Category: News & Features

January

A sneaker swell on January 4 arrives late, and the place is deserted.

Feb

Banjar surf challenge at Waits

March

First whiff of winter with warm water and sunshine at Cliffs on the South Coast.

April

Grommet froth at Seaford on the 17th

May

Mark Smith picking one off at Seaford reef

June

Waits, pumping on June the 5th

July

Classic winter conditions at Day St on July 19th

August

Waits winter goodness on August 8

September

Spring looking well and truly sprung at Cliffs on Sept 20

October

A little bit of Hump magic in Mid October

November

A fanta sunset after a day of clean waves.

December

The Hump at South Port on New Year’s Eve

Rain through early December helped wash a bit of sand out of the Onkaparinga Estuary, and in the second week of the month the makings of the fabled rivermouth left at South Port were underway. In the following week a small swell showed some potential, with waves peeling off for 60 – 80m on the right tide. But it was fast and fickle, and if so much as a drop of water was out of place, the wave immediately reverted to an unmakeable closeout or an endlessly reforming fat hander.  A bigger swell later in the week revealed some improvement, with some waves linking up 2 or three sections to deliver rides up to 100m.

The last hurrah for the bank was following the cool change, on Sunday the 27th. Winds kicked around to the South after the change and helped push trains of peaks down the North-running bank. It was chest high and about 1 out of 4 waves wound off nicely before closing out on the shallow inside section.

In the days that followed, it appeared the winds had pushed more sand off the end of the natural spit, and into the shallow gutter that gave the wave its shape.  The result was a short, but mostly unmakeable first section followed by an inevitable closeout.

With fading swell and a cool change to sign off on 2015, it’s most likely the elusive left will remain a sad keepsake of its former, brief glory. But… we live in hope…