Bit of banter today with some colleagues regarding the merits of West Oz living and in particular, surf spots. No real outcome was reached regarding which side of the continent was best so I thought I'd throw it over to you guys. My argument hinged on crowds, quality of surf and the ability to still go on a mission and be able to "find"a spot you may have never surfed or even the elusive "unsurfed" spot. They agreed that the east coast especially NSW and Vic due to population failed in this aspect but that QLD may still have this aspect. I also suggested that we may have the top three waves on the continent but this was highly contentious, we couldn't include Tas as none of us had surfed there but this will change after the next holidays. If you wish to weigh in to this please realise it's not about naming, promoting or revealing the surf but more about a good natured State of Origin type thing, there must be reasons why we all stay in our state's of origin or move to others based on our passion for surfing, work/life balance, standard of living etc Hope you can help, images and vid's could strengthen the argument but I know some don't like that so do so at risk of a thumbing

Not sure about that one.

As a natural growing up in WA all I dreamt about was the legendary right hand points of east coast. I guess the grass is always greener.

What the east coast makes up for due to crowds is the number of waves that come through.

In WA at many waves you are waiting for a set and often mr greedy can be back in time for the next set.

East coast points some of the in between waves grow down the line on the points. So you can still get your wave count.

Parts of WA, SA gives you that raw power. Qld NSW that sub tropical boardies etc experience.

I have a foot in both camps and a fence up my a--- from sitting on it.

yep that came up, the right hander factor, there are a couple though that **** all over some on the EC, IMO. The other thing that was discussed was the LB options being better over there and the sunset over the water aspect in the west.

yeah there are some pretty awesome rights on the west coast.

A couple I have been lucky to surf and a few others that I have heard the stories but everything must align and never had the chance both deep south and north.

When I did live in a SW town you could almost exclusively keep yourself occupied on rights

The SW of aust must be one of the most consistant surf zones but you can get caught up in the drive around looking for the better spot. The worst is when you come back to where you started.

WA is super consistent (SW), has heaps of power and the rides are generally short and intense.the east coast has long points that grow, backbeaches where you can find a peak and good powerful reefs the further south you go. 50/50 imo what one coast lacks the other makes up for and vice versa

Depends, so many factors regarding "living" east or west.

Sydney for example has much, much better surf than Perth, but if you work in the Sydney CBD it may be difficult to squeeze an early in before work.

In WA metro surf is terrible, but plenty of options IF you are able to regularly get mobile.

If it is just a pure "which side has the best waves" it is a tough call!

Ok fence sitters, does the EC have anything to match this?

Select to expand quote

bene313 said...

Sydney for example has much, much better surf than Perth, but if you work in the Sydney CBD it may be difficult to squeeze an early in before work.

Nice thread.

Very easy to get a surf in before work in Sydney for about 8 months of the year.....loads of beaches to choose to reside in to achieve this. Your only issue will be crowds - especially at the eastern suburb beaches and Manly. The further up the Peninsular you go the lighter the early morning crowds.

Yes the East Coast is well populated but in terms of waves there are so many to choose form and once you get out of the populated areas it is not hard to find waves with no one else around. Yes its busy over the xmas / easter periods but other than that nothing to worry about. The east coast sucks imo Oct / Nov / Dec most years unless we get some late winter swells or early cyclone activity. The rest of time its amazing re consistency and quality compared to the other places I have lived. And as was mentioned previously there are lots of variations very close by with protected northern corners giving offshore like conditions all summer despite the onshore winds, and southside options providing lots of reefs, points and beachies options when we get the big winter windy conditions.

I love the west but hate the flies and wind........I think the ideal setup would be to have a place on either coast As for Victoria - there are loads of great waves there and the crowd issue is no-where near as bad as NSW but the water is also very cold. Midweek you can surf some of those pretty popular spots with just a handful of others at times.

Select to expand quote

bakesy said...
Ok fence sitters, does the EC have anything to match this?

I don't reckon any where in the world can mAtch that place bakesy not just east coast

Both coasts have their advantages & disadvantages...The East coast tends to have a lot more angles to it to give you more options when the winds not right & not as flat so there's places less affected by strong offshores or crossshores within closer range. If your not working the typical Mon-Fri during the day you can also get uncrowded waves no worries, even on the Gold Coast...The West Coast is pretty fricken huge by comparison & also has its protected areas, most of them well away from highly populated areas. I'd say the West coast has heaps better waves provided you overlook distance, remoteness & accessibility. But those factors also enhance their awesomeness

Vicco is only crowded within 150km's of Melbourne, where I live a crowd is 6. I surfed yesterday 4 to 5' glassy barrels and had to find a mate to surf with and I surfed in boardies and a vest, water temp 20.5, air temp 36. I expect it is similar to living in the south of WA a few classic days but mainly not quite right and there is good reason that it aint crowded.

I was watching a bit of the Breaka pro at Burleigh and they had a clip of a barrel which although not the size of Camels wave for sheer length and how long the rider had disappeared would tick all my boxes.

All of the waves below are east coast or Tassie but the winner with Kirra showing some of her old glory again ticks all the boxes for me. A couple of the Billabong events at Kirra that Rabbit contest directed again had waves at Kirra that beside the crowd factor were simply amazing.

West coast can throw up some good drainpipes as well.

Select to expand quote

Ted the Kiwi said...
Very easy to get a surf in before work in Sydney for about 8 months of the year.....loads of beaches to choose to reside in to achieve this. Your only issue will be crowds - especially at the eastern suburb beaches and Manly. The further up the Peninsular you go the lighter the early morning crowds.

I know that a mate of mine living in Bondi is amazed at the consistency and quality of nearby Sydney metro breaks, after moving over from Perth.

Another mate who perhaps might chime in, moved over to Ballina recently and seems to be surfing all the time. In Perth we really only kited.

My vote goes to the East, it's one of the reasons I'm doing my damndest to get a transfer. I'm really getting jack of driving 4hrs to get wet and yes I know I could surf closer to Perth but I hate crowds and aggro, energiser bunny paddle manic twats more than I hate driving for 4hrs. Surfing aint what it used to be around this town

I agree with smicko, everyone should move over east.

Mick, your plan is to live somewhere semi-rural over there right? Don't get why you couldn't do that here, probably something to do with the wine merchant scene eh?

Everyone goes on about the crap surf in Perth but from swanbourne on I think it gets plenty of swell.

Just need political will to get some form of sand retention similar to a groyne but not so detrimental in terms of up coast scouring.

Should be one every couple of hunderd metres.

Even in the southerly should still be able to set up some great lefts that wrap in a bit.

Come on Colin forget the stadium and make a couple hundred waves instead.

Select to expand quote

Indodreaming said...
Everyone goes on about the crap surf in Perth but from swanbourne on I think it gets plenty of swell.

I bet it does

Select to expand quote

bakesy said...
Mick, your plan is to live somewhere semi-rural over there right? Don't get why you couldn't do that here, probably something to do with the wine merchant scene eh?

Yeah pretty much Damo, I need a population comparable to here but preferably spread over a coupla hundred k's so there is more venues to deal with. Without the 100+ k's we have between towns over here. If Margie's to Perth was 150 k's apart as opposed to 300 it would be feasible to service the whole region with one rep instead of two. It all comes down to bang for buck.....

http://image.wetpaint.com/image/1/fPkwCbB5ROJ10tsKTxKwzA27669/GW577H330

Ive surfed this place good as the wave in the camel vid, but when it's real good it's packed. It was a semi secret spot when I was growing up. Also in close proximity to large wine region and some of the best beachies in Aus. So smick pack ya bags and come over and be just as frustrated on the east coast,
The reason why I prefer living over this side of Aus. is less crowds , less wind and less driving. Generally though there are more great waves in any one day in WA and you very rarely get 2 consecutive days here wheres I have surfed for weeks on end in the west.

what !!! ...............is there more than 5 surf spots in WA
(margarets , the box, trigg,kalbarri ,the bluff)
Don't tell me you blokes have been holding out on me about secret spots!

Nope there is only 5 and at least 1 of those is ****. Best not coming here.

Home for me is Perth... Some time ago (like 10years) I lived in the Northern Rivers region of far North NSW. Although there are obviously world class breaks around that area that attract their fair share of crowds, but I had at least 5 quality breaks within 20min from home with NO ONE around. I used to ring friends to come for a surf just cos got sick of surfing alone and needed to share the stoke.
I also had a novelty break that only breaks in post cyclone conditions, long long walls that rivalled other well known incredibly populated breaks but just me there
Point is, if you gety away from the city in NSW you can have some encridible surfing without the crowds. And yes there are still secret NSW spots
oh the memories...

Select to expand quote

Indodreaming said...
Everyone goes on about the crap surf in Perth but from swanbourne on I think it gets plenty of swell.

Just need political will to get some form of sand retention similar to a groyne but not so detrimental in terms of up coast scouring.

Should be one every couple of hunderd metres.

Even in the southerly should still be able to set up some great lefts that wrap in a bit.

Come on Colin forget the stadium and make a couple hundred waves instead.

Certainly it is the sand situation more so than the amount of swell that depicts whether the surf in Perth is any good.

So who's running for local government?

Colin's not going anywhere. Labor isn't even bothering to field an opponent in the upcoming elections. Local mayor is a worthy opponent but with ~70% of the vote predicted for Colin he can do whatever he wants. You need to target marginal seats to get your voice heard.

I like power and the east coast waves I have surfed have been gutless in comparison. I had a 6 foot twin out at Snapper at 6 foot. Try that on most of the waves in WA and you will be overpowered and crashing.

Someone earlier said we have to wait for sets. It is true. Everything seems to break on the East coast and there are LOTS more wave - you gotta like driving over here as there simply aren't that many waves - but those waits mean longer periods and more sheer grunt.

Real men surf here, not little boys on fun boards.

Snapper is gutless, kirra is gutless, Lennox is gutless, don't get me started on Noosa, Cactus is a furry kitten (locals aren't though). Southern NSW and Vicco I have no experience of so they might have some juice.

But then again, I once thought Snapper and Kirra looked heavy. They are jokes in the power stakes.

Looks like nsw gets powerful waves to me

Select to expand quote

surferstu said...
Looks like nsw gets powerful waves to me

Nah not convinced. Maybe it is, but Snapper and kirra can look heavy and they're not. Also I am not talking about picking out one wave, I am talking about overall. The waves in the West are simply more powerful. We have some gutless waves, just as over east has some heavy waves, but for the most part ours grunt all over the east coast.

Now if you are talking playful fun of polished perfection...well, thats a different story. East coast all the way. Sheer numberr of wave? East coast all the way (we have so many long long stretches of either no waves or dodgy waves). Wave count? Generally the east coast, although our south coast can throw large numbers of alright waves without being consistently good (let alone epic).

SA has got nothing either

These waves are south of Sydney, there are a lot more like them, they get the same south swell that all of southern Aus gets by the time it gets up north it's lost its energy but down south it has kick butt power to rival anywhere.