Minus the availability of south swell magnets. Rule of thumb: south swell, stay south; east and north swell go north. Unless of course it's +4ft then you got the world at ya feet!
I'd be happy with the S swells just f$%^d right off and we got consistent E and NE swells all year Surf Report for the morning: Just checked the local stretch and it's onshore, crumbly, bumpy, messy, call it what you like, but at least there's something surfable out there. I'd call it about 3ft maybe odd bigger one. Hopefully the hand will be heeled enough for a weekend paddle when it's forecast to hit 39 degrees
Mate, get out there! Just surfed Bondi. 3 foot odd 4 foot plus. Def some diamonds in the rough out there. Suit up though, blueys everywhere. I got done twice -aching balls and armpits haha
During a stay at a certain semi-known bush camping spot down near the border I visited one of the many coastal hamlets, the beach was very difficult to access but with a jetski, or dare I even say a board-racked trail bike, the coast would be your oyster .... Live the dream
Haha I mean the blueys not sighted, few people out, as will I once I finish work, no rush today. PS @POW_hungry Sighted on Aquabumps!
Fark this is ridiculous. All pumped up for some swell this morning and some nice glassy conditions.......................................................... and ......................................................................................... it was shite. Windy, lumpy, full, crap. The dog got walked instead.
Did not look too bad as i had breakfast at Speedos. Thought blueys might be a problem; Bondi gets more on a SE'er than a NE'er.
Yeah I was gilding the lily a touch, trying to set the emotion. But then again at 4.45am it's usually smooth before the SE picks up and it was briefly but it kicked up a few notches just before 5.00am. That mixed with the new swell and the high tide made it most disappointing.
Yeah surfed my 7'4 single as was a bit weak but 2ft+ with odd 3ft and had a fun left in front of clubhouse basically to myself with beginners floundering either side.
Well whaddyaknow, we have waves today! All reports looking good....I'm sure @SAsurfa will have or will be getting his fill on the Manly stretch this morning
Great waves this morning and timed the crowds as well. Clean 3-4ft, has dropped but a little now and the wind is also coming up.
T'was pretty fun at Bondi, but the crowds were horrendous even in the non-peak times (2-3 foot), will have my fill tomorrow all day up the coast.
We've had no trade flow activity to date this season and no cyclone or solid low pressure activity to speak of, apart from this current bump. It's so incredibly late in the season. Our patterns to date are still very much spring patterns. This current activity is more "normal" or in keeping with seasonal activity. Fingers crossed this is the start of summer. Really nice out there this morning except for my pre work surf window coinciding with some big tides and high tide. Can't catch a break. Here's an indication of how bad its been; a mate paddled out this morning on one of his indo guns, it was maybe hitting the odd 4' set. Good laugh had by all.
I respectfully disagree, late summer into Autumn is always the favourable window for QLD & NSW long-range South Pac & North of NZ. It sure as hell hasn't been favorable for much swell over the past month or two but I don't think it's much out of the ordinary for Summer.
I predict @SAsurfa will be doing some road trips over the next few weeks to some uncrowded locations haha
Yesterday's surface chart.... Yes, I agree the current is "normal" to use your words. However, I disagree with your statement of it being "so incredibly late in the season". I am merely saying, we're coming into the cherry-ripe season for surf along the East Coast, this is why they run the Snapper in Feb/March. This to me (what we currently have, what is coming and what we've had over the past month with respect to surf) is nothing out of season IMO. No need to get heated over me disagreeing, chill bro.
I agree we're entering prime time now, but usually things are a lot more active into the lead up, ie consistent small trade-swells. There's been bugger all, but discussed in my article above Great to get peoples thoughts on all of this though1
Not heated at all, laughing actually. You missed the portrayal of emotion in my smiley face & wink. Don't disagree at all, yes this is the prime time but usually things have brightened up considerably by now. I've surfed & lived on the Gold Coast for a lot of years, decades actually, more than three, Ok 5 you got it out of me. I live on the beach, family heavily involved in the ocean, I'm in the water almost every day, trust me this is not usual for this time of year. Caveat, OK yesterday and today or this week has changed things for the better, hence my jibe at your map. I can read a weather map, not as in depth as you granted but I am on to it quite well. I'm not trying to have an argument and I don't disagree with what you're saying but from someone who's lived and surfed here all my life, anecdotally this isn't normal on a micro scale. Map or no map. Not sure if you're based on the Gold Coast or Qld or not but if you were, you might agree.
All good mate, thought you were heading the other way with it and didn't know you were referring to SE QLD (I am in Sydney). Got it, yep certainly agree with you on the most part! Here's to more long-rangers over the next coupla weeks atleast.
Good read Craig, thanks for sharing. Not meaning to pick holes in old mate Bill's ref but the Pacific Ocean/Coral Sea didn't see a cyclone until Jan 1979... (TC Gordon - Cat 2). It was a late cyclone season that year. I see no mention of the MJO? At the end of the day, I wish we had better surf historical data to work from. There's not much out there - does SwellNet log and archive swell report data? That said I think it's fair to say the swell season for QLD has been lack-lustre largely due to the lack of Pacific/Coral sea action.
Agreed. Based on simple 10 years obs. up North of the border. Pre internet , just a newspaper and the teev. And my basic cloud gazing....
Had a few beers this arvo with a mate and showed him this pic. Big laughs , it changed lives. 2 Feb1978. First day back at school (he was a teacher) He even named cupple of boys in the water. ( He surfed Guillo's same day ) Classic. Has not broken like it since. The rivermouth that is... Boys moved into the town on the back of this , some are still there ...waiting ...
Looks like my once in every 5 years call was way off the mark Guillo's would have been insane that day
Yeah, thought the 1 in 5 was ambitious. I'm now 5 years in the Monaro area but thought it might have been a chance in the black NE'r but that coincided with my Indo trip. Just can't believe how straight the swell lines are in that pic, I'm thinking a massive E swell for north NSW / SE Qld that became a E/NE swell down these parts. Just can't envisage a fetch between us and the NZ'd creating such perfectly straight lines. NFIP will probably inform us it was a massive SE'r
I was but a grommie , only surfing school hols and weekenders etc those days after we had bailed from Noosa. I'm thinking you're right Belly , as Guillo's needs more North. I'll be seeing him again in a week or 2 so will ask few more questions about it. The pic was in Tracks , and the photographer was all but run out of town , as you can only imagine in those days. Mention was he now lives up near Boomerang or Blueys,
It needs very unique conditions to break. Ideally a cyclone tracking very far south (think Sosa from the early 00's) sitting right off the NSW / QLD border, but also would have to rely on a very good build of sand likely from extended run of Summer NE'ers and perhaps consistent period of NE swell to groom it, so Autumn I imagine would be the only chance of it breaking anywhere near similar to that. To sum the place up in one word: "Fickle"
That has been my experience of it . Will still ask more about it tho . If nothing else , for the pure entertainment of filtering actual facts from the bullshit .
@SAsurfa was Manly good this morning? Perfect conditions for it, in fact probably better now with less tide and wind more offshore / lighter. @POW_hungry where are you headed today? I'm thinking an after work surf will be in order, the hand has healed enough woohoo
Next to no swell at Bondi this morning. Another glorious swim before retreating to air conditioned ivory tower.
Mid-morning some fun ones then got a little straight for a bit. Swell kicked as well to 3-4ft on the sets. Glassy but wobbly/lumpy. Yesterday morning was better.
Just went for a swim this morning wasn't that flash as @Fozzie Bear said. Besides, I had motorcycle test at 8am over in Parramatta so couldn't get too psyched.
