Snapper - It's not paradise.

[crabmeat thompson]

Not sure this is the answer, though.

http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/201 ... story.html


The whole region is inundated. My local – 15 minutes south – was a colostomy bag of surfcraft this morning. Caught 6 waves in an hour, and every wave had to dodge people, or just bail when that was not possible.

After narrowly avoiding being hit by stray boards or run over for about the dozenth time, I gave up and headed in. Shame ... the beachies were smoking.

I'm guessing there was already heaps of crew at mine, because they were avoiding the clusterfcuk at Snapper. You fix snapper for Occy, and everywhere else becomes (even more) inundated.

[Dingus]

You should teach Fred to run interference on a boogie

[kookster]

What you guys see in surfing shithole overcrowded places like that I'll never know. It could be the best waves at Snapper anyone's ever seen but at what juncture does someone say to themselves "you know what, the crowd is completely fcuking up my entire surfing stoke"? I mean is there ever a day where it's not like that?

As for Occy's solution, yeah right. The fact no-one seems to even remember there's a rule about a fcukin line-up and you are supposed to wait your turn in said line-up and give everyone a crack means there is no way someone will wait their turn to paddle out. Not a chance.

The big names are some of the worst for ignoring these rules. There's footage everywhere of pros and ex-pros dropping in on all and sundry.

Give me a 2 foot beachy to myself and maybe a couple of other smiling faces any day over that circus.

[crabmeat thompson]

What you guys see in surfing shithole overcrowded places like that I'll never know. It could be the best waves at Snapper anyone's ever seen but at what juncture does someone say to themselves "you know what, the crowd is completely fcuking up my entire surfing stoke"? I mean is there ever a day where it's not like that?

Give me a 2 foot beachy to myself and maybe a couple of other smiling faces any day over that circus.

Yeah, sounds good in theory. Just pack up and live where it's less crowded. Or I could drive for an hour every morning to get a half decent vacant wave. Even then in Summer there's no guarantee after an hour drive.

... but often, we don't get a say in where we're born, where our family are & want to be and where the jobs are. Over population on the east coast is the real problem.

[Beanpole]

It would end up being like a night club with bouncers giving the nod to the status quo and the plebs not having the right boardies on.

Gee Braithy didn't the rip wash them down the beach?

I worked out the other day that since I was a teenager pretty well everywhere I've lived has been crowded except for the occasional surf trip out of town. Thats due to the simple fact that people tend to live in high density areas. The Gold Coast has quadrupled in population from when I grew up. Byrons much more crowded, Newcastle always was crowded and Sydney is a circus. Still had plenty of uncrowded surfs at all of those places but thats just timing and luck. Theres a lot of uncrowded waves around the east coast but thats also relative to how crowded your used to dealing with at home.

Plus if you have a tuflite in the quiver your banned on the Nth Coast these days apparently

[Beanpole]

Managed to quote myself there. A new personal first.

[WANDERER]

I'm with kookster; I'm actually about to move closer to the F3 entrance at Wahroonga simply because I can't stand (attempting to) surf Sydney's northern beaches on the weekends, the pre-work crowds I can handle for the most part, but come saturday and sunday I'm gone. Also I haven't bothered with any of those Northern surf "meccas" for about 8 years or so, I used to occassionally visit the sunny, gold, tweed and byron coasts, but bugger me, it's such a zoo, I don't know how people actually live there and surf that shit every day... I even took it to the point of not paddling out in Santa Cruz in 2010, even though I knew I'd probably never get the chance again, simply because there was surfers shoulder to shoulder in the take off zones... Cowells was ridiculous. Surfing with 200 of your closest buddies is of no interest to me.

[steve shearer]

Typical broadsheet beat-up.

It's fcuking January. Same as it ever was.

Day before when the Super-y was 6ft and stormy, bit of work, there were 20 guys out.

On a ten minute drive yesterday I saw at least 3 or 4 surfable options with no-one out.

Seriously, if you take a few ultra-crowded surf zones out of the mix that draw the human herd it's ridiculously easy to score uncrowded surf.

[Trev]

Typical broadsheet beat-up.

It's fcuking January. Same as it ever was.

Day before when the Super-y was 6ft and stormy, bit of work, there were 20 guys out.

On a ten minute drive yesterday I saw at least 3 or 4 surfable options with no-one out.

Seriously, if you take a few ultra-crowded surf zones out of the mix that draw the human herd it's ridiculously easy to score uncrowded surf.

Agreed Steve. The more people go there, the less will be at the lesser known spots.

[Grooter]

Seriously, if you take a few ultra-crowded surf zones out of the mix that draw the human herd it's ridiculously easy to score uncrowded surf.

Totally agree.

There's over 100kms of surfable coastline in my part of the world alone, if you want to avoid the crowds then it's only a detour down another backroad or a 500 metre walk along the beach to score an uncrowded wave.

Admittedly though we don't see crowds like most people on here seem to so I don't tend to bother

[grapsta]

hmmm. I did a wee road trip up north early December. surfed Snapper on day when there was no waves at Burleigh or Kingscliff or probably anywhere else in between. Surprised how handle-able the crowd was...and I'm the sort of person who stays away from crowds...but if you live up that way I think you can find days where its crowded but you can still get a few waves ..and jeez the waves are worth it when you get one. Obviously January and weekends are gonna be a nightmare ...but so Maroubra. So often I don't even paddle out at the bra becuase there is waaay to many people on each break. When I lived in Caba and worked in Goldie I loved surfing the beachies when everyones at the points...can get good waves with only 3-7 on a peak on a good day

I also surfed the Pass when it was small but good - and first good day in quite a while. crowded but still a fair few waves to be had

[kookster]

Human nature is a wonderful thing to behold. Take the road that feeds from from the Kawana canal community to the beach up here - day in day out the carpark and road is chock full and there are 40 people on the break straight out in front of where the beach access hits the sand. 100 metres to the left or right and you have it to yourself. It's all beachies so it's not like there's a superbank there. Maybe they are all hoping someone else has a Go Pro and will catpure them going fully sick brah.

[crabmeat thompson]

Gee Braithy didn't the rip wash them down the beach?

The problem was as the rip washed away 20 people, there were another 30 lining up to enter.

A conservative estimate yesterday on the mid-low outgoing tide would be 400-600 people from the keyhole down to rainbow bay and coolie beach. I think you could walk on peoples heads & boards out there and never get your feet wet. An ocean of people.

[crabmeat thompson]

Typical broadsheet beat-up.

It's fcuking January. Same as it ever was.

Day before when the Super-y was 6ft and stormy, bit of work, there were 20 guys out.

On a ten minute drive yesterday I saw at least 3 or 4 surfable options with no-one out.

Seriously, if you take a few ultra-crowded surf zones out of the mix that draw the human herd it's ridiculously easy to score uncrowded surf.

This summer has been the worst I've seen. Especially out the front of my house. Some of the best banks in about 5 years coinciding with Christmas school holidays. Yet the beachies and headlands north and south of me, have some of the worst banks in their entire history. Going back from old guys who've surfed them the last 40 years.

Problem with the Goldie is, once word gets out there's a good bank somewhere the frothing masses are on it. I've been surfing out the front with guys and shapers who live an hour away, and who I haven't surfed with in about a decade.

It's been the perfect storm of crowds this summer, and there's been epic waves.

[Beanpole]

Exactly.
At least the waves mentioned start at one spot and then deposit the rider somwhere else.
Last time I stayed at Rainbow a couple of years ago it was tiny and wet. Junior had perfect little rights off the rock at Snapper with hardly anyone and we had two days on the mals riding perfect little peelers right down the side of greenmount. Like it used to break in the old days. Just the two of us from right on the outside to the beach. No one else seemed interested.

Usually don't make it that far up the coast these days. Theres a lot of similar waves between here and the border with a fraction of the crowds because theres a fraction of the population.

[spork]

There is also the "oy, went up the coast and surfed snapper, the bank and Burliegh, sick waves mate ay" attitude that we see around here all the time with Crescent head in close proximity. I'v been up there on a wednesday arvo on a pretty lame day and there is still 300 folk in the water, most of whom can't surf for crap but are ticking Crescent off their 'East coast surf tour' list. There are some absolutely cracking waves to be had in very close proximity but the touro's never go there cos its just not cred for them.

[oldman]

................and Sydney is a circus.

Yep, a circus that empties out in summer as the hordes head north to bog up those dreadful qld and northern NSW beaches.

Just back from a certain well known Sydney beach where I shared the entire northern half of the beach with about 15 surfers for 2 hours. The least crowded surf I have had this summer, which was spent mostly on the Central Coast, except for one bommie session on my own.

Shit you guys, try having Bronte or Tama as your local

Drove past yesterday, it was working quite well yesterday with size, maybe 15 in the water over a fair area, plenty of parking available, this around 10.30 am on a sunny day with a fair bit of swell and not much wind.

Even Bondi was relatively uncrowded!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A total circus, wished I was up at superbank with 400 - 600 others.

[Natho]

It's funny listening to people winge about Sydney or Qld crowds, and then hearing the same people rave on about their yearly surf trip to somewhere like Bali, like going to Bali is an escape from crowds n kooks.