Cowaramup Bombora

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 2 kilometres offshore west of Gracetown which is near the town of Margaret River, world-renowned for its surf, and is 265 km south of the capital city Perth.[2][3]

Mick Corbett surfing Cow Bombie in 2014. (Photo: Jamie Scott[1])

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 50 feet.[4]

It doesn't break often, requiring huge swells from the Southern Ocean,[5] but these can produce very large waves often in excess of 40 ft[6] with some contending for the biggest wave in Australia at over 60 ft.[7][8][9]

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",[10] where Tom Carroll survived a near-death wipeout while surfing with Ross Clarke-Jones.[11] It also featured in the 2011 documentary film Fighting Fear.[12][13]

In 2011, Western Australian surfer Damien Warr won the Oakley Biggest Wave award for his ride on Cow Bombie.[14] In February 2015 Jarryd Foster, 27, won the Oakley Biggest Wave award for his ride on Cow Bombie.[15][16] Mick Corbett was also a 2015 finalist for the same award with his Cow Bombie ride.[17][18]

On 26 June 2015, Australian surfer Felicity Palmateer, 22, became the first woman to surf Cow Bombie.[8][19][20]

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.[21]

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-02-27. Retrieved 2016-03-02.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "Surf locations, Surf forecast, Cow Bombie, Australia, Oceania, , Western Australia". SurfingAtlas.com. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  3. "Cow bombie - Surfing in Margaret River North, Australia - WannaSurf, surf spots atlas, surfing photos, maps, GPS location". Wannasurf.com. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  4. Pancia, Anthony. "Just passing through - Jamie Mitchell drops into Cow Bombie - Your Margaret River Region". Margaretriver.com. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  5. "Surf locations, Surf forecast, Cow Bombie, Australia, Oceania, , Western Australia". SurfingAtlas.com. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  6. "COW BOMBIE REVIEW". Archived from the original on April 12, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
  7. "The Biggest Wave Ever Ridden In Australia?". mySURF.tv. Archived from the original on 2016-01-08. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  8. "Did This Margaret River Surfer Ride Australia's Biggest Ever Wave". Perthnow.com.au. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  9. "Big wave surfing". Au.news.yahoo.com. 2016-01-05. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  10. "Storm Surfers 3D (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  11. "Storm Surfers - Near-Death Wipeout at Cow Bombie". YouTube. 2013-06-14. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  12. "TOP TEN Mark Mathews waves from FIGHTING FEAR - Watch actions sports online at Garage Entertainment". Garageentertainment.com.au. 2015-09-01. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  13. "Fighting Fear (2011)". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  14. "Five-year wait pays off for surfer - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Abc.net.au. 2012-02-09. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  15. "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. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  16. "Jarryd Foster at Cow Bombie - 2015 XXL Biggest Wave Nominee - WSL Big Wave Awards". YouTube. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  17. "Surfer Mick Corbett rides the Cow Bombie off WA's South-West coast - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Abc.net.au. 2015-02-12. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  18. "Mick Corbett at Cow Bombie - 2015 XXL Biggest Wave Nominee - WSL Big Wave Awards". YouTube. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  19. "Felicity Palmateer Makes History At Cow Bombie". Surfinglife.com.au. 2015-07-02. Archived from the original on 2016-02-03. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  20. "Felicity Palmateer Makes History At Big Cow Bombie". mySURF.tv. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  21. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-02. Retrieved 2016-03-02.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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