Swell times ahead as calm descends on centre of a storm

The skies were gloomy over Manly Beach but nothing could dampen the enthusiasm of surfers briefly escaping life in lockdown.

Sam Phillips and partner Kate Thomas surfing at Manly in Sydney on Monday. Picture: Nikki Short

The skies were a gloomy grey over Manly Beach on Monday, but nothing could dampen the enthusiasm of surfers on Sydney’s northern beaches briefly escaping life in lockdown.

As surfers headed down to the water loaded with towels and heavy wetsuits, the vast majority of the peninsula’s 270,000 residents appeared to be riding out their enforced confinement at home.

“There’s light on the horizon,” said Sam Phillips, a 31-year-old surfer and emergency room doctor at Northern Beaches Hospital. “The mood is pretty hopeful.”

His 31-year-old partner Kate Thomas agreed: “In the UK, they’ve pretty much cancelled Christmas. The situation is a million times better in Sydney.”

The British couple spent Monday afternoon paddling into some of the cleanest surf to hit Sydney’s northern beaches this week. And they weren’t the only ones searching for calm in the centre of a storm.

Clara Wall checks the swell at Manly on Monday. Picture: Nikki Short

“Out there, you can forget about COVID and lockdown,” said Tom Hyde, shortly after returning to shore on Queenscliff Beach, north of Manly.

It was easy to forget what’s happening on land when you were “miles away” chasing waves, searching for the “right spot” in a lineup that’s heaving with keen surfers, he said.

For Clara Wall, Christmas is always spent in the surf with friends. Instead, the 14-year-old cheerfully concedes that it’s her parents who will likely be doubling as her “surf mates” at North Steyne Beach this festive season.

“Surfing is all I can do,” she said, while eyeing off the growing afternoon swell at Manly. “Right now, I would usually be out surfing with friends, but at least I can still surf, even if it’s solo.”

Further north, closer to the cluster’s epicentre, North Avalon surfer Karis Simmons, 25, echoed Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s hopes for a Christmas miracle.

“I’m meant to be going to WA in January,” Ms Simmons said as she peered out over the top of a freshly waxed surfboard.

“Who knows, if cases stay low, I might be able to get to Perth to see my sister and her new baby in the new year.”