Who would've thought? Surfing inside a harbour? Well 2 weeks ago that is just what the local Newcastle Surfers were doing!
We'd had a few days of slightly stormy weather and the resultant gale force winds that stuck around for a few days created a large swell up and down the local coast and drove the surf off the beaches wild. It was too messy to surf off the beaches but the swell coming into Newcastle Harbour and bouncing off Nobbys Breakwall was creating a right hand break that lasted for about 50-100 metres. At times the waves would form a perfect barrel.
At least 30 surfers enjoyed the result of the largest swells of the summer. Mind you, the waves may have been great but I'm lead to believe that underneath that maelstrom of crashing water lie some old WW2 tank traps and a few car wrecks; it's not really a place to take a big fall!
A small crowd lined the walk along the breakwall to watch the surfers take on the waves in the calmer waters of the harbour whilst some were there to catch the huge wave action smashing off the end of the breakwall (see my previous post to catch that action!).
Surfing the waves off the breakwall when conditions are right has become more popular over the years. In 2013 as a result of stormy weather, gale force winds and torrential rain, the organisers of Surfest moved the competition on the Saturday from Merewether Beach into Newcastle Harbour where the right handed break kept the competition going until the weather cleared and they returned to Merewether. The harbour was closed to shipping on that day apparently and they had the place to themselves!
There is a science to having a breakwall on a river entrance. If you're interested you can read some interesting facts here.
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