Spot Check: Voodoo
Cronulla and Sydney's dirty secret
Filthy barrels, filthy drops, filthy wipeouts, filthy landscapes and filthy water, when it comes to a dirty Spotcheck, it doesn’t get much dirtier than the infamous wave of Voodoo. The wave sits on the northern end of the long sweep of Sydney’s Cronulla Beach, the most northerly ledge among a huge number of south-facing reefs that jut out into the ocean, picking up all available swell that arrives out of the deep water in the bay.
While less than 20 miles kilometres from the centre of Sydney, it could not be any more removed from the famous glamourous city beaches of Bondi or Bronte. Surrounding Voodoo is a huge swathe of heavy industry and on the drive out the break you’ll pass what remains of the sand mining operations (Cronulla's dunes, once the biggest in the country have been levelled over 70 years of sand extraction), one of the world’s biggest desalination plants, industrial waste centres, a sewage treatment plant and a large oil refinery. And that’s just the scenic route.
Taking the dirt track to the wave you’ll then come across a maze of abandoned cars and industrial refuse, while the muddy clay soil seems to weep oil. In fact, it seems like you have entered the set from Mad Max, rather than a wave haven supposedly in one of the world’s most beautiful cities.
So far, so filthy. But once you have surfed the draining long left of Voodoo, or the super sucky right off the other side, you realise why some of Sydney’s most hardcore surfers will drive through broken glass (and often do) to surf this reef.
This is the place where surfers like Jim Banks, Occy, Gary Green, Richard Marsh and Kirk Flintoff (see above) cut their tuberiding teeth, the powerful ledge a match for any slab in the world. Coming out of incredibly deep and sharky water, south swells hit a very shallow slab of reef on low tides. The wave starts breaking at four feet and can hold ten, a super gnarly takeoff leading straight into a draining barrel.
If you make that section, and don’t get rolled along the barnacle and urchin-encrusted reef, a whackable wall lines up for around 250 yards. The catch is that the only place you can get into the wave is on the super sucky ledge. There are no other real entry options.
On the northern side of the ledge, the right only breaks at high tide and while significantly shorter, offers even a more difficult entry. It starts to close-out above six foot, but such is the power and ferocity of the wave, six foot is more than plenty.
As such this is a wave not for the faint of heart. A small but hardcore bunch of locals from Cronulla surf it every time it is on, which is fairly regularly. In south swells, the reefs will always be much bigger than the beachbreaks and the fact that it handles the nor-east wind, the predominant summer breeze, means it is remarkably consistent given its quality.
The Cronulla locals tend to be a little more respectful than most to anyone who wants to try and catch the Voodoo Express when it is solid. Crowds can still be a problem, given the talent and hunger of the line-up, though this is a wave that looks after itself. If you are willing to surf with the risk of hepatitis, and battle through a potential sewage and oil slick you could be rewarded with one of the filthiest, dirtiest and sweetest barrels of your life.
The perfect day: Six to eight feet south swell with a light nor-west breeze and a big low tide.
Getting there: You can check Voodoo as you fly into Sydney Airport, the runway being less than five miles as the seagull flies from the take-off.
Boards: Thicker, stronger and pinnier than normal, as this breaks boards regularly.
Essentials: A local to show where the difficult paddle out and paddle in spots are, as a mistake can end in hospitalisation.
Accommodation: Hit the backpackers, hotels and hostels in Cronulla, or it’s a 45-minute drive from the centre of Sydney.
Other waves: Ours is over the hill in Botany Bay, while there is a huge range of slabbing, fickle reef breaks that surround Voodoo, if you have some local knowledge. Shark Island, Cronulla Point and the beachies of Cronulla are also only a 15-minute drive away.