Wayne McKewen is a veteran Gold Coast waterman who has seen everything the ocean
as well as mankind can do in terms of coastal changes for the better and worse. Wayne
here in an iconic and classic 1990s image, hammering through a Burleigh barrel on his
backhand, with the perfect stance and speed line // Photo Wilba
“It used to break in the
middle of the seaway”
‘focus’ into that. But it won’t stop ASF and
the developers trying to do it - using the
process to justify getting the land for their
foreign casino development regardless of
whether ships come or not.
Local shaper and surfing legend Wayne
McKewen (featured on this issue’s cover)
concurs with the seaway swell irony. We
caught up with Wayne to get his whole take
on the incredible seaway
ghost wave, the proposed
development and dredging.
What do you think about
the dredging proposals
mate? We mean, do you think the seaway
wave will ever return?
“It’s a catch 22, I mean if they dredge out
there to get these boats in, gee they are really
going to get some swell in there. It used to
break in the middle of the seaway when it was
8 to 10 foot, and I know that dredging out
there is naturally going to form it all up again
- nature is going to do it again. You’ll get a
build up of sand along the northern (side) and
it won’t break from the tip of the wall, but from
about three quarters of the way out and along
that centre part of the wall and I’m just trying
to work out ... I’m kind of hoping, it sounds
bad but, that the seaway might break again
if they did the dredging and it all comes back