A FLINDERS surfer has voiced concern after a recent Navy training exercise above Flinders Beach saw a live-firing exercise reportedly take place as he and other surfers were in the water. Paul, who asked not to use his surname, said it was not uncommon to surf at Flinders Beach while Navy exercises were undertaken at the nearby West Head Gunnery Range on top of the cliffs – with surfers out of any live-firing zone and warnings sounded from the Navy to the alert the public as a precaution.
There are two main surf breaks at Flinders called Meanos and Gunnery. Meanos is a surf break that breaks directly under the gun range, which has a 12.7mm machine gun. But on 17 October about 11am, Paul said he and other surfers were left confused after an ear-piercing high-pitch alarm was sounded while they were surfing at Meanos, a break directly under the cliff in the surf. This was followed by a live-firing exercise in which Navy personnel were firing at a target being towed by an aircraft, which Paul said had been flying directly overhead.
Paul said the alert broadcasted was also something he had “never encountered” in the more than 35 years of surfing at the beach, with a fellow surfer describing it “like his eardrums were about to burst”. “Typically, the Navy alerts us to any live firing activity through sirens and flags, and we accept the risk, but on this occasion, it seemed like a more forceful measure was used,” he said.
After contacting the Navy through the HMAS Cerberus Facebook page, Paul had learned that the alert tone broadcasted was generated by a long-range acoustic device (LRAD), non-lethal crowd dispersal device which transits warning tones to communicate over long distances. In this case, the Navy informed Paul that the LRAD has a red zone extending 75 metres, and that “surfers are usually between 300 to 400 metres from the device, well outside its red zone” – but Paul believed “we surf much closer to the cliffs than that distance and if the device is directly on top of the cliffs then it’s a lot closer than stated in their response”.
“Additionally, the Navy mentioned that firing activities couldn’t proceed if surfers were in the water, yet two of us were present when the firing took place,” Paul said. “The guns are on top of the cliff, and they shoot at a moving target, often towed by an airplane and that target is in a different location depending upon the day and the training exercises. On this particular day, which I hadn’t seen before, the target was being towed directly overhead by the airplane.”
According to the Navy’s response, the LRAD “is a communications device only, used to alert people on the range and request they use the other break while we fire”. “We typically fire for one to two hours and then they (surfers) may return to the break,” the Navy’s message stated.
But Paul remained concerned about the safety of surfers in the area and the methods being used to manage live-firing activities. “I believe the public deserves a clearer understanding of the risks involved and how these incidents are being managed. There’s an assumption that a red flag on the mast near the gates signals active firing, and that surfers should avoid areas directly under the cliffs,” he said. “However, the use of forceful methods like the LRAD suggests a need for better communication about these boundaries and expectations.”
According to the Navy’s message to Paul, the West Head Gunnery Range “routinely warn surfers of our live firing activity and request they move to the ‘Gunnery’ surf break adjacent mushroom reef”. “When they surf on ‘Meano’s’ in front of our grid, we are unable to fire due to their presence in the safety trace,” it read. “When we conduct a surface firing serial we can usually fire on our left limit and the surfers are outside the trace. When we have an aircraft towing a target as we did yesterday (17 October), the surfers in front of the grid prevent the serial from proceeding.”
It also said, “We have a bright red flashing light on top of our mast red flag bravos flag flying from a mast at the gate, a mast at the grid and our main mast indicating the range is active”. The Department of Defence has been contacted for comment.
The Navy has a monthly schedule for firing which is posted on the Flinders Post Office, General Store, and Community Facebook page. However, there is no information about activities that should be avoided.
Information is available at the Flinders Village website: flindersvillage.com.au
First published in the Mornington News – 5 November 2024
