Rob here — back for a quick visit to RealSurf after a 6 month hiatus.
You may have heard: we pulled up stakes from Dee Why in February and have since relocated digs to mostly-sunny Geraldton, Western Australia. It’s been a big change from just being able to turn your head to the left 90 degrees for 15 seconds to collect enough data for a surf report to now living a distant 4oom from the beach where there’s no real surf to speak of without a 10 min drive over the sand dunes to Glennies Point or a 30 min drive up the beach to Coronation.
So, just in case you’re wondering where the heck Geraldton is, and where we are in Geraldton, have a look here:
http://goo.gl/maps/sUUjY
Don has been nudging me for a surf report and well, I’ve been struggling actually–frankly, since I arrived it’s horrible to have to admit that I’ve been working so much I’ve only been for a surf twice in six months! Longest time without a surf since I started surfing many years ago!
So, here’s what I can tell you about Geraldton:
Quaint little town of 40,000. Largest population centre north of Perth on the W Coast. We get some BIG swells here from across the Indian Ocean — Like 6 metres and sometime the swell interval kicks out to as much as 20 seconds! You can imagine what that must look like. Well, you probably can’t, because the big issue with the surf here is that we’ve got this bloody big reef that pretty much runs the length of the coast from Perth to Exmouth that blocks most of the swell from getting into the beach here. So the chances for surf are basically only around the spots where there are breaks in the reef where the swell can get through, else, you’ve got a 1-2 km paddle to get out the back. And lots of tigers and whiteys out there from what all the cray fishermen tell me.
Well, last weekend I made a trip down the beach and took a few shots. I don’t expect anyone to be dropping everything and rushing over after seeing these shots because of the great surf, but here’s a pretty typical day out on the reef at Glennies. Looks like we’ve got a bit more swell coming in the next few days; I’ll try and get a few more shots to post. now and again, we do get the head-high to double-overhead swells, so it’s not always small.
But, just imagine a few of these spots with some swell getting in and you can see the potential. Oh, and did I mention, a “crowd” here is usually 8 max.
Just another little note, if you’re not content with what you see here, about 60km up the road, there’s Horrocks, where there’s a pumping left hander; another 100km further from Horrocks there’s Jake’s Point and The Bluff at Kalbarri (no, not THE Bluff) but the real Bluff is only another 4.5hrs further north, at Gnaraloo! And THAT’s some serious surf…
Will make an effort to drop a report in a bit more frequently now that I’m currently without a job, following a fallout with the City a few weeks ago:
Howdy all!
Hello RealSurfers!
Rob here — back for a quick visit to RealSurf after a 6 month hiatus.
You may have heard: we pulled up stakes from Dee Why in February and have since relocated digs to mostly-sunny Geraldton, Western Australia. It’s been a big change from just being able to turn your head to the left 90 degrees for 15 seconds to collect enough data for a surf report to now living a distant 4oom from the beach where there’s no real surf to speak of without a 10 min drive over the sand dunes to Glennies Point or a 30 min drive up the beach to Coronation.
So, just in case you’re wondering where the heck Geraldton is, and where we are in Geraldton, have a look here:
http://goo.gl/maps/sUUjY
Don has been nudging me for a surf report and well, I’ve been struggling actually–frankly, since I arrived it’s horrible to have to admit that I’ve been working so much I’ve only been for a surf twice in six months! Longest time without a surf since I started surfing many years ago!
So, here’s what I can tell you about Geraldton:
Quaint little town of 40,000. Largest population centre north of Perth on the W Coast. We get some BIG swells here from across the Indian Ocean — Like 6 metres and sometime the swell interval kicks out to as much as 20 seconds! You can imagine what that must look like. Well, you probably can’t, because the big issue with the surf here is that we’ve got this bloody big reef that pretty much runs the length of the coast from Perth to Exmouth that blocks most of the swell from getting into the beach here. So the chances for surf are basically only around the spots where there are breaks in the reef where the swell can get through, else, you’ve got a 1-2 km paddle to get out the back. And lots of tigers and whiteys out there from what all the cray fishermen tell me.
Well, last weekend I made a trip down the beach and took a few shots. I don’t expect anyone to be dropping everything and rushing over after seeing these shots because of the great surf, but here’s a pretty typical day out on the reef at Glennies. Looks like we’ve got a bit more swell coming in the next few days; I’ll try and get a few more shots to post. now and again, we do get the head-high to double-overhead swells, so it’s not always small.
But, just imagine a few of these spots with some swell getting in and you can see the potential. Oh, and did I mention, a “crowd” here is usually 8 max.
Just another little note, if you’re not content with what you see here, about 60km up the road, there’s Horrocks, where there’s a pumping left hander; another 100km further from Horrocks there’s Jake’s Point and The Bluff at Kalbarri (no, not THE Bluff) but the real Bluff is only another 4.5hrs further north, at Gnaraloo! And THAT’s some serious surf…
Will make an effort to drop a report in a bit more frequently now that I’m currently without a job, following a fallout with the City a few weeks ago:
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/regional/gascoyne/a/-/news/18500272/city-and-digital-boss-part-ways/
http://everythinggeraldton.com.au/geraldton-news/2013/8/10/city-of-greater-geraldton-gets-rid-of-a-great-asset
So, if you know anyone out this way who may need some help — I’m available!
Best wishes,
Rob
Late Friday, tiny waves spotted by the Goat
The Goat’s Surf Forecast
RealSurfer cops a knock