WSL Margaret River Pro: Storm throws spanner in works for world’s greatest surfers competing at Margs | UNW

The first day of the WSL Margaret River Pro kicked off today with pumping swell. But the rest of the wave period looks ‘ugly’ with stormy conditions, making it unclear when it will be called on again.

The WSL rattled through overlapping heats on Thursday in an attempt to make the most of what might be the best day in the competition period.

Day one saw West Aussie wildcards Jacob Wilcox and Jack Thomas knock out their competitors in round one of the men’s, and Canadian Erin Brookes knock out Aussie veteran Stephanie Gilmore in round one of the women’s.

Despite the pumping conditions on Thursday, head forecaster at Surfline, Kevin Wallace, explained that next week isn’t looking ideal for the competition to be called on.

The event runs for ten days from April 16 to April 26 and organisers will make the call each morning on whether it is ‘on’ or ‘off’ depending on the swell and weather conditions.

“All of next week ranges from big to potentially XXL, a lot of onshore wind all week so that kind of looks like a write off at this point,” Mr Wallace said on the WSL broadcast.

Mr Wallace explained that there may be short windows where competition can run over the weekend but it will depend on how the stormy winds affect the swell.

“There’s no shortage of swell it’s really just about finding the conditions. . . maybe there’s a window tomorrow morning before the onshore winds kick in, then as we move into the weekend we’ve got more swell coming up,” he said.

“Saturday afternoon holds some potential, I wouldn’t say it’s guaranteed. . .it’s going to improve on Saturday after a probably ugly start.”

WSL commentator Felicity Palmateer described the upcoming surf forecast as “tricky” and said that it’s going to be a case of waking up each morning and seeing what the storm has provided down at Main Break.

“We’re going to have no shortage of size, wind is really going to be the factor,” she said.

Run at either Main Break or The Box, the Margaret River Pro is one of the Championship Tour’s best spectator events, giving fans a great vantage point from the headland to watch the world’s best surfers compete.

The Main Break car park is decked out with big screens to watch the action, food and drink stands, merch stands, and of course a chance for fans to meet their favourite surfers.

There’s also the Here Comes The Sun festival next weekend presented by the WSL and headlined by Lime Cordiale at 3 Oceans Winery on Saturday, April 25.

For West Aussies wanting to get in on the action, remember to check each morning whether the event is ‘on’ via the WSL website.

Based on the current forecast, heats are likely to be called on sporadically this weekend, and are unlikely to run during the coming week, although they may resume next weekend if conditions improve.

The event is free to attend and free parking is available at Riflebutts Reserve on weekdays and at McLeods Paddock at the weekends where attendees can catch the free shuttle bus to the event (buses run from 8am to 4pm daily).