The First Surfers at Pikers Hole

The announcement of a big wave event sponsored by Red Bull at Cape Solander recently has opened up a lot of interest in one of Australia’s heaviest waves. Below is a few memories from “Kurrunulla” courtesy of Coastal Watch

The rumors are true. A group of Cronulla Point body surfers and few board riders regularly surfed “Pikers Hole” in the 1960s – I was one of them. I concede that it was never surfed in big overhead conditions when I was out there – maybe some of the other guys tried but I didn’t. It hurt bad enough getting slammed in four to six feet waves at low to mid tide. Names – the handplane team- Rob Dalton, and Nic and Chris Cramey with Adam Plate. Those guys were alternative and tight. Ray Ryan and Steve Cohen – Steve Hague – all rode boards out there (and all would have the scars to prove it). Bob Griffiths, Gomez, Peter Ebling and Jeff Bird were body surfing there with me – and others whose names i have lost over the years. Paul Burridge (Bear),Ocker Day and the Munroe brothers would have been the very first to kneeboard that place and in the absence of boogie boards back in the day there were wooden paipo boards and coolite slabs – in fact a guy we called the Coolite Kid ripped up Cronulla Point regularly.

Pikers Hole was one of those ‘last resort’ places for us body surfers and hand planers – when the Point was too crowded with 9 foot six boards and Shark island not quite doing it and we had gas money for Hagues landrover then off to Cape Solander we would go.