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Duck diving through the face at Bells
These pages provide brief descriptions about some of the surf breaks in the the Bells Beach area, and other areas on the West Coast of Victoria, Australia.
The list is by no means exhaustive, just a fair representative sample to give you a feel for this area of Australian coastline. (All Descriptions not yet completed)
Links to photo's of the breaks are also included with the break descriptions, I hope to eventually have at least one picture for each break that is listed .
INDEX for West Coast Surf Breaks, Page 3 of 4
"Down South", Apollo Bay to Portland
Thanks to Jamie Mustard who provided the information on the following breaks.
INDEX for West Coast Surf Breaks, Page 4 of 4
"Down South", Apollo Bay to Portland
Thanks to Jamie Mustard who provided the information on the following breaks.
(NW-W)
Reef Break, 5 main breaks, Rivermouth, Inside reef and 3 outside reefs
Right and lefts on each break.
Tides, not super critical, depends a lot on swell, generally best on rising tides.
Rivermouth needs high tide, fickle, but can be hollow under the right conditions, compared to Inside reef which is generally very soft, and a good beginners wave.
Inside's and Rivermouth best to around head high.
Outside reefs are much better, can get very good, but not quite the quality of Winki or Bells. Can hold waves to 1.5 to 2 times overhead.
Pictures
Pt. Impossible, Aerial view (92k) Aerial view, showing, from left to right, the river mouth left breaking, the inside reef in front of the cars, the 1st outside reef, and 2nd outside reef. with an unbroken wave peaking up. (at extreme right of pic.)
(NW-SW)
Fishos has a beach break, not surfed by many, and a point break. Only breaks on big swells, needs high tide. A fall back wave when Bells and other breaks are too big for the average surfer, or out of control, and onshore.
Still passable on a sw wind when most other breaks are onshore.
Mainly surfed by the very young, and longboards.
Pictures
Fisho's 1 (40K) The beach break at Fisho's, photo taken back in the 70's sometime.
Fisho's 2 (14K) The beach break at Fisho's, twin fun days, onshore. This is about as big as it gets at this spot.
Fisho's 3 (44k) Typical Fishos with an onshore SW wind, viewed from Yellow Bluff, the clifftop overlooking Fisho's.
The whitewater on the reefs in the distance (a couple of Km offshore) is usually an indicator that the swell is big enough for Fisho's, and that most of the other reef breaks, ie Bells etc will be huge, and probably out of control it the wind is SW, ie onshore.
Fisho's 4 (49k) The same view, looking a little further to the left.
Pt. Danger
Two lefts, Super tubes, the most northern left , will work on almost any size swell over head high, is fairly hollow, and a relatively short ride, with the size of the wave dropping fairly quickly as you ride it.
The next left, closest to the point, is nowhere near as hollow, and only works to around 1.5 overhead . Just an average wave, popular with longboards. Best wind is north west.
Pt. Danger is also the main wave sailing spot when the winds are cross-shore to onshore, ie west to s/west to easterly
A right hander, good beginners wave, breaks around a rocky point, and sometimes right in to Torquay Beach. OK to about 1.5 overhead, N/west to West wind is best.
Picture's
Torquay 1 (54k) Aerial view of Torquay Beach, Torquay Back Beach is right where the rivrmouth is, and Jan JUc Beach starts at the right of the headland in the centre of the picture.
Jan Juc
Fluctuating quality, typical beach break , lefts and rights depending on the banks. N/west to N/east winds , popular spot as it is within walking distance for all the grommets at Jan Juc.
Picture's
Jan Juc 1 (52k) Aerial view of Jan Juc & Jan Juc Beach. The narrow sliver of reef at the right edge of the picture is the "Bird Rock" break.
Birdrock
Very hollow right hand reef break , at the right hand end of Jan Juc beach, excellent wave, short and sweet. North to N/west winds.
The series of reef breaks between Winki and Jan Juc generally need a moderate swell, and are best around head high to something under double overhead. Any bigger and they tend to close out, and/or break too wide, where as Winki and Bells can pretty much handle any size.
Sparrows
Right hand reef break, good shape, needs a reasonable swell around head high, best on N/west winds.
Picture's
Sparrow's 1 (40k)View of Sparrows from clifftops, note the "Wake" at the middle left edge of the picture, this is hundreds, if not thousands of Dolphins, moving south along the coast.
The next picture is a closeup of the start of that school of Dolphins.
Another right hand reef break, needs a reasonable swell, around head high, hollow inside section, best on N/west winds.
Picture's
Aerial view (180k) This aerial view shows the reef breaks from Steps to
South Side, from left to right the breaks are, Steps, Evo's, Boobs. Winki Lowers, Winki Uppers, Bells (no waves
breaking, but you can see the whitewater from the previous set), and the extreme right break is Centreside and
South Side. The tiny bit of whitewater at the right edge of picture is Jarosite reef.
Evos
Small right hand reef break between Steps and Boobs, will close out on anything over head high.
Picture's
Aerial view (180k) This aerial view shows the reef breaks from Steps to
South Side, from left to right the breaks are, Steps, Evo's, Boobs. Winki Lowers, Winki Uppers, Bells (no waves
breaking, but you can see the whitewater from the previous set), and the extreme right break is Centreside and
South Side. The tiny bit of whitewater at the right edge of picture is Jarosite reef.
Boobs to Winki (43k) A view (from L to R) of Evos, Boobs, and Winki at far right, taken from the base of the cliffs at Steps
Boobs
Anothe hollow right hand reef break, best on high tide and N/west winds, with a medium swell. Can be fun on a small swell at low tide, nice and hollow but watch out for the exposed reef :-).
Picture's
Aerial view (180k) This aerial view shows the reef breaks from Steps to
South Side, from left to right the breaks are, Steps, Evo's, Boobs. Winki Lowers, Winki Uppers, Bells (no waves
breaking, but you can see the whitewater from the previous set), and the extreme right break is Centreside and
South Side. The tiny bit of whitewater at the right edge of picture is Jarosite reef.
Boobs to Winki (43k) A view (from L to R) of Evos, Boobs, and Winki at far right, taken from the base of the cliffs at Steps
Winki Pop
A great right hand reef break, generally breaks in two sections, Uppers, and Lowers, but this distinction dissappears with a good solid swell, when the wave will peel right through.
Generally a better wave than Bells, as verified by the crowd factor. Best winds are N/West to West. Can be surfed in very light Northerely winds, but anything over 10 knots creates too much side shore chop. This pretty much applies to most of the reef breaks here. In general its N/west to N/East for all of the beach breaks and N/West to West winds for the reef breaks.
Picture's
Aerial view (180k) This aerial view shows the reef breaks from Steps to
South Side, from left to right the breaks are, Steps, Evo's, Boobs. Winki Lowers, Winki Uppers, Bells (no waves
breaking, but you can see the whitewater from the previous set), and the extreme right break is Centreside and
South Side. The tiny bit of whitewater at the right edge of picture is Jarosite reef.
Boobs to Winki (43k) A view (from L to R) of Evos, Boobs, and Winki at far right, taken from the base of the cliffs at Steps
Boobs to Jan Juc (43k) A view of the breaks between Winki and Jan Juc, looking north from the winki car park, from R to L, the breaks with whitewater visible, are Boobs, Steps, and Sparrows, with Jan Juc Beach in the distance.
Bell's has basically two break's, "Rincon", which is in front of, and
under the cliffs which constitute the right hand headland (when
looking out to sea), and the main break "The Bowl", which is out in
the bay, about 3/4 of the way across from the left headland.
(which mark's the start of the adjacent break to the north, "Winkie")
The Waves at The Bowl, and Rincon, are Right hander's, but
with smaller swell's, you can sometimes go left at the bowl, and
Rincon less frequently.
The Bowl will break at low tide with a swell around head high, but at
high tide it need's around 1.5 overheadhead swell to start breaking.
I have yet too see it big enough to close out, though it will close
out across the bay at the end of your ride on swell's around double
overhead, depending on the tide.
Once the swell get's over 1.5 overhead, the only effect the tide has
is too make the waves hollower on low tide, and fuller on high.
Bell's will handle waves of 3 to 4 times overhead, I have seen it at
that size quite a few times over the year's.
Waves from double to triple overhead are not uncommon over autumn and
winter.
Best winds are N/west to West. Because of the cliffs, the wind, especially if westerly, can be very strong without blowing the waves out. In fact under those conditions we get some of our best classic waves, the strong wind obliterates any traces of unwanted small swell/chop etc, and just leaves ruler straight lines, with not a drop of water out of place, a sight to behold, and better still to surf!
Picture's
Bells Beach 1 (35k) The first tantalizing glimpse of Bells as you drive in from the northern end. The bit of whitewater visible is at Centre Side. Bells is just to the left of that.
Bells Beach 2 (47k) A big Day at Bells, 3 to 4 times overhead, 3 surfers out (The resolution is too poor to seen them.)
Bells Beach 5 (52k) Excellent conditions at Bells, a westerly swell peels from Rincon, right through to the Bowl. Even the tourist's can appreciate these conditions :-).
Rincon is only good at either extreme of the tide, at high tide, with
a small swell up to around head high, it provides a nice little hot
dog wave under the cliff's, peeling across the gently sloping rock
shelf, sometimes from right out the back, onto the beach.
The cliff base at Rincon is strewn with medium size rock's, and at
high tide, with a small swell you can get a little close if you decide
to finish off your ride with a floater or reo.
At low tide, with a swell from head to 1.5 overhead, Rincon
provides a reasonable right hander beyond the exposed rock shelf.
Any bigger, and it closes out across to the bowl.
At mid tide, either going in or out, Rincon is pretty useless.
Picture's
Rincon-1 (62k) Rincon lineup, viewed from steps at Bells, typical size swell for Rincon to work at high tide.
Rincon-2 (61k) Rincon, same day as above, viewed from the rocks.
Right hander, pretty average at times, but with a head to 1.5 overhead westerly swell it becomes a fast hollow wave. Will close out on anything bigger, and if the swell is too southerly, will close out even around shoulder high. Less crowds than Winki or Bells normally. N/West wind and a medium rising tide usually provide the best conditions.
Center Side 2 (41k) Typical Center Side wave, viewed from the rocks, old photo from the single fin days.
Centre Side 3 (73k) Centre Side lineup, low tide, viewed from Bells carpark.
Centre Side 4 (26k) Centre Side, a lesson on "How to drop in :-)", single fin days.
Centre Side 5 (44k) Photo by Jamie Mustard. This is Centre Side, on a small day, looking towards Bells. Jamie is surfing behind me, and using a cheap waterproof camera, casually lines up the camera for this interesting shot. Nice composition.
Southside
Simliar wave to Centreside but breaks left, it is in fact the left hand break of centreside.
Picture's
Centre Side & Southside (52k) Lineup at Centre side (right hand break ) and Southside (left hand break), viewed from the cliffs aboove southside
Jarosites
A sectiony right hand reef break, halfway bettween Bells and Pt.Addis. Rarely surfed.
Has a hollow takeoff, a closeout section, and a flat shoulder.
Picture's
Jarosite's (16k) Jarosite Reef, viewed from base of cliffs at Centre Side. 500mm telephoto lens shot.
Point Addis is in the background, about 3km away, Jarosites is about 1km away.
Pt. Addis
A protected bay, with "beginner qualiy" beach breaks. It is ofshore on a S/Westerly, which is onshore at most other breaks . Has an assortment of other breaks around the rocky headland, which are pretty average, and not surfed too often. Also has some beach breaks at "Back Addis", which are offshore on North to N/Easterly and which occassionaly get some good banks and waves.
The main wave here is a good quality left, which can hold waves to at least double overhead, but
the bank seems to change fairly often. There is also a right hander, of reasonable quality.
Best wind is North.
Johanna
A mixture of reef and sand covered reefs makes for changeable conditions. There are a series of left and right hand breaks, which can provide excellent waves. Can hold double overhead plus waves on occasions but needs a clean swell and good banks, otherwise the takeoffs just shift around too much. Very popular over summer, when the swell is generally too small for the Bells/Winki area, as the coastline here picks up much more swell. Best wind is northerly, but not too strong.
Picture's
Johanna 1 (20k) View of the beach at Johanna on a small day, 1st carpark. These two pictures dont really do the place justice .
(NE) Possibly picks up the most swell of anywhere in Victoria. Solid and consistent beach breaks, usually best from 1.5 to 2 time soverhead. Can hold larger waves if the sand banks are good.
(NE) Along with Margaret River, Two Mile is one of the largest surfable waves in Australia. It is a right hand reef that breaks about 500m from shore. It can be surfed anywhere from 3, to 5 or 6 time's overhead, but you need a long gun (8 ft. plus) and even bigger balls!
Picture's
Two Mile (21k) A view of Two Mile from the waters edge, small day, about 15ft faces.
The following pictures of Two Mile taken by Brian Mustard, summer, 1992/93.
(N) Short sharp right hand reef that often double sucks on take-off. Best from head high to double overhead, with a clean westerly swell and high tide. Entry into the water is by a 4m jump off the cliffs, and to get back in you climb up the "Well".
Massacres
(N) Another right hand reef break that is in the same bay as the Well. A sometimes fickle wave, it is best surfed from 1.5 to 3.5 time's overhead. When good, it can be a very powerfull and hollow tube.
(N) A reasonable beach break on the east side of Warnnambool that is best from head high to double overhead, on a high tide. It's best feature is without doubt surfing with the Southern Right Whales that frequent the area in winter.
(N) A beach break that is possibly the worst in the world!, whats more it is located right in the middle of Warnnambool, so is often crowded. Dont Bother !
2nd Bay
(NE) Beach break with a short right hand point at one end. Sometimes OK but generally too inconsistent.
Levis
(NE) Another beach break that sometimes can have very good quality waves. Best from head to double overhead at low tide but can be surfed bigger. Has suffered from iconsistency in recent years.
Lighthouse
(W) A rare treat if you can get it. The lighthouse is a right hand reef break, best from 1.5 to 3 times overhead, with a light wind (very exposed). The wave sometimes horse-shoes at the end.
Passage
(WNW) The most frequently surfed wave in Port Fairy, it is a short flatish right hand reef break, and is a little bit predictable and boring.
Water Towers
(SW) A good quality right hand reef break that needs a large swell to break. Surf it at high tide, otherwise you'll lose your fins on the rocks which are exposed at low tide.
Black Nose
(SW) A 500m to 1000m right hand point break which is probably the longest in Australia. Best on low tide, from head high to double overhead, but needs a very large swell to break. Quite often very crowded, because if it is working, everywhere else in the vicinity is too big, and onshore.
Picture's
The following Black Nose (Near Portland) pictures were taken by Brian Mustard.
Black Nose 1 (20k) Black Nose lineup (Only shows the main point section.)
(SW) Next door to Black Nose, and works in the same conditions. It is very much it's poor cousin.
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