I’ve been a bit quiet on the posts lately, following the procession of speeding P-plater-tradie-utes north on the A1 to Coffs Harbour.
Truth be told, I’ve never really hung or shot much around Coffs. For us, it’s typically the mandatory Guzman pit stop, refuel, stretch the legs, then keep charging north to the Northern Rivers. (The A1 basically ploughs straight through the middle of town, so you don’t exactly get a choice.)
But wow — Coffs has waves. And beaches. And then more beaches with waves at completely different angles. It’s kinda incredible how many options there are for a bustling regional town of 50-odd thousand.
Places that consistently produce surfers like Lee Winkler, Mitch Crews, Cooper Chapman, and nearby Evans Head’s Callum Robson usually tell you all you need to know — they get proper surf up here.
This week, the NSW State Surfing Titles rolled into town. Juniors, SUP frothers, old pharts, longboarders — the whole glorious travelling surf circus.
It’s been chunky all week too. And biblical rain. Like tropical typhoon stuff. But when it finally cleared, Coffs absolutely lit up.
I spent the week trailing the groms/juniors from beach to beach, all chasing qualification for the Aussie Titles in Margaret River this November. They’re on Day 4 now.
And crikey… the level of surfing talent is insane.
Australia’s surfing talent pipeline is just ridiculous. Some of these kids are surfing at genuine world-class levels before they’ve even finished primary school.
:: uge
