I have also been searching high and low, the best thing I found was custom built dive lights but at a $1600 starting price I decided a full moon and the tennis court lights right near the beach near my place on the high tide were sufficient ! had a couple of mad sessions already!

Ted the Kiwi said...

Last time I was home the GF's brother showed me his high powered lights that he uses for his night time mountain biking. Amazing. Anyway its been bugging me for a while so I dropped the manufactuer an email and got the following response

"Check out our website some more you will find that our lights are waterproof. Obviously salt water will get into everything a lot quicker than freshwater.

The UltraLite kit with the head-torch accessories would be what you needed J_"

So before I head off and spend the hard earned on some lights I thought I would ask around and see if anyone else has used anything similar or has any ideas.

Their product can be seen at www.ayup-lights.com/

Maybe this could be the ticket for small sessions at the Bower with no crowds! Or maybe Dee Why point with all the lights off the pool.

Any info / ideas / help would be much appreciated.

I have had several conversations about this very topic with a certain surf instructor in the past who was intent on doing the night sup thing (and did) and my feelings about it have not and will not change. In my opinion it is careless and reckless and dangerous and just serves to add to the bloody awful reputation that sup already has in the wider surf community. Why don't we take positive steps toward making sup more accepted in the community and getting more people involved with the fun and family appeal for the sport and spend less energy in trying to come up with ways of looking like dicks and putting yourselves and the sport in jeopardy.

Simondo said...

I don't disagree with you Billboard, but have you had your morning coffee yet, to chipper you up a little !

I've been night surfing at Queenscliff (NSW) a few times (10 years back), but not with great success. It's hard to see the approaching waves..... there's a half reasonable spot light up over the ocean pool.

Funny you say that - I am just about to take the dog for a walk up to the local cafe for an extra large double shot !!
Couldn't help expressing my thoughts on this one. I am just quite passionate about the people who are intent on rubbing sup in peoples faces rather than trying to get it more accepted. We have a massive sup community up here on the Goldy and trust me thats a lot of people being hated by an even more massive general surf community. I thinks its ok to try new stuff and experiment but do it on the quiet and don't make an issue of it and then it can't hurt the sport as a whole.

Now wheres that bloody dog - think this may require a triple shot

WINDY MILLER said...

went out for a paddle into the dark pitch black abyss on the indian ocean, glass with a gentle swell rolling underneath, no lights. (just distant street lights to remind me where the coast was), no surfing , just paddling.

it's too spooky, heart in your mouth, your sences go electric.

a must try experience.

Yep - I'm with windy - everyone who wants to night sup go to WA and give it a go
Actually some genius in SA will probably come up with night cage supping - which is highly recommended in SA I believe.

Hi Phill. The problem is that suppers here DO NOT seek out quieter or more remote spots to surf - they pretty much all head to the one spot which is already packed to the rafters with every other sort of surfcraft. I am not saying that they shouldn't be there, its just the way it is.
I believe the crux of the problem is that a large majority of sup surfers do not come from a surfing background and as such do not have any knowledge or respect of how lineups work and they either do not know or care how to co-exist in the already over-crowded point breaks on the gold coast and other places along the east coast. I personally very rarely sup these spots and only then very early before the crowd hits and then I get out or move well away. I have some more remote spots not too far away that I frequent on my sup and even though the waves may not be as perfect I always have a blast and rarely have any dramas with other surfers. The other thing I notice now is that I am mainly back on a longboard that I get more people asking me about sup because they see me mixing it up on a surfboard and a sup and I guess just accept me as a surfer who uses different boards rather than just another supper hogging all the waves and getting in the way.
Its kinda like when I used to ride my mal in amongst the local shortboarders and they gave me so much grief even though I went ok but a week later I would go out on a shortboard and be totally kooking it and surfing like crap, but they accepted me cos I wasnt on a mal surfers are strange critters but very very predictable so I suppose we all just have to learn how to co-exist and try to educate those new to sup about how to integrate and not alienate.

night sup

lots of fun just strap a dolphin torch to ya melon and off ya go

Ted the Kiwi said...

Obviously salt water will get into everything a lot quicker than freshwater.

Really? Why would it matter if it was salt vs fresh water? Salt water is much less friendly with electronics but I would have thought there was no difference in penetration.

billboard said...

Hi Phill. The problem is that suppers here DO NOT seek out quieter or more remote spots to surf - they pretty much all head to the one spot which is already packed to the rafters with every other sort of surfcraft. I am not saying that they shouldn't be there, its just the way it is.
I believe the crux of the problem is that a large majority of sup surfers do not come from a surfing background and as such do not have any knowledge or respect of how lineups work and they either do not know or care how to co-exist in the already over-crowded point breaks on the gold coast and other places along the east coast. I personally very rarely sup these spots and only then very early before the crowd hits and then I get out or move well away. I have some more remote spots not too far away that I frequent on my sup and even though the waves may not be as perfect I always have a blast and rarely have any dramas with other surfers. The other thing I notice now is that I am mainly back on a longboard that I get more people asking me about sup because they see me mixing it up on a surfboard and a sup and I guess just accept me as a surfer who uses different boards rather than just another supper hogging all the waves and getting in the way.
Its kinda like when I used to ride my mal in amongst the local shortboarders and they gave me so much grief even though I went ok but a week later I would go out on a shortboard and be totally kooking it and surfing like crap, but they accepted me cos I wasnt on a mal surfers are strange critters but very very predictable so I suppose we all just have to learn how to co-exist and try to educate those new to sup about how to integrate and not alienate.

It's a hard one to tackle. I have a shortboard, longboard and sup and I love all three, so I always try and hit the uncrowded areas of the beach when I'm on my SUP. Still, you can guarantee that as soon as the surfers see you catch a few waves, they think they're in the wrong spot and all paddle to your stretch. It annoys the hell out of me. Not the sharing, but that they think I'm the nuisance.

Well the reason towball & I find ourselves out in the surf in the dark is firstly we have jobs to got to an hour later & secondly that 15 minutes later we might find ourselves out in high quality surf with noone else out....

jackforbes said...


Did try with a light (head-mounted torch for diving), but it seems to attract small fish, which get eaten by bigger fish... you get the idea.

Gold !!

I have done a fair bit of prone surfing at night without light, nights with a bit of moon light helps heaps..dark moonless nights in the west are pretty spooky but it heightens your senses, every splash, every rustle every bump felt, heard and seen.... as WM said very spooky very whitepointeryyyyyyyy

I dont see a problem with night supping it wouldnt be something I would do on a heavy beach break but on a mellow reefie or point break where you know where the take off is I think it would be fun...Not sure if lights would help but you can get pretty good headlamps the ledH7 lenser is a great, adjustable to spot or flood, not sure if they do a waterproof version.

cheers