Cowaramup Bombora Explained

Cowaramup Bombora
Other Name:Cowie Bombie, Cow Bombie
Location:offshore of Gracetown, Western Australia
Coordinates: (approximate)
Part Of:Indian Ocean
Embedded:
Frame-Coord:-33.8669°N 114.9881°W
Marker:swimming
Marker-Colour:
  1. FA7268
Zoom:12

Cowaramup Bombora (also known as Cowie Bombie or simply Cow Bombie) is a big wave open-ocean surf break found on the south-west coast of Western Australia. It is located 2km (01miles) offshore west of Gracetown which is near the town of Margaret River, world-renowned for its surf, and is 265km (165miles) south of the capital city Perth.[1] [2]

The break first came to the world’s attention in 2007, when local Damon Eastaugh won the Big Wave Award after riding a wave estimated to be more than 50abbr=onNaNabbr=on.[3]

It doesn't break often, requiring huge swells from the Southern Ocean,[4] but these can produce very large waves often in excess of 40abbr=onNaNabbr=on[5] with some contending for the biggest wave in Australia at over 60abbr=onNaNabbr=on.[6] [7] [8] Its name comes from Cowaramup, the name of the small local townsite, and bombora, an Indigenous Australian term for an area of large sea waves breaking over a shallow area.

The break was featured in the 2013 documentary series Storm Surfers 3D which described it as "on its day, the tallest wave in Australia",[9] where Tom Carroll survived a near-death wipeout while surfing with Ross Clarke-Jones.[10] It also featured in the 2011 documentary film Fighting Fear.[11] [12] In 2011, Western Australian surfer Damien Warr won the Oakley Biggest Wave award for his ride on Cow Bombie.[13] In February 2015, Jarryd Foster, won the Oakley Biggest Wave award for his ride on Cow Bombie.[14] [15] Mick Corbett was also a 2015 finalist for the same award with his Cow Bombie ride.[16] [17]

On 26 June 2015, Australian surfer Felicity Palmateer became the first woman to surf Cow Bombie.[7] [18] [19]

On 2 March 2016, the Oakley Big Wave Awards 2015-2016 were announced, with two of the three major awards coming from Cow Bombie: Zac Haynes won Biggest Paddle-In, and Justin Holland won Biggest Wave in Australian Waters, finishing 2nd and 3rd respectively for Ride Of The Year. All three contenders for Biggest Wave were at Cow Bombie.[20]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Surf locations, Surf forecast, Cow Bombie, Australia, Oceania,, Western Australia . SurfingAtlas.com . 2016-01-16.
  2. Web site: Cow bombie - Surfing in Margaret River North, Australia - WannaSurf, surf spots atlas, surfing photos, maps, GPS location . Wannasurf.com . 2016-01-16.
  3. Web site: Pancia . Anthony . Just passing through - Jamie Mitchell drops into Cow Bombie - Your Margaret River Region . Margaretriver.com . 2016-01-16.
  4. Web site: Surf locations, Surf forecast, Cow Bombie, Australia, Oceania,, Western Australia . SurfingAtlas.com . 2016-01-16.
  5. Web site: COW BOMBIE REVIEW. February 11, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130412105700/http://surfingworld.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=253%3Acow-bombie-review&catid=52%3Adaily . April 12, 2013 .
  6. Web site: The Biggest Wave Ever Ridden In Australia? . mySURF.tv . 2016-01-16 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160108131742/http://www.mysurf.tv/exclusive/video/biggest-wave-ever-ridden-australia . 2016-01-08 .
  7. Web site: Did This Margaret River Surfer Ride Australia's Biggest Ever Wave . Perthnow.com.au . 2016-01-16 .
  8. Web site: Big wave surfing . Au.news.yahoo.com . 2016-01-05 . 2016-01-16.
  9. Web site: Storm Surfers 3D (2013) . Rotten Tomatoes . 2016-01-16.
  10. Web site: Storm Surfers - Near-Death Wipeout at Cow Bombie . YouTube . 2013-06-14 . 2016-01-16.
  11. Web site: TOP TEN Mark Mathews waves from FIGHTING FEAR - Watch actions sports online at Garage Entertainment . Garageentertainment.com.au . 2015-09-01 . 2016-01-16.
  12. Web site: Fighting Fear (2011). IMDb.com. 2016-01-16.
  13. Web site: Five-year wait pays off for surfer - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) . Abc.net.au . 2012-02-09 . 2016-01-16.
  14. Web site: Big Wave awards: WA surfer Jarryd Foster wins top prize for Cow Bombie ride - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) . Abc.net.au . 2015-02-12 . 2016-01-16.
  15. Web site: Jarryd Foster at Cow Bombie - 2015 XXL Biggest Wave Nominee - WSL Big Wave Awards . YouTube . 2016-01-16.
  16. Web site: Surfer Mick Corbett rides the Cow Bombie off WA's South-West coast - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) . Abc.net.au . 2015-02-12 . 2016-01-16.
  17. Web site: Mick Corbett at Cow Bombie - 2015 XXL Biggest Wave Nominee - WSL Big Wave Awards . YouTube . 2016-01-16.
  18. Web site: Felicity Palmateer Makes History At Cow Bombie . Surfinglife.com.au . 2015-07-02 . 2016-01-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160203053004/http://www.surfinglife.com.au/tv/surfing/random/13774-felicity-palmateer-makes-history-at-cow-bombie . 2016-02-03 . dead .
  19. Web site: Felicity Palmateer Makes History At Big Cow Bombie . mySURF.tv . 2016-01-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304124832/http://www.mysurf.tv/exclusive/video/felicity-palmateer-makes-history-big-cow-bombie . 2016-03-04 . dead .
  20. Web site: Winners Announced at the Oakley Big Wave Awards! . 2016-03-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160302161914/http://www.surfinglife.com.au/bigwaveawards/news/14936-winners-announced-at-the-oakley-big-wave-awards . 2016-03-02 . dead .

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Cowaramup Bombora".

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