Kirra is back! Well, for now.
Though the iconic break was once the pride and joy of the Gold Coast, these days it’s rare to see it truly fire. The primary reason for that is the same development that created the Superbank. When the Tweed River Entrance Sand Bypassing Project began in the late ’90s, it pumped in millions of cubic yards of sand that simultaneously turned Snapper Rocks into the king of the Gold Coast and hobbled Kirra.
“Within a few seasons, so much sand had drifted between the fabled groynes that Kirra Beach extended past where the lineup had once been,” wrote Matt Rode of Magic Seaweed. “There was literally dry sand where the wave used to break – and just like that the legendary Kirra was gone.”
However, that doesn’t mean that the old dragon doesn’t lift its head up every once in a while. The past few days have been such an occasion, with the wave coming to life due to an easterly swell. This time, YouTube mainstay Raw Surfing has the goods, with an edit of waves that the description pegs as the best in over a year.
The conditions were so good that it also managed to lure out a few active and retired pros. Mick Fanning and Kelly Slater both made appearances in the lineup, according to another post on YouTube channel Life in the Wave. In Kelly’s case, that was despite his recent withdrawal from the MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal, due to an old hip injury.
So, there you have it: The day Kirra went off so hard it turned into the fountain of youth.
