Dobbroyd head - big wave spot?

[philw]

Saw a pic in the manly daily of Dobbroyd (not sure about spelling) head with what looks like a 6-8ft wave breaking out front. Looks very surfable. The story in the paper was about the wave knocking over a boat and killing someone called Dobbroyd about 100 years ago (hence the name). So obviously it gets big. Went and had a look at it on Saturday - no swell so nothing doing but it's wide open to south swells and protected from all but south winds. It'd require a boat, or a very long paddle. The question is, has anyone surfed it?

[infectious]

i live near there, ive surfed it a few times. It gets pretty crazy, definitely only for the experienced. We normally take the boat and anchor it in crater bay and paddle from there. Very sharky, seen some big bulls and hammerheads around there. You also invariably hit the bottom which has lots of caves amongst the boulders. great waves on its day though, dont let me put you off!!!

[philw]

so you've surfed it? what sort of conditions are good? does it need a big swell or does it work on smaller swells too? i'm guessing it's a left, and if it's shallow you proabably want to avoid low tide? and what about the currents - on saturday it was flat but you could still see a pretty strong looking current heading out sea - if you've got a boat i suppose it's ok but if you paddled round there and you snapped your leash it'd probably be a nightmare...? i did some research yesterday and found a story about a crazy dude in the sixties who surfed it on his mal - he mad a few drops but had one hell of a swim in when he lost his board.

[Southerly]

Yes it is a left, there is a right in small conditions but I would not bother then.

Needs bloody big ground swell to work well, from experience waves are one hell of a drop and mad rush for the exit. As said above it is a serious spot and I would not bother trying unless conditions are perfect. At
least it won't be crowded.

The ocean side of the reef drops away very quickly into 60 foot of water so heading to sea to avoid a bomb may be better than trying to head south around the sholder.

Current is not generally a problem, usually a slight drift in the water into/out of harboure depending on the tide. There is a mean inshore sweep over the bommy itself due to all that water hitting the reef.

Everyone I know who have surfed it found it difficult to ride.

Have fun, your bound to remember it.

[infectious]

that about covers it, good luck... you'll probably need it!!

[philw]

cheers guys. sounds like there's plenty of reasons why it doesn't get surfed too often. might go and have a look net time there's a big south swell. won't be in any hurry to paddle out though!

[moneyman]

is dobroyd head also known as grotto point? :? :?

I reckon that in a couple of years, it may be worth buying one of those shark shields for sydney because the water is becoming cleaner and that generally means more sharks. Also the warmer currents will kick in soon and sharks like warmer water.

Shite im so paranoid about them, there my worst nightmare

[infectious]

grotto's the next point round, works like a left hand bower in towards clontarf and can be surprisingly long over the sand flats at low tide... but as with all harbour spots, when they work theres better outer harbour spots and only pussies who dont like the big stuff go them... dobroyd is different because it cops the full force of the swell and is usually just as big as the outside.

[Gym_Slu_t]

Have any of you guys seen what washaway (or sumthing) beach is like in big swell...just wondering if it broke.

[infectious]

no, washaway is shite and its full of dodgy old naked men!!!