In search of the ultimate beach

WHERE is the next undiscovered classic wave?

Surfers dream of finding new secluded surf breaks that are unknown, free of the crowds and allow for a maximum number of perfect rides.

Over the past decade surfers have scoured the earth and have found some amazing new waves which have since become surf destinations. Possibly the most obvious is Skeleton Bay in Namibia, Africa, where an unusual sand spit island hosts a perfect barrelling wave which is inconsistent, but when the swells hit, perfect.

But I’m starting to wonder if there are still undiscovered surf breaks out there in the world.

A northern African wave was also recently discovered and there are rumours of a perfect wave in regions of central west Africa.

Outside of these relatively recent discoveries, are there more waves out there that are yet to be discovered?

With Google Earth and the ability to predict swells and assess areas, I’m beginning to wonder if there are any classic locations that have not been found.

Rumours abound in the following areas, some, very close to Australia.

Papua New Guinea has quite a few well known areas that have surf camps and great waves, but further out from the main island lies a number of remote islands that we know very little about and yet, positioned ideally in the Pacific Ocean, they could well have classic waves — Manus Island, infamous for refugee camps, jumps to mind as one such location, along with Bouganville.

The Australis Islands lie south of Tahiti and are also precisely located to receive powerful Pacific swells from all directions.

Indian Ocean-facing nations through the Middle East around Yemen, Oman and then into Asia regions we seem to know little about, including places like Myanmar and even Bangladesh.

While the great search for new waves might seem a dream of the past, I’m still optimistic that a classic new wave will be discovered somewhere soon and I feel it will come from one of the lesser known and remote Pacific Islands.

Nothing special for waves along the Surf Coast in the coming days. Beachbreaks to the eastern regions will probably hold the best prospects between Pt Lonsdale and Thirteenth Beach. The rest of the coast line looks very small and wind affected.