Surfing in Sawtell

For the size, of our little town of Sawtell, it is surprising that it hosts such a large number of good surfing spots.

All of the breaks are beach breaks on a sand bottom. Unfortunately no reefs but at times you could be mistaken for thinking it is. The main beach of Sawtell is quite long approximately 1,500 meters and faces directly east so is offshore in a westerly wind. The different sections along the main beach have been named over the years mostly to match the geography of the place but some more creatively.

Surfing at Trapdoors Sawtell

Starting at northern end of the beach is Murray’s. This is a very open part of the beach and picks up a lot of swell especially south swell. You will find many peaks along this strip and there is also a small rocky outcrop which can get a good right hander breaking off it in the right swell.

In the middle of the beach directly in front of the Sawtell surflifesaving club is ‘Main’. This is the most popular area of the beach in and gets some great waves. It is once again made up of sand bottom beach breaks constantly varying but almost always providing a satisfying session.

Further along is ‘Tracks’. This section of beach is very consistent as it’s banks are more protected than the other end of the beach at Murray’s. You will almost always find a good right or left or both out at Tracks.

At the southern end of Sawtell beach is ‘Island’. This is my favourite spot being a natural footer as it is a peeling right hander that has been known to barrel heavily. It is once again just a sand bottom but because of the island at the end of the beach sand piles up against it and creates a really shallow bank. On the right swell this is an all time wave. On a very small day it is great for mal riders too. You could get a wave for 100 meters out there easily.

Moving on to the south side of Sawtell headland this break is also creatively named ‘Southside’. This is a Sawtell treasure since in summer when the northerly wind blows its heart out there are still clean waves to be had out here. It is a left hand point break on a sand bottom. It also boasts good right hand peaks down the beach at times. The left is the gold though. It holds very big swell and gets very sucky against the headland as the sand flows out of the creek and stacks up against the headland. If you want to get barreled in Sawtell this is the place to go. The average day out here will give you good long lefts you can release a good amount of steam on as you hack away at the wall down the line.

Finally another gem on the other side of the northern headland of Sawtell is Trapdoors. This is a right hand point break which also offers amazingly long waves on a good day. It generally works best on a 4-6 foot swell anything bigger than this it starts to get messy. A great place to have an early surf in summer and then head over to Southside as the Northerly wind kicks in.

You will find that the locals are all very easy going so be sure to enjoy some of Sawtell’s great surf when you visit.