A-frame

Aaberg, Denny

Aaberg, Kemp

Abberton, Koby

Abbruzzi, Sid

Abellira, Reno

Abubo, Megan

academia and surfing

Adler, Tom

advertising and surfing

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aerial

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Aichner, Scott

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Aikau, Eddie

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air-drop

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alaia board

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Allen, Chuck

Alms, Paige

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Andaman Islands

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Anderson, Simon

Andino, Kolohe

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angle

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Apocalypse Now

Arabian Sea

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Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP)

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Aurness, Rolf

Auster, Ken

Australia

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Azores

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Bain, Rob

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Baker, Grant “Twiggy”

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Ballard, Rochelle

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Benson, Linda

Bermuda

Bertlemann, Larry

Beschen, Shane

Wave-rich subtropical coastal zone in New South Wales, Australia, running approximately 350 headland-studded miles from Newcastle up to the Queensland border. Reefs, rivermouths, beachbreaks, and jetty breaks are included among roughly 200 North Coast surf spots, but the area is best known for its right-breaking point surf, including Lennox Head, Byron Bay, Crescent, and Angourie—all of which produce long and frequently hollow high-performance waves. 

March through October is the best time for surf on the North Coast, but waves of one type or another can be found throughout the rest of the year. Midday air temperatures average from the low 60s in winter to the upper 70s in summer. Ocean temperatures range from the low 60s to the low 70s. The North Coast's dependably pleasant weather is counterbalanced somewhat by the threat of shark attack. Local surfer Marty Ford died in 1982 after a white shark attacked him at Byron Bay's Tallows Beach. 

The rural North Coast was a shortboard revolution staging area in the late '60s and early '70s, as Nat Young, Bob McTavish, George Greenough, Chris Brock, Russell Hughes, and David Treloar were among a small but progressive group of surfers either living here or visiting regularly, always riding new and sometimes experimental boards. The surfing counterculture they formed, often identified as Australia's "country soul" period, was perfectly captured in Alby Falzon's 1972 surf film Morning of the Earth.

The North Coast still has nothing resembling an urban center. But virtually every North Coast town, including Mullumbimby, Yamba, Ballina, Coffs Harbour, and Port Macquarie, now has at least one surf shop, and once- sleepy Byron Bay—Australia's easternmost point— has become a small but vigorous Australian surf industry outpost, with board manufacturers, surfwear companies, and surf schools. 

The North Coast surf has been featured in dozens of surf movies and videos, including The Innermost Limits of Pure Fun (1970), Sea of Joy (1971), Sultans of Speed (1987), Oz on Fire (1991), and Stash (2002). 

North Coast surf breaks are detailed in The Surfing and Sailboarding Guide to Australia (1993), Surfing Australia (1998), and Atlas of Australian Surfing by Mark Warren (1998). Pro surfers Danny Wills, Trent Munro, Jock Barnes, and Brenden Margieson are among today's top North Coast–based surfers. 

North Coast, New South Wales, Australia

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Encyclopedia of Surfing

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Encyclopedia of Surfing

History of Surfing

Interviews

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