Captain Obvious: “The Goldie’s About To Turn On…”

As California slips into the dregs of winter and Hawaii recovers from that freak low pressure that just steamrolled it, the Gold Coast is about to enjoy summertime bliss in the form of a bombing cyclone swell. But before your Insta feed is clogged with Snapper highlight reels, a quick survey of what other coastlines are providing around the world.

The hype’s well underway. The Goldie’s going to be the focal point for foreseeable future. Cyclone Oma is bearing down on Queensland and will begin hammering the coast with swell on Wednesday and Thursday, and because of the size and track of the storm, it looks like it should continue to produce swell through the weekend. Just guessing, but a few people will probably give Snapper and Kirra a go. What has us giddy is the myriad of other nooks and crannies that may surprise.

For hearty fans of cold water and afternoon siestas, Europe continues to be a wonderland of opportunity. On Friday morning, Nazare looks like it will be hanging in the 20-foot zone. Super Tubos will be a much more agreeable 10-foot. It even looks a Mundaka may get something in the head-to-overhead range on Friday—but then again, forecasting Mundaka is like playing pool with a crooked cue. Point being, keep your head on a swivel in the Basque country. When it comes to the conditions along the Atlantic coast, it’s always a roll of the dice. Good luck and happy hunting.

In South Africa, it looks like both Durban and J-Bay will get a shot of swell later this week. That’s good news for anyone who’s a fan of Jordy Smith’s Insta feed. Homeboy’s been ripping New Pier lately. It’s not going to be all-time, but for area surfers, it will be more than enough for some good times…and hopefully a few more Jordy clips.

The North Pacific has slowed down considerably after a steady bombardment of swell earlier in the season. Last week it was about a million feet in Hawaii, but that swell came with crazy winds and weather. It’s been so cold that Carissa Moore’s surfed in town in a fullsuit. It doesn’t look like Ala Moana or Pipeline are going to be pumping over the next few days. It’s too early for any legit south swell action, and the north swell that was in the water is winding down all week.

Jack Freestone and a crisp Pyzel, united in elevation. Snapped during the same D’Bah session, by Juan Medina.

Don’t expect the mainland to blow any minds this week either. Northern California has plenty of swell, but it also has plenty of victory-at-sea conditions. The northern angle of the swells doesn’t have enough west in it to make the wrap around Point Conception, so expect everywhere south of Santa Barbara to remain small and ragged as more rain lurks in the weather forecast. Surfers in the L.A., Orange and San Diego Counties shouldn’t get their hopes up, but they should also remain vigilant for possible windows of opportunity.

Surf is always where you find it, but at the moment a plane ticket to Australia is looking like a pretty damn wise investment.