Snapper Rocks playing host to the best “mind-blowing” waves on the Gold Coast
A JETSKIIER has been rescued by helicopter after coming off his jet ski on the Gold Coast. Most beaches will remain shut as rare monster waves come to the Coast with hundreds taking to the water to test out the powerful swell.
Lifestyle
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UPDATE: AT LEAST two men have come off their jetskis at the Jumpinpin Bar at the Gold Coast Seaway this afternoon just before 2pm.
Water police and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter helped the men, who had been jetskiing in the Seaway.
A witness told the Bulletin that it looked like the men involved had lost their jetskis.
One of the men managed to make it back to shore, but a second 51-year-old man was having difficulty getting out of the water.
Surf Lifesaving’s Nathan Fyfe said: “The Westpac helicopter gave assistance on the beach (to the first man).”
Paramedics met the second man in Doug Jennings Park after the helicopter dropped him off there.
A Queensland Ambulance Services spokeswoman said the man was in water for about two hours before could be rescued. Once returned to land he was taken to Gold Coast University Hospital in a stable condition.
Mr Fyfe advised boaties and jetskiiers to keep away from the big swell today due to the dangerous conditions.
A WOMAN has had her face sliced open after being dumped by a wave on Snapper Rocks.
Yesterday, just after midday, paramedics were called to the iconic surfing spot to reports a woman had been caught in a wave and injured herself on the rocks.
According to a witness, who declined to be named, the woman’s face was sliced open from the top of her forehead to her nose.
Another witness said she had been badly injured with “half her forehead off down to her eye.”
She also sustained multiple cuts and gashes to the rest of her body.
It is understood life savers attended to the woman until paramedics arrived.
She was taken to Tweed Hospital.
Today, all Gold Coast beaches are closed for swimming with dangerous conditions, including strong rips.
“It’s definitely very dangerous conditions with waves heading up to three metres,” Gold Coast Surf Lifesaving duty officer Scott Burgess said.
“All of the beaches are closed... but we’re still actively patrolling.”
He warned against swimming in the rough waves and said they would be asking people ‘politely’ to get out of the surf.
On Saturday several people suffered minor injuries after being swept over at rocks at Rainbow Bay and a 14-year-old girl who had tried to go swimming with about 12 mates had to be rescued, another Surf Lifesaving Queensland spokesman said.
Mr Burgess said someone spotted two young boys being swept into the ocean from a highrise nearby Tallebudgera Creek and alerted lifesavers.
A nipper helped the boys before lifesavers took over and rescued them.
Along the southeast Queensland coast there were strong rips and waves up to two metres.
Experts will examine conditions on Sunday morning but it is expected that all beaches north of Kirra will stay shut.
The latest update comes as hundreds hit the beach to check out rare monster waves and swells at Snapper Rocks.
Super Saturday swells pounded the coast after an electrifying night of storms across the South East. @MacLyon7 https://t.co/xz9WiwqNed #7News pic.twitter.com/vMFpSJCIjp
— 7 News Brisbane (@7NewsBrisbane) February 17, 2018
The super-sized swell rarely seen at Coolangatta in years delighted surfers with eight foot high waves rumoured to have broken boards in half.
The swell which was brought on by Cyclone Gita and is making its way across the Pacific Ocean also made for a picture-perfect view.
As well as surfers, tourists and day-trippers also soaked up the action from the beach and headland.
For one board rider, Andre Anya who is supposed to be getting ready to compete for the under 18s Nudie Australian Boardriders Battle in Newcastle tomorrow — it was a good excuse to go for a surf.
But the 18-year-old junior athlete from Indonesia said he couldn’t have found a better spot to practice.
“I guess I’ve been practising in a way,” he said.
“The surf today is the best it’s been for a long while, everyone is down here and there are heaps of people who aren’t great at surfing having a go. They do seem to be getting in the way a lot though. I’ve never seen so mnay people out here all at once.
“The swell is huge, a bit messy and you do have to wait for the perfect wave to roll in.
“Tomorrow will be even better but unfortunately I won’t be here.”
For surfer Jake Cheeseman who was on the water all day surfing with his uncle he described the waves as “mind-blowing”.
“I think I did my rib after coming off and body slamming someone elses board, but it was definitely worth it,” he said.
The grommet originally from Margaret River in WA said he hadn’t been surfing for about a year but today’s waves brought back his pure love for surfing.
“It was an extraordinary way to come back, riding on those monster waves,” he said.
“The waves are coming in very, very fast so you do end up getting slammed in the water.”
Surfies are jumping off Snapper Rocks to grab the perfect waves.
“These are easily the best waves on the Gold Coast,” he said.
But it’s not just surfers who are vying for the perfect wave.
Photographers also flocked to the beach.
Among the many photographers getting shots of the monster waves is Brisbane photographer Kerri Setch.
“I heard the waves were going to be enormous out here today so I grabbed my camera and came down as soon as I could,” she said.
“I love the interplay with the surfers and the waves. You could snap them all day, and every show seems to be different.
“I’m not out there in the water but I feel like I’m getting a bit of the action from my lens.”
Ms Setch said she had bumped into many photographers on the beach.
“We all respect each other and no once is getting in anyone’s way.”
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