Cowaramup Bombora (also known as ''Cowie Bombie'' or simply Cow Bombie) is a
big wave open-ocean
surf break
Surf or SURF may refer to:
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found on the south-west coast of
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
.
It is located offshore west of
Gracetown which is near the town of
Margaret River
The Margaret River is a river in southwest Western Australia. In a small catchment, it is the eponym of the town and tourist region of Margaret River.
The river arises from a catchment of just 40 square kilometres in the Whicher Range.
...
, world-renowned for its surf, and is south of the capital city
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...
.
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 .
It doesn't break often, requiring huge swells from the
Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is regarded as the second-small ...
, but these can produce very large waves often in excess of with some contending for the biggest wave in Australia at over .
Its name comes from
Cowaramup, the name of the small local townsite, and
bombora, an
Indigenous Australian
Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...
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", where
Tom Carroll survived a near-death wipeout while surfing with
Ross Clarke-Jones
Ross Clarke-Jones (6 June 1966) is an Australian big wave surfer. He originally came from Terrigal in the Central Coast, of New South Wales, Australia where he enjoyed surfing Terrigal Haven, a point break that produces rare waves lasting for ...
. It also featured in the 2011 documentary film ''Fighting Fear''.
In 2011, Western Australian surfer Damien Warr won the Oakley Biggest Wave award for his ride on Cow Bombie. In February 2015, Jarryd Foster, won the Oakley Biggest Wave award for his ride on Cow Bombie. Mick Corbett was also a 2015 finalist for the same award with his Cow Bombie ride.
On 26 June 2015, Australian surfer
Felicity Palmateer became the first woman to surf Cow Bombie.
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.
References
{{Australiansurf
Coastal and oceanic landforms
Surfing locations in South West Western Australia