“Miracles” is a reminder of a simple joy

Page 12 – POST, February 7, 2026

“Miracles” is a reminder of a simple joy

The photo of surf writer Cameron Bedford-Brown (Dredging miracles at new break, POST, January 31) on a small left at “Miracles”, together with his lyrical description of the discovery, moved this old body surfer.

Small the wave may have been, but clear water, light breeze and shape was a reminder of the sheer pleasure of such rides.

For me the sensation is enjoyed at another left – from waves breaking on the north side of the Swanny reef. In late summer, with swell, wind, tide all in alignment a swell looms up over the very edge of the reef, offering a left that occasionally has that mystical “ shape”.

For the body surfer standing shivering, or swimming on the reef, patience is needed to select THE wave, because there is the danger of it shallowing as it begins to break.

But then comes the joy – shape, power, speed and riding on the shoulder, head up, onlookers smiling at the spectacle.

Thanks for the reminder, Cam. The photo spoke to me …

Ed Jaggard

Ballygriffin Court, Mosman Park

Cam Bedford-Brown surfs “Miracles” at Dutch Inn. Photo: Brodie Bedford-Brown

Page 58 – POST, January 31, 2026

Surfing

With Cameron Bedford-Brown

Dredging miracles at new break

In a place like Cottesloe, which has been fully surfed, surveyed, drone-filmed, GPS-tracked and Instagrammed from every conceivable angle, you’d think every grain of sand had already been catalogued, hash-tagged and reviewed.

Surfing can feel more like a routine than a frontier on a coastline so familiar which makes stumbling across a genuinely new sandbank and wave all the more satisfying.

The Port Beach sand nourishment project has certainly left its mark and not all of it welcome.

Reef buried, cloudier water and habitats rearranged yet at the same time there is more beach to enjoy for ocean lovers.

But tucked inside the drift of unintended and unforeseen consequences, like the joy inside an unexpected tube, is something quietly magical.

It is the birth of a new mystowave as the coastline quietly rewrites itself, sentence by sandy sentence.

On a walk along Marine Parade a few weeks ago, I noticed a sandbank had formed on the north side of the Dutch Inn groyne, sculpted by the migration of dredged sand.

What it had created was a playful, little left-hander, curling and folding like a mini version of City Beach groyne. It wasn’t dramatic or awe-inspiring, but it had shape. And surfers love and live for shape.

When the swell nudged up to ridable, I headed down with my 7’6” and optimistic thoughts of being the first to ride this new wave.

The sun was out, the sea breeze was light and knee-high left-handers were curling down the shallow sand bank completely unaware the new surf break hadn’t yet been officially named or argued over in the carpark.

Which brings us to the matter of names.

I thought of calling it The Dredge, Left Bank, Dutch Drift or Accidentals.

In my correspondence with Martin Richardson on the sand drift story I told him about the wave.

He surfed it before sending me a text a couple of days later saying the bank had now disappeared.

Huey giveth and Huey taketh away and sometimes small miracles do happen.

Maybe the wave should be called Miracles because you never know if it might reappear or never appear again.

Cameron Bedford-Brown surfs … “Miracles” or the “The Dredge” at Dutch Inn. Photo: Brodie Bedford-Brown

Page 86 – POST, February 14, 2026

Surfing

With Cameron Bedford-Brown

Reef dreams power the wave rush

Somewhere along the salty line, when surfing becomes serious, when the focus shifts from wonder to turns, from doing to expectation, it’s easy to forget why we paddled out into the waves in the first place.

Ed Jaggard’s letter to the POST (“Miracles” is a reminder of a simple joy, February 7), in response to my column on the wave that dredged sand helped form on the north side of Dutchies groyne (Dredging miracles at new break, January 31), was a timely reminder of what surfing truly is.

There are several joyous, slabs and knobs of reef that form fun waves scattered along the stretch of coast from Swanny to Cott.

Spots of pure, uncomplicated joy that shaped my earliest days in the water.

Some carry names, others remain nameless, known only to those who found them young and never forgot them.

Swanny Reef, with its lefts and rights, Nudie Tubes, Voodoo 1 and 2 at North Cott, and some unnamed slabs at Pete’s Pool.

Ed’s words summoned old memories back to the surface of my own experiences surfing the left off Swanny Reef.

I was a Swanny hanger before I migrated to Cott and I know well that daunting collection of rock nodules at the south end of the beach after surfing the spot countless times.

And I know even better the shallow lump of rock Ed spoke of, the one that has claimed fins, skin and a fair bit of pride.

I, too, have stood on that rock leaping off into waves and on better days surfing over it and around it.

From out the back of the reef you choose your line carefully, weave through the minefield, thread the needle as rocks surge dry, knowing all the while that hungry anvil of reef is waiting like a landlord when the rent is overdue.

Ride left of it, ride right of it or lift and pray you float clean over the top.

Make it past that and the wave opens, forming a clean wall, gifting you a couple of turns before shutting down hard on the sand.

One day still burns bright, when swell, tide and wind aligned perfectly and I surfed on my own for two hours.

Long, walling lefts marching in from out the back, wrapping the reef, threading past the slab, running down the beach and past the old “No Surfing Beyond This Point” sign daring you to commit.

Before the boards, before the manoeuvres, before the rules there was just the rush of discovering you could move with a wave.

POST, January 24, 2026 – Page 7

Sand repairs bury beach

By CAM BEDFORD-BROWN

Sand dumped at Port Beach to help repair the dune system is having an adverse impact further north at Cottesloe beaches like Dutch Inn and Isolated.

Longboard veteran Martin Richardson said 150,000 cubic metres of sand was added to Port Beach in 2022–2023 but natural south-westerly winds and currents had pushed that sand north.

The moving sand had buried sensitive reefs further north and affected sea life, wave quality and beach amenity.

“Having surfed Cottesloe breaks for many years there is more sand than I’ve ever seen before collecting at Dutch Inn, Isolated, Seconds and Cove during summer,” he said.

“This is an extraordinary amount of sand and it has completely changed the reef and the beach.”

He wants authorities to investigate the serious unintended impacts of the Port Beach project.

Sand used to repair Port Beach has drifted north to Dutch Inn Groyne. The groyne was far more prominent last decade, top left. Photos: Bret Christian

Page 50 – POST, January 24, 2026

Surfing

With Cameron Bedford-Brown

Port sand trap for Cott reef

Local longboarder and avid beach advocate Martin Richardson is calling for authorities to investigate what he says are serious unintended impacts from the Port Beach sand nourishment program on the reef and surf breaks south of Cottesloe groyne.

Richardson says the placement of 150,000 cubic metres of dredged sand at Port Beach in 2022–2023 is dramatically altering natural sand movement and burying sensitive reefs affecting the sea life, wave quality and beach amenity.

While the project has strengthened Port Beach, Richardson says natural south-westerly winds and currents are now pushing that sand north.

“Having surfed Cottesloe breaks for many years there is more sand than I’ve ever seen before collecting at Dutch Inn, Isolated, Seconds and Cove during summer,” he said.

“This is an extraordinary amount of sand and it has completely changed the reef and the beach.”

Richardson said the area has always followed a seasonal cycle, with sand accumulating gently during summer and being stripped away by winter storms and north-westerly swells.

“Normally in winter there is very little sand here and lots of exposed reef but since the rainbowing started in 2022, that natural balance has been disrupted,” he said.

“In summer the reef is now mostly covered, it’s virtually a sandbar and the Cove surf break is basically buried.

“Many holes in the reef have been filled with sand and the reef life buried or forced to move away.”

Richardson said the beach profi le has also changed markedly, with new dunes forming at Isolated and the shoreline becoming much steeper.

“Before, the beach was almost flat from the waterline,” Richardson said.

“Now there’s a steep incline with over a metre of sand above the water which creates backwash, affects wave quality and traps seagrass along the shoreline.

“A natural beach allows sand and water to move freely up and down, not pile up like a wall.”

Richardson believes coastal structures are compounding the problem.

“When Rous Head was extended it interrupted the natural sand flow that helped defend Port Beach,” he said.

“Now the new sand is being added to the system and moving further north than anticipated.

“At Cove and Seconds, winter rips and channels can take sand back offshore but at Isolated there are no such escape paths, so the sand just gets stuck and keeps building year after year.”

Richardson, who’s also advocating for Cottesloe to be declared a National Surfing Reserve, wants the relevant authorities to inspect the site and consider removing or relocating excess sand particularly at Isolated to return the beach to its natural state.

“This reef has ecological, cultural and community significance and deserves special management,” he said.

The sand piling up on the south side of Dutch Inn Groyne. Photo: Brodie Bedford-Brown