Sunday 26 May 2013

 
 
Years ago, Snapper Rocks became a somewhat average Gold Coast point break living in the shadow of it's renowned cousin Kirra. In reality that it was better known like a fishing position (and so the name) than it was as a surf break. Nevertheless, in April 1995 the Tweed River Entry Fine sand Bypassing Project (TRESBP) commenced pumping sand out from the river mouth and dropping it just east of Snapper Rocks. Very quickly a brilliant sand bank had developed in Rainbow Bay and once the swells begun striking, local surfers noticed they'd one of the world's longest, and most consistent point breaks on their front door.
A single wave on the The Superbank has allegedly been ridden for the long distance of 1.97 km, all the way from Snapper Rocks to Kirra, although with this to happen on one wave is extremely rare.
Recently the Snapper Rocks superbank is probably the most packed wave in Australia, however on any given day you will notice the best surfers worldwide tearing it up like there is not any tomorrow. In the event the swell and wind combine together, you'll be able to ride the wave all the way down to Kirra - more than a kilometre away, and for the fortuitous few who maintain this sort of experience, it is a individual share of surfing history. The sheer quality of the man-made wave has drastically increased the amount of surf tourism in the region, which has also resulted in extreme crowding of the wave. On a good day, anything up to 200 surfers can be counted over the 2 km distance, with multiple drop-ins, and an aggressive atmosphere.

In 1956 Jack Evans built the Snapper Rocks Sea Baths, with an adjacent shark pool for public viewing. Later that year the Boyd brothers, local fishermen, caught two bottlenose dolphins in the Terranora Creek which Evans took and put in the pool for the Jack Evans Porpoise Show (which moved around to Duranbah in 1961). Only remnants of the pools remain today.
 

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