Yorkes Surfarama 2017
It wasn't a hard decision to make. Ben had family commitments, same with Ash, so they asked if I'd like to attend Yorkes Surfarama.
It's the best community surf event anywhere around the country, and with a large winteresque swell on the cards the answer was easy.
The Yorke Peninsula community is spread over hundreds of square kilometres, and it's not just those who cling to the limestone coast. Farmers from the Mid North and even crew from Adelaide who feel an affinity with the peninsula are considered part of the community - albeit the extended community. And when the Yorkes mob put on a show, everyone comes together.
The Yorkes Surfarama is an opportunity for families and surfers to catch up, throw in some money for fund-raising projects to preserve and maintain the fragile peninsula coastline.
From kids clown performances and Dreamtime stories to the guitar prowess of local Warooka teenager Travis Collins, and that's all before Beach Leech got the dance floor kicking late into the night.
Then there was the surf. The great thing about Yorkes is that under most winds and swell there is always somewhere to surf. Saturday saw a large groundswell fill in and protected spots lit up under the prevailing south-wester.
Sunday was the day though, with a light offshore wind giving all the reefs across the bottom of the peninsula a proper wax and polish.
It was a great event to catch up with old friends among new ones, sharing experiences that only come from such a great local community.
To keep updated on current projects along the coast, follow this Facebook page: https://swllnt.com/2jSfrIL
Comments
That righthander - holy heck! Is that the fabled SH?
Great place to escape with the dogs but mind the snakes!
Looks like a great bit of territory. Any chance to spell out where these were taken. Given the distance, snakes and remoteness it should not be too 'secret' ??
Sorry I can't Tony, most of the spots don't take too much to figure out.
This 'secrecy' issue is totally contradictory. One minute, the article states - 'The Yorkes Surfarama is an opportunity for families and surfers to catch up, throw in some money for fund-raising projects to preserve and maintain the fragile peninsula coastline.'
yet for outer of towners - stay out. So much for 'a great local community'.
Not at all Tony.
Anyone is and will always be welcome, I just don't think it's the place to be naming locations and giving directions to the better gems. Like anywhere if you do a bit of research it's all pretty easy to find :)
Also if you're over there and get chatting with some of the guys, you'll no doubt be steered in the right direction re the best spot on the day.
Craig, its a big place. Sure happy to have a beer, shout a beer for the locals but I have to find them. Even if the name did spill out, I doubt whether you would get 'hordes' of surfers. But like Cactus, one tends to need to jewel to go searching for. Sure you will find many on the way. Regardless, its fundamentally selfish not to inform.
That's surfing though isn't it, selfish?
Rarely around the country or world do surfers lay out the red carpet to their premier breaks. The ones that do are in need of tourism for their towns or villages to survive.
"Fundamentally selfish"...get off the custard mate.
You're not a local anywhere are you tonybarber!
Snapper mate, join us. Cactus ain't secret but how many go there.
Gotta go one day. I've seen enough photos of clean, clear quality waves.
Never had a problem with locals anywhere, so not even worried. The flies, though...
Tony, take the effort to get there and trust me it's not hard. All they key breaks are even provided in a handout by the Minlaton Info stop.
Thanks, belly. I'm not expecting a 'red' carpet. But if someone posts a couple pretty good photos then it gets the spirit going. The next step is to find out the best times of year - a hint was a 'groundswell'. Now for the winds .... ???
As the coast mostly faces west, winds from the SE to NE are offshore, so summer is great, but swells are sometimes lacking.
Autumn is probably the pick, with winter NW to SW winds limiting options to only a few breaks.
Hmmm... as autumn approaches, looks like time to work out a trip to this bit of heaven. Thanks, as long as I only have to deal with red belly blacks.
Think browns and tigers ;-)
I'm starting to get a clearer picture of the type of surfer that is the target demographic of the wavepool companies.
Re the Surfarama : Looks like a good time to be had regardless of who you are. Like basically everywhere , don't be a cock and you'll have a ball. Don't go giving out maps to waves you've found , respect the locals and their environment and you'll be welcome back.
Hope Huey comes to the party for you all.