Cowaramup Bombora

Cowaramup Bombora
Cowie Bombie, Cow Bombie
Mick Corbett surfing Cow Bombie in 2014
LocationOffshore of Gracetown, Western Australia
Coordinates33°51′20.57″S 114°58′4.51″E / 33.8557139°S 114.9679194°E / -33.8557139; 114.9679194 (Approximate)
Part ofIndian Ocean
Map

Cowaramup Bombora (also known as Cowie Bombie or simply Cow Bombie) is a big wave open-ocean surf break found on the south-west coast of Western Australia. It is located 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) offshore west of Gracetown which is near the town of Margaret River, world-renowned for its surf, and is 265 kilometres (165 mi) south of the capital city Perth.[1][2]

The break first came to the world’s attention in 2007, when local Damon Eastaugh won the Big Wave Award after riding a wave estimated to be more than 15 metres (50 ft).[3]

It doesn't break often, requiring huge swells from the Southern Ocean,[4] but these can produce very large waves often in excess of 12 metres (40 ft)[5] with some contending for the biggest wave in Australia at over 18 metres (60 ft).[6][7][8]

Its name comes from Cowaramup, the name of the small local townsite, and bombora, an Indigenous Australian term for an area of large sea waves breaking over a shallow area.

The break was featured in the 2013 documentary series Storm Surfers 3D which described it as "on its day, the tallest wave in Australia",[9] where Tom Carroll survived a near-death wipeout while surfing with Ross Clarke-Jones.[10] It also featured in the 2011 documentary film Fighting Fear.[11][12]

In 2011, Western Australian surfer Damien Warr won the Oakley Biggest Wave award for his ride on Cow Bombie.[13] In February 2015, Jarryd Foster, won the Oakley Biggest Wave award for his ride on Cow Bombie.[14][15] Mick Corbett was also a 2015 finalist for the same award with his Cow Bombie ride.[16][17]

On 26 June 2015, Australian surfer Felicity Palmateer became the first woman to surf Cow Bombie.[7][18][19]

On 2 March 2016, the Oakley Big Wave Awards 2015–2016 were announced, with two of the three major awards coming from Cow Bombie: Zac Haynes won Biggest Paddle-In, and Justin Holland won Biggest Wave in Australian Waters, finishing second and third respectively for Ride Of The Year. All three contenders for Biggest Wave were at Cow Bombie.[20]

  1. ^ "Surf locations, Surf forecast, Cow Bombie, Australia, Oceania, , Western Australia". SurfingAtlas.com. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  2. ^ "Cow bombie - Surfing in Margaret River North, Australia - WannaSurf, surf spots atlas, surfing photos, maps, GPS location". Wannasurf.com. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  3. ^ Pancia, Anthony. "Just passing through - Jamie Mitchell drops into Cow Bombie - Your Margaret River Region". Margaretriver.com. Archived from the original on 17 September 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  4. ^ "Surf locations, Surf forecast, Cow Bombie, Australia, Oceania, , Western Australia". SurfingAtlas.com. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  5. ^ "COW BOMBIE REVIEW". Archived from the original on 12 April 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
  6. ^ "The Biggest Wave Ever Ridden In Australia?". mySURF.tv. Archived from the original on 8 January 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  7. ^ a b "Did This Margaret River Surfer Ride Australia's Biggest Ever Wave". Perthnow.com.au. Retrieved 16 January 2016.[permanent dead link‍]
  8. ^ "Big wave surfing". Au.news.yahoo.com. 5 January 2016. Archived from the original on 24 January 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  9. ^ "Storm Surfers 3D (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  10. ^ "Storm Surfers - Near-Death Wipeout at Cow Bombie". YouTube. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  11. ^ "TOP TEN Mark Mathews waves from FIGHTING FEAR - Watch actions sports online at Garage Entertainment". Garageentertainment.com.au. 1 September 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  12. ^ "Fighting Fear (2011)". IMDb.com. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  13. ^ "Five-year wait pays off for surfer - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Abc.net.au. 9 February 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  14. ^ "Big Wave awards: WA surfer Jarryd Foster wins top prize for Cow Bombie ride - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Abc.net.au. 12 February 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  15. ^ "Jarryd Foster at Cow Bombie - 2015 XXL Biggest Wave Nominee - WSL Big Wave Awards". YouTube. 26 March 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  16. ^ "Surfer Mick Corbett rides the Cow Bombie off WA's South-West coast - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Abc.net.au. 12 February 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  17. ^ "Mick Corbett at Cow Bombie - 2015 XXL Biggest Wave Nominee - WSL Big Wave Awards". YouTube. 26 March 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  18. ^ "Felicity Palmateer Makes History At Cow Bombie". Surfinglife.com.au. 2 July 2015. Archived from the original on 3 February 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  19. ^ "Felicity Palmateer Makes History At Big Cow Bombie". mySURF.tv. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  20. ^ "Winners Announced at the Oakley Big Wave Awards!". Archived from the original on 2 March 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2016.