 Surfers Point, Margaret River |
The
Waves Dave Macaulay's West Coast Surfari |
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The following information was compiled at great risk by a
surfer of no great renown who cared not a lot for his own personal
safety. We could tell you his name, but as soon as these pages
hit the Web, he was tracked down and beaten to death with a pilchard. Geographe Bay Castle Rock: Works in late Autumn and Winter in strong northerly winds. Wind waves only as the biggest swell still won't wrap around the cape that far. Soft lefts peel down a rocky point/sand bottom. One of my favourite but partly because of the high novelty factor. Rocky Point: Strong westerlies and big swells signal a day at Rocky Point which peels left across a rocky bay from 2'-6'. Pretty average wave if you ask me, but some love it. Boneyard: Around the corner from Rocky Point towards the cape. Needs a big swell and SW winds. Relies on sand bank formation which varies through winter. The Farm: Further round in Bunker Bay, the Farm has a left and right, but mostly rights. Requires a large swell and is also offshore in a SW wind. Yallingup Windmills: Exposed to the full might of the ocean, on the tip of Cape Naturaliste, and really only surfed in small swells. Peaks right and left, breaking over reef and sand. Wait for the right banks for a good day. Three Bears: What a wave; or, rather, three waves, aptly named Mama, Papa and Baby Bear, going in both directions up to 6'. Swells bigger than 8' can produce one of the best lefts on the entire coast. Access via 4WD. Yallingup Reef: Excellent competition break. Learners or anyone tempted to go out in 20' conditions. It doesn't matter, Yallingup Reef (just out from the carpark) can handle them. Good mal break, especially anything under 6'. A world class, powerhouse wave over 10' Smiths Beach: The break that been visited since the 50s. A favourite of Perthies who like to brag they've been down to Margarets for a surf. A shallow reef break, with sand bars forming around September next to reef. Hollow right has open tables. Super Tubes: One of the best right barrels in the South West. Good enough to be in surf videos and magazines. Note: try not to head butt the shallow reef. Injidup P-Break: A chunky wave which breaks on reef then sand. Likes large swell and S.E. wind. Pretty underrated and not often crowded. Carpark: Very popular reef proceeding excellent hot dog rights. Good up to 8', anything bigger closes out. Best on low tide in Winter and Spring. Injidup Point: Long, hollow point break. The long walk from the Injidup carpark is worth the effort. Works with swells from as small as 2' to anything as big as 14'. The Gallows: 4WD only. Best in 3-5 foot. South of Injidup Point and north of Cowaramup Bay. Reforms lefts which peel quickly down a shallow reef. Handles SW wind, but likes high tide. Great little wick wack wave. Guillotines: 4WD access, but again very well worth the effort. Reef break producing lefts and rights from an offshore reef. Works in both small and medium swell with ESE - ENE winds. Gracetown (Cowaramup Bay) North Point: World-class right, the favourite of many local surfers. Some waves are heart in mouth stuff. One of the best waves in the state on good days. Anything bigger than 5' moves off point to the ledge. Paddle from the beach or jump off the point. Best winds SE. Two barrels on one wave is not uncommon. Hussawuies: Classic learner wave inside the bay. Mostly whitewater reef break a short paddle out from the South Point carpark. Fun times. Grommets rule Huzz so don't get in their way. South Point: Unique characteristics due to the shape of Cowaramup Point. The wave is thick and pushy and quite steep at take-off, but as it wraps around towards the rocks it turns from a tube into a cutback. Would be the longest ride in down here. Offshore in SW wind. Hope you like doing cutback. Big Rock: South of south point, best in small swells. Best wind ENE, chunky little rights and lefts with some rocks to be dogged. Cobblestones: Shallow ledge develops a hollow tube, peeling right. Best at medium to high tide because of the rocks, with swells of W-ENE 2'-10'. Right beside Bigrock. Lefthanders: Best of 5-6' peels left over a shallow reef. Get there early to avoid crowds. I actually own this wave. Just kidding. The Womb: Dangerous shallow left south of Lefties. Dave "Ding" Englert- a hot Gracetown local had his keg (femur) busted in 2 placed by the awesome power of this wave. Ellensbrook Bommy: Best at 6-8', breaking over an outside reef and chasing the two deep channels closer to shore. Bigger sets tend to hold their shape better. Ellensbrook: Peaks left and right, great shape up to 8'. Again peaks from the outside reef. Just out from Ellensbrook carpark, down from Ellensbrook homestead. Margaret River The Rivermouth: One of few learner breaks in the district, waves from 2-6'. A beach break at the mouth of the Margaret River, much depends on the banks for the Rivermouth to be nay good. The river only breaks through the height of winter. Beware of the seaweed monster. The Box: A very dangerous, gnarly break over shallow, often exposed, reef out from the Rivermouth. A favourite of young body boarders in the area, who often come back in bad shape. Can't say I've ever surfed the Box as being on my backhand-the odds aren't good.  Margarets (main break): The
jewel in the crown. Breaks left and right, but the left is the
most consistent of the two. Very crowded on good days, and often
reaches more than 15'. The waves are thick and steep at take-off, and clean walls provide rides of 50m or more, through sections which are times thick, then hollow. Waves of more than 20' have been seen, generally in March through May, but when that big go unridden. Try not to get rolled, or you'll end up on reef struggling for air. SE wind is best. Southside: Just south of the Margaret River reef, Southside breaks right. An exposed reef break like Margarets. NE is best wind. The Bommy: A huge wave that only those in the know dare attempt, best watched from the Margaret carpark. Breaks in deep water a good 15 minutes Paddle from Riflebutts in Prevelly, thick, fast, peeling right. If you don't have a big gun, forget it. Boat Ramp: Very similar to the Bommy, but peeling left, some 500m south of Bommy. In big swells has been known to close out all the way to Bommy. A good 15 minutes Paddle from the beach, a true adrenalin rush. Quality wave in big south swells and east winds. Grunters: South of the Gnarabup headland, and tucked in behind, breaks over reef to about 12'. Heavy and dangerous at times, a sucky, fast wave. Very powerful with gnarly double ups. NE wind best. Gas Bay: A gnarly right, hollow tube, peeling over rocks and reef. Sits at the bottom of a 4WD track from the Grunters carpark. Most walk. ENE wind best. Boodjidup: Stretch of beach breaks of varying size and power south from Gas Bay. Novices should beware the welcoming nature of Boodji. ESE wind best. Redgate: Beach break, another excellent learner spot. Wave breaks right from the rock at the northern end of the beach, or left from the rocks at the bottom. Closes out in anything above 6'. Conto's: Beach break, wave peels out from the rocky point, or in from the centre of the bay. Great wave on the right days. Handles south winds, needs medium swell. Boranup Beach: Accessed through the beautiful Boranup Forest, mile of glorious beach with excellent left and right tubes on the right day, medium swell. ENE winds, high tide are best conditions. Augusta Jays Beach: Just west of the mouth of the Blackwood River, with a northerly wind and big swells wrapping around Cape Leeuwin (needs to be breaking at 10' at Margarets). Jay's is a super little wave up to 6'. Sand banks are nowhere near as fickle as the Rivermouth or Redgate. |