In terms of waves, Tropical Cyclone Winston was perhaps the best start to a year in Southeast Queensland since I can remember. It seems like we’ve had a constant push of swell ever since New Years Day. And the wonderful thing is, we’re still enjoying great waves.
As wonderful as the waves were, we can’t talk about Winston without sending our hearts out to the island nation of Fiji. Winston was officially the largest and most destructive cyclone ever recorded in the South Pacific region to reach land, and it hit Fiji head on, completely decimating large parts of their small island community. It’s been reported that it may take several years for some parts of the islands to reach pre-Winston normalcy.
One thing that helped make this tropical cyclone so great was that it stayed within our swell window for so long. After it left Fiji, it squeezed down through the islands of New Caledonia and New Zealand, heading straight towards the coast of Australia. Then it turned and tracked north along the coast, producing beautiful long-period ground swell, which lasted for days and days. Here’s a small selection from one of the finest runs of swell I’ve ever witnessed in the Southern Hemisphere.
See more of Joel’s awesome work on his website.
