Early risers’ call

Hello Friends,

As I wrtie this at around 0530, the NE wind is just a zephyr of 6-7 kts along the eastern suburb beaches. It’s a bit stronger on the northern beaches, but from the look of the buoy data, the average size may have dropped overnight thanks to a slight decrease in swell height and a lowering of the power setting to around 7-8 sec. There’s an incoming tide, so at least that factor is working in early risers’ favour. Unfortunately it looks to me as though the trend is for smaller today.

Here’s the Bureau’s latest call for the Sydney region:

Wind: N/NE 15/20 knots, reaching 20/30 knots chiefly in offshore waters at first but extending inshore during the afternoon ahead of a S’ly change 20/30 knots during the late afternoon. Easing to S/SE 15/20 knots later tonight.Sea: 1.5 to 2 metres, rising to 2 to 3 metres,. Swell: NE about 1.5 metres.

The models are not too hopeful vis a vis the change. It looks like it’ll just produce localised windswell that is likely to a) brief and b) puny.

However, Saturday is still looking positive. The Bureau says SSE wind of 15-25 kts easing, and the models show an interesting dead south swell filling in and peaking on that day. Be interesting to see what the Goat thinks about this one. Speaking of whom, did you know that the Goat’s been covering my 702 ABC radio slot on Saturday mornings? You can hear his oracular pronouncements about the surf prospects somewhere between 0720 and 0735 this Saturday.

California remains micro but it’s now looking pretty hopeful for a fun size west swell WNW swell from about Saturday onward…

Go well with your day!