again tomorrow. I think people talk up the noosa shitshow in the hope that noone goes.... Even fake shark reports....
Is tomorrow on sunny coast meant to be bigger or same as today ?
Swell is swinging round from the south and will go straight past the sunny coast. The pocket at Sunshine beach is the only real option.
Swell is booming in by the sounds of it.
Yep has muscled up on the SC beachies - northern end are at 6ft+ at least pouring in out of the ENE even with the big high tide
Empty one at First Point a few seconds ago. Don't be fooled though, the lineup is well populated.
Kirra looking mighty fine.
Fark….this morning it’s popped a couple of steroids and is muscling through. Favourite beach has come to life. First time in a couple of years.
Lot bigger out the front today than yesterday. (Northern SC open beach).
Looks like it will peak tonight. Gonna be pretty big goldy later this arvo.
Could be some good surfcam viewing coming up
New 2022 Swellnet feature, a teleporter and a time machine (for Noosa).
Not too much to ask is it??
https://www.facebook.com/groups/265935780170755/permalink/46659241935052...
Yew Noosa!!!!!
I've never understood these FB pages which tell everyone what the surf is like. What's the point of putting more people onto it?
Reckon this video more of a put off... Traffic is Nuts....
Was definitely bigger at Noosa this am. But fuck me, went down through nationals on my way in and never been so scared surfing. Almost got ran over 3 times in the one lap and loads of people had no idea what they were doing
I am glad I surfed just after high. The current wasn't too bad at all, and still pumping, but that sweep kicked in hard later. I hate surfing with a sweep
Keeps the no clue kooks away more sweep the better I reckon
Surfed Burleigh, bigger than yesterday but still a bit underwhelming.
Some bigger sets are slowly starting to show, looking forward to this afternoon a bit further south
Off the cove and sharkies had some bombs early before the high tide.. Polsy got a good one..(as always)….
Wobbly as f.. on the inside though..
Ex TC Seth slowed overnight and is dawdling, might push back timings of both swell decay on Sunny Coast Points and swell peaks further south.
Forgot to mention the massive new moon king tides on Fri.
solid 5-6ft sets here with a ton of water moving around.
Dont think there will be a lot of Paddling in going down by about 2pm
Gentleman Fuel up your Ski's.
That escalated quickly as the arse fell out on the massively dropping tide.
From epic beltable walls to hair raising sand dredgers and there’s still hours of out going left.
Got a couple at the pass - first time I have surfed it at size. Fun but not world class - good for mid lengths to get through fat sections. Maybe the tide was too high ? Around the wreck there were a couple which looked fun
Pass is a small wave spot.
soon as it gets big the sandbar can't hold it and it starts breaking on the bait reefs.
Swell is really starting to muscle up now. Tides too low at Kirra, still some nice walls through greeny.
Red lining..
Well its feckin murder watching it all on the cams from down in Vic where it's 1/2-1ft and onshore.
Tide still running out for another Hour
Spot X cam showing the Wild Sweep
Reckon Seth fetch has dropped right into the window ....jeez the late arvo gonna look gd..
some absolute nugs on the snapper cam
Man, isn't there! Slabs!! All going unridden!! (except by me and the fellow couchsurfers mindsurfing them!!!!). Looks impossible to get to them with that sweep.
Seen a booger get a couple good ones. Looks like very hard work though.
Need to be out there on a proper gun, Wayne Deane style.
None of the paddlers getting into them.
I’m more talking about the little marley section just out of view on swellnet cam though.
thought the same LD..... get to cover way more ground against the current....plus seen so many crew getting held up in the lip, and also not making sections. A gun would counter all of that. So many waves going to waste out there.
Ready to go.......
https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/burleigh-heads/surfing/webster-desert-st...
Couldnt agree more. The guys on 8'0s were gliding into bombs at the 2nd cousin point break i was at. What's the deal with duckdiving these boards though??? Or do you just paddle around as they paddle that easy. Seriously considering a 7'8 (Dylan, GR, Webster, Twig, MC) of sorts that is 50% for sweep but can still turn/carve. A lifetime board which will be great for fiji/indo too
6'8" to 7'8" for an all rounder i reckon. Depending on ability, exact type of wave etc. First time i tried to duckdive my 8'9" i broke my nose. Never did that again!! Can't duckdive them....you can slip under waves but no good trying to sink them. Hope you got a few at the second rate joint! Was probably better than than most of the other spots today if the crowd wasn't too hectic.
I've got a Webster 7'6" Outlaw, highly recommended.
Loves the bigger stuff and turns way better than it ought to.
Rode 7'0 bought at a garage sale for 50 bucks... Look like an idiot carrying it around but got waves on it... Duck dived it side on a bit which worked
There is a ski doing step offs at snapper......now I've seen it all!!!! (shaking head in mixture of disbelief and disgust)
3-4 I have seen
Step-off got 4 waves in 20min including dropping in on guy on his backhand on a mackin set with the insider getting smashed.
Plenty of paddlers out there.
4 skis in frame of the Snapper camera at the same time just moments ago.
5 guys in frame paddling.
Mental imagery at Noosa.
Ridiculous day of surfing. I can’t believe we’ve got more coming. Touch wood.
Pretty freaking cooked though.
Just about every Pass and Step off the Ski boys are in Breach.
https://www.swellnet.com/surfcams/snapper-rocks/replays#/2022-01-02/1690507
At 7:05 a step off pulls off a section, then goes under a couple, then gets absolutely pumped by a nasty one on the head. Nearly a 2 wave hold down.
Looks like he got to the ski ok.
Always a crack up watching the lemmings lining up for the rock off, one goes then the tribe follows!
Looked like they nearly got caught inside between the rocks and a bomb breaking at outside Snapper. That could have got ugly. I'm guessing they've parked at a very discreet boatramp up the Tweed somewhere after all the fines dished out last time.
Speeding - $250 fine for each jump off $250 for each pick up
One driver has reached 10 K in fines already..
hopefully someone has the recorded rego and is reporting it
How long since a cyclone how tracked (and maintained ‘cyclone’ status) this far south?
Looks like it's about to go up another notch in power and size. Those bigger bombs are pretty consistent now.
Still mental.
Looks that fun!
Apologies to Steve and Craig - you were spot on, it stayed southerly on the Sapphire Coast all weekend. Got some sick ones but unfortunately there was tragedy today. At just after 1000am a 51 year old fella collapsed on the beach having just got out of the water and then again at his car at Arrawarra Headland. Despite a cardiac nurse and visiting surgeon from Gosford doing CPR for 45 mins till the ambos came, and all the absolute fucking legends that tried to help, he didn't make it. I understand he was down from Bris on holidays. Absolutely shattered and I can't imagine what his family and mates are feeling right now. Not suggesting for a second he was out of his depth, I don't know him, but please everyone be careful out there. This is a big, super pushy swell and we all need to live to surf another day.
Heavy Surfalot. Would have been pretty traumatic to witness it all happening.
Sending good vibes to ya. Horrible for the family and his friends,.
Take care of yourself.
That's very sad. You never know what's going to happen by the end of the day when you get up in the morning.
Agree TB, just mental.
Folks almost making it all the way from Johnsons to the beach.
Noosa is harder than it looks.
Had a nice surf "somewhere else" early and then Noosa through middle of day and afternoon.
The waves at Noosa were pretty ok today, I admit, better than yesterday, but you're surfing mostly head-high to barely overhead waves in a cyclone swell, with a very strong sweep and 100s of other people. The traffic and sheer volume of people in such a tiny corner of the world...well I've never seen anything like it in 45 yrs on the Coast...ever...
The images above and watching the cams make it look so enticing, but the reality is very different. I don't think anyone is missing out on anything by not being there. The wave-to-hour ratio is very low, the amount of paddling required is very high, you're waging war on every other human out there just to get a wave, and the frustration clearly shows on people's faces.
Seems like the reality is that most people are completely crushed and their spirit is broken by a day out at Nationals. Most people appear much happier on the beach than out in the surf, and relieved when they finally give up and decide to go in.
But hey it's a very insta-friendly scene, lots of beautiful and trendy people all smiling, sun is out, boobs and g-strings everywhere, beautiful little waves peeling down the point, all good if that's your thing.
Quite content not being a part of the Noosa circus. No feelings of disappointment or FOMO.
363 days of the year to go!
Plenty of uncrowded opportunities to come.
had a couple of mates surf there yesterday ,both fairly decent surfers not rippers, one got 10 waves in 6 hrs. including run arounds , he was fairly happy ,
I couldn't bring myself to do it , not sure if i missed out or not !! 1 wave that linked up without a drop in may tell a different story I guess .
Beautifully articulated gsco.
Well said.
Stay safe people.... Sad news.
Very true today gsco, after getting half a dozen yesterday i got two this morning (car parks full by 430am) and none during a lap at lunch. Consistency down and the period drew out a bit making it easier to hold your spot in the toe off zone
Looks smaller this arv on the open beachies
Anyone know what the two ambos were attending at lunch? Hope all okay.
The low hanging around into Tuesday morning by the looks @experts?
Just got a text from my brother who got out of the water at Kirra. Said it was pumping.
Ive been watching the big groyne cam for last halfa. Looked like a fair few smokers coming through. Didn’t seem like much of crowd either. Nearly dark?
Surfed Kirra for 4 hours this arvo. Was some crazy ones
Just got home after 6 days up and down the coast, surfed a few of the most crowded waves in the world, in the busiest time of the year and had an inordinate amount of fun, good vibes and epic waves. Had one particular half hour moment sitting on the end wide section of a certain ridiculously crowded spot, miraculously by myself and picked off about 5 back to back sets. Watched guys lose their shit, others get the wave of their life, had to rescue one guy who ended up getting banged up on the rocks and I creased my favourite step up. Helluva road trip!
Epic!! Always a fan of your froth crg. Just goes to show what perspective can do. Stoked for ya! yew!
Aaaaah noosa!!!!!
Id sit out there all day(and do) for just one of those waves!!! Its all worth the wait when u jag one and throw spray in the face of the kooks!!! I can tell u today was even better than it looked on the cams.....
Bring on more of the same for tomorrow. Yewwww!!!!!!
4m @14sec smoking lines this morning
Wow..
Mental buoy data from Tweed. Wouldn't be surprised if there are 15ft sets somewhere.
Too big..
Lots of skis at kirra
Got a few on the boog at kirra on dawn then nearly got ran over three times by all the skis so just went in .
Stay safe if anyone's paddling out there its a circus out there now
Great effort being out there, looks raw, big and wild! And then add in the skis, hectic.
Yeah was wild out there , the scary thing about the skis was alot of the drivers didn't seem too confident, panicking when the bombs came etc
watching it on the cams, damn but those skis are gronks. Totally embarasssing. Must be awful when you go in from a big day towing shoulders and getting in the way and even your dog won't look you in the eye. Pathetic.
Skis inside a bomb.
Stacked lines.
Meanwhile... at Noosa...
Shoulda been here yesty...
Amazing what a change in swell angle does to that place. Open beaches on the sc are bigger than yesterday
That’s unbelievable….Be some frustrated punters there this morning!
Still big beautiful sets going through Noosa, but, as per the picture impressive lulls compared to previous days...
I have never seen BP break as big and powerful as yesterday. How often does that happen on average with good winds? Are we talking once a decade?
Hectic situation with skis at Kirra. Someone's gonna get mowed down today.
Tappa telling his followers skis only.
:facepalm
It’s skis only when there’s no one paddling. Pretty obvious.
Poor form, seeing lots of paddlers getting some screamers.
Commentary more along the lines of.
“Guys on skis, watch out for paddlers. Stick to banks that no one is paddling as it’s illegal to do step offs and tows that close to paddlers” would be a bit more appropriate.
hopefully you all got on his insta page and commented appropriately then ... tappa teece is such a cock in the surf
Just counted 12 skis
Bit of paddle action on the Big Groyne Cam.
Excuse my Point Break IQ but if it's shacking now on a king high, is it gonna be smokeahontus on the low?
Better with more water this swell.
Mid to high.
Low tide is all wash throughs.
Beauty. Makes sense to me. Thanking you!
Strangely empty from Alex to Maroochy.
I mean, it was only five days ago, where I counted ninety heads in the water for one a half foot windswell....
Ha!
How’s some of those screenshots. Mental.
It’s fkd how the situation is at Kirra these days as soon as it’s above 6 foot. Skis should be banned from there full stop.
If you can’t paddle in to them, and don’t have the right board to help paddle against the sweep then bad luck, shouldn’t be out there.
A nice chunky 7’0 would be epic out there today
Like I said, as soon as it's overhead on the SC everyone disappears. To be fair though it's a fucked paddle out if timed wrong.
lol, that's actually pretty good cockhead moments by sprout and ben there.
it's like 4-5ft along there. Reason not many people are out there is it's largely closing out and not makeable. I sat out there for a while until I realised I was just wasting time and not proving anything to anyone.
But you go fellas, keep picking out screengrabs that make it look pumping and then criticise other people for not being out there, while you sit on your computers watching the cams...yay...
nice one...
Eh? Thought you might have read the underlying irony in my post. Of course there's a reason why no-one's out, it's an impossible paddle.
Not having a go at SC surfers mate, I'm one of them, just stating the obvious. The bigger it gets, the less people go out and around here that scales very noticeably from solid 3ft upwards.
Just checked kirra from the iron eagle.. 35 skis, and 100 odd people in the water. Saw two people get run over and one Darren handley over the falls on a ski in 20 mins.. couple of bombs though from the big groyne.. short waves definetly no classic kirra..
There’s a reason no one’s out @ Alex. They’re all over the hill at Mooloolaba. Circus.
It’s a frustrating situation for the paddler who is an above average surfer or fitness.
Fair enough it’s huge and ski assist would really help……but……..imagine the alternate no-ski scenario.
Hellman paddlers would be able to round the corner at Kirra after a lengthy paddle / drift down to only a handful of other surfers (read:competitors) and have a legitimately even chance of catching what would likely be one of the waves of their lives. I say a handful as not even Kyle Charmers is holding his spot for more than 10 mins at that glorious ~ 50 m zone from the big groin - just north.
Instead you arrive at the big groin and not only have to content with the frightening, freight training, slabbed out waves themselves but the fresh as a daisy, shit grinned pros (and hangeroners) and cashed up Goldy bogans who would think nothing of selling their grandma for the next set wave.
Just my $0.02
yeah the fact is they show no etiquette or consideration, simply endanger and aggravate others. Step off to roll in on the shoulder is just not the kirra way, and for the most part the guys and drivers doing it are kooks. Hopefully it hits a critical mass and they fuckin stop it all together. Today could be that. its a joke.
Yep well said solitude, Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. I always thought the beauty of all those point breaks was the very fact you could still negotiate the lineup when it's big by having paddle access. The ski's have miles of miles of empty big beachies to go be hero's in. I understand Kirra is no beachie, but stiff shit. If there's paddlers its a no go.
I agree with Goofyfoot above. Ban them. Who will miss them??
towing is a totally different form of surfing. Its the greed and disregard for others that makes it a problem. Taking the best waves regularly from paddlers is fucked. Paddlers earn the right to have a crack and in some situations skis put paddlers at risk. Ski's are fucking up great lineups regularly. If its a free for all it's a shambles.
Why don't they tow pipe regularly when crew are paddling? Because they wouldn't get away with it. Tow the big slabs or paddle like the rest of us. Cunts
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How's the view from our new Superbank cam?
https://www.swellnet.com/surfcams/superbank
QLD the hypocritical state
That looks like 5-6ft heaven through greenmount. There must be a lot of lawns getting mowed on the gold coast today, cars washed. Should start a page up for the best excuses.
https://m.
Bwahaha......I did hear there was a big yoga retreat on today.....
Yeah nah, i was down there all morning from dawn. Notice no one at greenmount? way to much water moving, hard to get onto, wind blowing back up the face. Big groyne was the spot.
There’ll probably be another 500 comments on ski’s during this swell. Just like the swell before, and the one before, and the one before...
Sadly, nothing will change until someone gets seriously injured or killed.
Yup
people need to stop commenting then and call the water police. ive done it before, and they come up with excuses, but if enough people call them and keep reporting the same names, eventually they might go hand out some fines and impound some skis
Tweed has peaked, gonna be cooking with the dropping tide and settling swell.
Kirra looking pretty timeless. Nothing like the slop here today! enjoy all you who are getting amongst it.
Difficult to size the Tweed, but out of control 10-12ft+ is a good start.
Ben do you think the position of the low will have all day offshores on the SC today? Looks to be stronger SW than a land breeze today
Yeah looks to be the case. May be at more risk of a general S'ly flow later Tues and Wed as the low edges closer, but we could see light winds by Thurs? Very difficult to be certain though.
Sth wind from Midday
Heavy water at The Pass, not many takers. How's the longboarder air-dropping in the last shot!
Can you have “heavy water” when it’s 3 foot?
Seriously don't think it looks heavy? I mean, it's no West Oz slab, but it looks super tricky out there. And a little bigger than 3ft too!
Really hard to make it to the bottom of them when the wind is blowing that hard up the face.
Must be the cracks in my phone screen deceiving me… ;-)
4ft…. Tops
Yeah def not huge, but well overhead, and super tricky with all of those ridges up the face.
Sorry Ben, I'm going with goofy on this. Heavy wind and bloody hard work, yes.
Maybe it's a Vic thing.
not to an absolute hell man like yourself obviously. we thought you would have taken that as read
Hah was this comment to me? Nice one
Solid crew of Ozzie Wright & Danny Wills surfing just off the Byron surf club. The offshore wind has the lines well-groomed as opposed to the cross-shore devil wind on the point. Watched some screaming drainers over the past hour, about as good as the Byron beachies get. The sweep is unbearable though.
Bout 6ft on the Byron Clarke's/Main beach beachies and v. surfable.
Main beach getting hammered with more beach erosion.
mate surfed further up Belongil and said 6-8ft screamers this morning if you could get one.
Swell is about the size of TC Uesi here 6-8ft with 10ft sets.
4 or 5 guys paddling. Not great.
definitely well down on the Black Nor-Easter swell 12-15ft.
Swell must have rapidly died at Byron only 2 3 feet on the point
How's this lineup via our Kirra North cam. Some drainers through the middle section.
Empty bowls from the end of Greeny through Cooly/Spot X.
Just had a surface strike on the Kirra cam
And some shocking Burnings !
What do you mean by a surface strike, udo?
Ski running over a surfer?
Large fish [shark] ? took something on surface not far away from the surfers
As for the Skis - 6knots @ 60 metres ! !
Thanks Sprout, better off to whack these into a new article (see here: https://www.swellnet.com/news/reels/2022/01/03/watch-cyclone-seth-in-act...)
Nice mate, YouTube search Noosa or Kirra or whatever, filter by upload date.
Currumbin this am before 7.00am had some huge sets. Gotta be 10-12ft+.
If not Im a kook.
Half a doz skis making the most of it as no paddlers out there.
Was amazing to watch from 8th floor of The Rocks.
Obviously they moved to Kirra once the wind picked up.
Currumbin can be an amazing big wave spot on these swells.
Yep i remember paddling out there last summer on a 6ft+ day, which is really the max that I go out in.
Only 5 or 6 guys out, I'd never surfed it before that day so took me 45 mins to actually get in the right spot and pull in to one (chickened out on a few before it as they looked quite steep and unmakeable, lucky i was on the stepup).
Ended up getting 5 or 6 very nice long big walls, was awesome.
Looking like its all over for the day. Swell seems to be dropping fast.
Problem with the skis is the same problem with crowds in general these days. A lot of ego and bravado without the skill or experience to back it up. It’s semi ironic that the forecasters that hype swells up are happy to comment about the ski cowboys the forecasts probably encouraged. Just an observation lads. Maybe you could start putting a disclaimer at the bottom of cyclone swell forecasts, reminding crew of the ski rules. Couldn’t hurt?
For every ski with good surfers that know what they’re doing, there’s three skis out there with kooks that wouldn’t be paddling it under their own steam. Kirra was surprisedly mellow crowd wise up until 8. There was a heap of intensity in the swell, and set after set up until then. Crowd filled in after 8 accordingly. The only problem with morning, it was a shit fight padding with the skis sitting on the best section of the wave. Big groin to halfway down was almondy. Was so much ski wake down towards little groin, and down right dangerous every time a wash through set came. Byron was a bit of a let down after, pretty average sand wise on the beachy stretch apart from that one bank in-front of the surfclub, wasn’t great down past the wreck but odd one. Was nice and quiet after the kirra circus, that’s for sure. Was topping out at 5ft around 10. Maybe a few 6fters that Willsy got at main Steve ;). Can we dial in a cyclone Sose track for the next one plz
I paddled alongside several skis this morning and they were most polite and made sure not to interfere with paddlers or abuse their utility.
Wasn’t too bad the idea that there was help at hand if you suffered an injury at sea or a rampant bull shark took a liking to you
I wouldn’t have been the least upset if they’d fcuked right off though.
For every ski with good surfers that know what they’re doing, there’s three skis out there with kooks that wouldn’t be paddling it under their own steam. Kirra was surprisedly mellow crowd wise up until 8. There was a heap of intensity in the swell, and set after set up until then. Crowd filled in after 8 accordingly. The only problem with morning, it was a shit fight padding with the skis sitting on the best section of the wave. This is the problem, This is why their will be an accident.