Watch: First Afternoon Of Spring At Winki
Been restless days for the Vicco drone pilots - so much swell yet so much wind.
Sunday arvo, however, saw an easing in the tempestuous westerly, just enough for ol' Michael Carter-Key to send his expensive rig skyward. In doing so, Michael adds another perspective to Winki's complex character.
With a sloping base, the wave rewards lateral surfing that favours the high line, the better surfers showing their awareness with long hauls punctuated by rail turns in the pocket. A timeless style of surfing best done on a timeless style of board: longer, straighter, thicker. Not a wave for rocker and curve, at least not at this size.
Great choice of tunes too. Radiohead 'Jigsaw Falling Into Place'
Comments
Nice!!!
(Great track for it too...)
Love that low down drone angle of that last wave (epic track!)
So so nice. Reminds me of somewhere...
And good observation on equipment. Drive and flow required.
Looking forward to watching. Apart from a tube is there any better feeling in surfing than the hi-line speed trim?
Nothing like flying down the line of a bomb, on a twinny or a quad (for me anyway), beating some sections and then putting all that speed into some turns while holding on for dear life hahaha
Fark yeah!!!
Pelican surfing
Some mad "high line" styling going on there...yew!!
Definitely looks more functional with a meandering but purposeful high line.
has been a classic week. Thursday and today were 2 of the best other than sunday
shoulders are feeling it now
Honest Review for Northern Brothers Considering a Trip Down South – For Those Who Know Good Waves
Thursday: 6.5/10
Visually, the waves were promising, but the swell was too slow to be classified as good. It earns a slightly higher score only because a few breaks further down the coast offered decent options with fewer surfers. Wave size was around 4-5ft.
Friday: 3.5/10
Some spots had potential, but the swell was largely ruined by unfavorable winds. At 3ft, it didn’t offer much for those chasing quality.
Saturday: 4/10 (morning) and 6.5/10 (afternoon)
The morning and evening sessions were slow, windy, and crowded, making it hard to find quality waves. The swell size increased to 4-5ft by the afternoon, with stronger lines showing up in the last couple of hours before dark.
Sunday: 7/10
Visually, the most pleasing day of the swell, but still too slow, busy, and ultimately underwhelming. Although the afternoon offered the best conditions, the chances of scoring truly good waves were slim. Wave size was around 6ft.
Monday: 4/10
Nothing noteworthy. The swell had lost its punch from Sunday’s promising lines, and the less-than-ideal wind didn’t help. Wave size dropped to 4ft.
Tuesday: 3/10
Ridiculously crowded for the low-quality surf on offer. Wave size remained around 4ft, but conditions were far from ideal.
Conclusion:
I have a deep love for this coast, just like anyone else, but there are far better swells and opportunities in Victoria if you don’t want to settle for crowded lineups and mediocre waves. Sunday’s swell was impressive to look at, but it didn’t translate into a great surfing experience. It’s akin to watching the biggest SSW of the year roll into Ulladulla, only to be ruined by southerly winds, leaving you to surf places like Golfies, Collers, and Kamas. If you know, you know—there are far better setups hidden away on days when most people aren’t even thinking about surfing.
If you’re the type who enjoys battling it out with dozens of others at the few spots that are working, convincing yourself that you’re charging, or falling into the trap of thinking a busy lineup equals great waves, then by all means, go for it. But if you’re an honest core lord who values quality waves, you’ll realize the vibe out there isn’t all that great. Our friends up north enjoy better waves on a 4ft south swell, so if you’re reading this, maybe it’s better to just watch the clips from afar. It’s not even about the crowds—it’s the quality of the setups and the fact that we get much better surfing windows than this.
Disclaimer: If you haven’t left Torquay this year, only have an hour to surf out front every day, and miss surfing waves over 3ft, then maybe the last few days were fun for you—feeling some 6ft juice for a few days in a row.
I'm not sure what you are trying to prove by saying the waves were only 6ft on Sunday
And today 4ft, it's still 6-8ft!
That’s hilarious.
Apart from that call I enjoyed reading the review.
This report is not intended to downplay the significance of the swell size on Sunday. Instead, it serves as an average guide to the overall conditions along the coast and what surfers might generally experience.
For reference, the screen grab from this morning’s cam shows Winki with waves that I'm calling around 4ft, which represents the average wave size you'll typically find along the coast. Yes, there's still 6-8ft sets hitting winki. This report is an average for the coast.
That massive set at Bells around 9:30 yesterday was easily 10ft, and if we want to discuss the swell size, we could also look at areas west of Cape Otway, where it would have been every bit of 20ft. However, I'm focusing on the average swell along the Surf Coast—what you'd expect to find if you came to visit and managed to snag a wave amidst the crowd. Yes, on Sunday, many spots saw rogue sets up to 8 feet, and Winki consistently held that size, but this report is focused on the overall experience, not just the standout moments. I am usually pretty good at polishing a turd and taking a picture of a closeout beachy looking like a pumping perfect aframe but this is just a honest reflection from someone who has chased many good swells and seen many more pumping ones round here.
I understand where you're coming from, but for such a wave starved winter on the reefs, you'd have to up the ratings by a couple of points. It's like when it's been flat for weeks and then a fun swell comes, it get's a bit better rating than if coming off the back of a pumping swell.
Everyone in Sydney enjoying the summer like weather and flat ocean would have given their left nut for one of those days.
I'm all for a contrary viewpoint but your argument loses water when you call Sunday six foot. I've seen literally hundreds of photos showing waves bigger than that and even watched video of it. Hard to believe it was all a 'trick of the camera'.
For reference Stu, I was at your local on the 16th of June 2024, day of shark island contest and that afternoon was much taller than the waves around here. What was coming through out the back that day was easily twice the size of most this coast on Sunday.
Also in regards to visual size now that you mention it. If these strong winds can knock down trees and blow over houses don't you think these winds can draw up alot more curve and additional height to the tops of the waves that couldn't normally hold itself up. For example examine the following clips:
(1m of lip being drawn up by the wind?)look at how much more sloppy the tops parts of these waves are and their inability to keep themselves up without the strong offshore drawing them up.
You’re clutching at straws now mate. Should have just left it at your first comment.
Gonna have to agree with dbut. Maybe the odd 8 ft set but that's stretching it I'd say. The way it hits the reef and goes to mush, or throws an almond barrel at best doesn't help its cause of looking solid either.
Perhaps we are all right?. It seems from Torquay to PC there is a tendency to over estimate waves...and also ride oversized guns that struggle to be put on rail. A vice versa for Sydney and the surrounding zones.
What day had 8 foot sets at a stretch?
Sunday, but like I said, occasionally. Funny how we interpret wave size differently. It's clearly a somewhat arbitrary system.
Regardless, hope you got some legend!
You seen the set that broke out at bells about 9:45 that morning? If that’s 8 foot that’s incredible.
I actually didn’t surf all weekend being on the MP and having a strong dislike to wp bay.
What's good about surfing is we all have our own windows where you can freely choose where to surf.....what craft to surf....when to surf.....why you surf. This review may not be aimed at you but as someone whose surfed a fair chunk of coastline between south aus, tasmania and up the east coast these ratings are almost generous. Sometimes you can drive down the whole great ocean rd from the Bellarine to cape Otway and see every spot light up and pumping, this last few days hasnt been close to it. Not all 8ft swells are equal...only a couple boxes were ticked the last few days and if you dont think it can get 30% better than 7/10 for sunday, have that opinion.... what made the last few days so special and let me know how many spots you saw absolutely cooking? For craig to relate this its like a 10ft southerly swell hitting manly with southerly winds versus a 3-5ft ese swell and wnw winds in your area.... Then again there are good 10ft days but for multiple reasons this wasnt it...pick your own flavour of fun.
I don't disagree with you at all on this comment for the surf coast. The prolonged run of this one was great, but individually on each day, I reckon we've had better this year, and most certainly last year on more than one occasion. As I said in a below comment, some more S in the swell direction and that wind to drop, then we're talking all time. Looking at the cape sorrell buoy data this had every chance of being one of the all time greatest swell events, but alas if only more S in it. West of Cape Otway must have been something to witness... haven't seen any photos or footage of it though.
Yep, always the way with west swells for the Surf Coast, but at least the size was there to see a wide variety of breaks come to life.
I don’t reckon that argument stacks up, that a 7/10 can only get 30% better.
For one, a 10 is almost 50% better than a 7, a 14 would be 100% better yeah? But that’s not why I’m here commenting. If you’re going to use that argument, then the day of days over the last 60-70 years will hold a 10, and nothing else can match it. Then a day like Sunday can only score a mid ranger, a 5 if you’re lucky, or by the sounds of it, less.
Really, a 7 is probably twice as good as a 6, or there abouts
Haha, and that's why we hate the ratings.
Kinda like the Richter scale?
I agree that ratings are arbitrary each surfer has their own unique experience and flavor of waves they are looking for. I didn't explain myself well by shifting to percentages and I agree a 10/10 day is definitely a lot better and the scale is non linear. I also love these big days when you get to surf our good reefs with some juice. Furthermore, I’m not disputing that many people caught some amazing waves over the last five days—I saw it myself. However, overall, this swell underperformed along this coast, with very few pumping waves, so I wouldn’t call it a 9/10. The exact number isn’t important to me; My intention wasn't to dispute the positive experiences others have had, but rather to offer a more tempered perspective for those further north. Based on the direct Swellnet scale, I wouldn't alter the ratings given. For Sunday, considering the waves we experienced on this coast this year, it translates to: great surf/swell (8), a reasonable percentage of surfable waves (5), and decent conditions (6). This averages out to a 6.5, reflecting a more accurate assessment of the swell's performance.
Also, for reference I surfed winki Thursday arvo (The same day the other winki clip was put up) the day I rated 6.5/10 and if I was to rate this day off my personal surfing experience, I would've given it a 2. I got 4 mediocre waves in two hours even with minimal crowd and the same sentiment was echoed from everyone that it was slow. Not denying there were some great looking waves throughout the surf that were caught, but overall the swell wasn't anything you'd want to waste money to book flights, sounds funner grovveling that warm shorey freeride.
Glad you keep pointing out 'to those further north' @dbut.
From a fellow Southern Oceaner...i see what you're up to here. Keep up the good work of crowd control from those pesky northern invaders!!
Don't forget to tell em the coffees shit down here too :-P
But yeah, agree with above, West swells are the most inconsistent in this ocean. If you're willing to be patient and sit out a mile you'll get your rewards.
Size can also limit a lot of variety in breaks too. A good 4 ft west swell with the right tides can have the same if not more spots (also viccos more quality waves, but now im giving too much away) come to life than an 8ft one though. A 4ft day you could be surfing a pumping aframe beachy, Fun rippable beachies, fun pointbreaks, Backdoor barrel slabs, Pumping rippable winkipop etc. The last few days you couldve got some good 6-8 ft long rights at a couple of locations and mostly sectiony, hoaxy bgrade 4ft wobbly rights other than that. Good West swells can be really good for certain reefs and reasons. Also if more of the fetch was more in our swell window with some south in it, it wouldve been much larger like you say, but doesnt help the fact that the high tides and strong northerlys kill most novelty options anyway.
Really enjoyed that drone camera angles, but not a big fan of the blurred fade-out between shots.
Music was on-point!!
1.5/10 on the analysis piece… gave up reading when realised more of a moan piece than anything factual
Geez Saturday and Sunday were huge on the east coast of Vic, so big that WP was actually fun. The big ones were a bit slow but still plenty of waves. I am surprised it was only 6 foot down there cause it was 15 feet on the back beach sets and some 6 footers in WP.
I give the comments an 8/10.
If all that went into surf report ratings was size then the surfcoast was probably an 8/10 too on Sunday.
It is clear people have different ideas about what good waves are. I agree with some of the points you make dbut. I am happy with most of the size calls of the surf reports of the past week but not sure on the ratings given due to the wave quality on some of the days. The best quality I saw was Saturday arvo and Sunday morning and evening. I personally like those strong offshores but I know people who don't. Each to their own. Overall, though, a very good run of waves for the SC considering what we've had this year.
Didn't mind reading that review above, the ratings are irrelevant and all personal opinion. I do note your comments about it being slow. That's just the surf coast I reckon, especially if you're going to compare it to up north.
As someone who surfed every day since Thursday, I had a stack of fun, feel like I caught a winter's worth of waves during that time, later Saturday arvo probably my best session, and wish I surfed later Sunday as my Sunday surf was bloody hard work in that wind. This morning I found a spot away from the crowds and had even more fun.
This was long overdue around here. If we think the hype and follow on chat around it was large, I can only imagine if it was a true SW swell with less wind. Now I just pray we never have another autumn and winter like that again.
I don't really care what size we're calling it but I can say I would have been pretty happy to be down there with a week off and time on my hands.
Really enjoyed the clip, and the recent shots of Winki and Bells.
Having begun surfing in this wave rich area in the late sixties (yes! 1960s}, it bought back some great memories.
Yes, l've had to surf it in horrendously windy conditions but the Bells and Winki l remember was so much better than the footage just posted. As l said, loved the clip but the locals know what l'm talking about.
With glassy or lighter offshore conditions, you could take off at Uppers or Lowers and disappear down the Valley and then walk back (on lower tides} and jump off the Button again.
I don't live there anymore but get back there usually once a year and its amazing how much the population has grown. There are so many surfers now and its hard to get an uncrowded surf.
But l love some of the negative comments about Bells and Winki that l've read recently (not with this clip), from those who don't know how good it can gets. Keep bagging it out, and definitely don't come down to surf it. The locals would greatly appreciate it if it keeps the crowd factor down.
No opinion on the matter gents, but enjoying the chat.
Makes me feel not so bad about sloshing about in one foot shories on a foamy over the weekend.
Is this is what it has come to in 2024?
Disputing wave height on the best run of swell for a long while?
I was watching from afar, and when it closes out Bells it's always been 10 foot plus.
on Sunday and Monday ,even this morning there were rouge sets that no one was anywhere near,
Enjoy the spectacle, and the show if you didn't get out there yourself.
I just want to see if old mate at 1:30 made that barrel from up the point or those two muppets paddling on the shoulder faded him...
I just want to see if old mate at 1:30 made that barrel from up the point or those two muppets paddling on the shoulder faded him...
Swells pass quickly across the southern ocean so you gotta be right on it when it happens and sit it out between. A single long range swell also means cold lonely lulls as it fades, magic happens briefly when you get overlapping swells in good winds. Photos look great but can’t tell the whole story! I would love to be chattering at warp speed on one of those big walls but I don’t think true locals should be too worried about blow-ins descending from anywhere too far away.
i watched the whole afternoon but last two hours of light at winki and the swell was solid 6 ft , 8 ft bombs and a few bigger sets at bells , the size is always debatable but one thing the swell wasnt was inconsistent , it was fucking pumping like Ive never seen it pulse. so many waves going unridden relentless sets, not many out, just on dark the two guys out bells got smoked by a 10 footer, solid effort to play that game with that much water rolling into the button. maybe not the best shape due to west in swell, but fuck if ya cant get ya froth on in waves like that then I feel sorry for ya
Great debate. Dbut with some interesting views. Without any of my own, it’s nice to hear the various opinions of the swell.
Kind of reminds me of the comments you hear about snapper when there a decent swell. It’s all over the net, you’re seeing people get drained all over the place on a 2 min clip but you’ve not really got that epic window for yourself.
Swell maybe too south, crowd thick, sweep too fast at Kirra or you couldn’t get out behind the rock at snapper.
In the end it’s all a matter of expectation isn’t it? It is what it is. There’ll be another day.
FWIW: my favourite bit of the above clip was the goofyfooter high lining at 3:35. Just trimming, having the best fun ever.
Dont think accurate wave heights were dbuts main point, could spend a life time arguing that one given we all watched different spots at different times etc etc.
Have to agree that dbut is right that wind strength, high tides and swell direction meant the swell didn’t live up to all the hype - there have been plenty of better days that don’t get SW and surfline posting on Insta and YouTube, although I think all of us here would be happy to see it kept it that way ;).
That being said, the days I was around there were definitely great fleeting windows, and the Winki / Bells show looks like it delivered - some of those double / triple tubes on Sunday were nuts.
Bells etc became famous in the 60's, which suited the boards at that time. Anyone surfing in this region should factor that into their expectations.
Plenty of other things beautiful about the coast though.
I like dbut’s review, it actually has a lot of nuance that goes beyond the fantastic photos.
I think the conversation fell into an argument about size but that was not the intention. I think this actually falls into the category of bigger is not always better and there are lot of factors other than size that determine the perfect swell for a spot. Or stretch of coastline.
For example on the surf coast the biggest one as mentioned is the difference between the west south west and a south west swell, the latter being “classic” all time swells, the former accentuating the slowness of common swells in Victoria due to shallowness of bass strait (I think) among other things. (“Faster” swells in Victoria, when they happen, are always memorable).
Likewise on the east coast between a straight south and a south easterly swell.
Bigger is not always better with wave period either if you like your beach breaks, and even points have an ideal size and wave period and direction, beyond which you may get too many wash throughs or section.
Then there is the strength of the offshore. The classic winter days on the surf coast being the light 10-15km north wester or late glass off after an all day offshore. Winter-like swell patterns in Victoria often continue to the end of October, but spring is almost always windier.
The point is how a swell performs goes way beyond raw size alone, and how big or photogenic a few choice waves from a swell at the Torquay reefs are doesn’t necessarily determine how it ranks in terms of best and most funnest days. I personally would prefer a quiet-ish 3-4 foot beach break on a tide either side of a “high high”, or a low at a select few spots. Also, the punchier “hollower” days when the swell is running from a more southerly angle are much more fun. There’s also more locations lighting up in such conditions.
Then there’s the whole subjective experience of whether one surfer actually has a good session in a given swell depending on their ability, luck and timing. The bigger the waves, the tougher the paddling and positioning, and the harder it can be to snare quantity and quality.
Nevertheless, this swell event is news for more, than just how good the waves are. There hasn’t been any swell all winter and now it’s pumping. No one is saying it is all time - but it’s definitely the manifestation of an iconic surf coast winter weather pattern, well worth covering from an editorial perspective.
My brother Hamish has some telepathy skills or is it just common sense. Unless you are a winkipop warrior which does make up a big proportion of the Victorian surfers diet then its far more nuanced than a wave/dick and ego measuring contest for surfing the funnest and best waves of the day. Hopefully those winkipop warriors are all now well fed and hopefully had enough cameras on them to keep their socials and like counts popping off till the next swell. Victoria is lucky for its lack of diversity in surfers and hopefully I haven't convinced too many people to swing the other way.
Edit: This is the only non-serious comment I've made, have a cry if you want!! Hopefully that winkipop cam replay caught all your action too!
As I said straight after that clip of Thursday was posted. Winki is, as an overall experience for the average punter amidst the frothing crowd in a shifty, sectioning line up...... totally over rated!
there appears to be so long between (great) Vicco swells (which sux) that the keyboards get much more of a workout than the points - lots of pent up energy finding its way onto message boards about equipment, swell size, Sydney v Vicco, it wasn't as good as it looks, evil Dan etc.
How good is surfing! We just want to do it more, and well, so we lose our collectives when neither is occurring
Love yas all
sorry if this gets me cancelled I love you Viccos!
Loved this clip of Winki at a size that I've lucked into a many times over the years and some with less in the water. There's nothing like racing that big faced wall down into lowers. I took the first ferry from Sorrento during the week in the naive hope of scoring it relatively empty to only have trouble finding a car park so I settled on a lesser known break down the road for a great surf:)
BTW any footage of Cathedral available @stu? It ought to have be pumping
First clips tuesday- 30 out wonky 3ft sets every 10 minutes
Rest of the clips are sunday - video speaks for itself
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1no5_XT-aXwpD3vXP4moj7cFRCEdy8i0n/view?…
hope everyone got a few
"ol' Michael Carter-Key"
On Ya Mickey ..........Great shooting olde mate !...
Its not always about the waves, just being out there feeling the energy can play a big part in it.