Afternoon update: southerly well into it, but…

A little afternoon update from the wheelhouse. Climbed up into the crow’s nest to see how things were shaking down at Dee Why around 4pm. Did not look a picture I have to say. The wind was out of the SE at about 20 kts and while that means it has dropped back a bit, the chop was pretty bad right into the corner at Dee Why (never mind up the beach). Even so, the now mainly south swell is up into the 3 metre range on a period of about 8 seconds. The point and the beachy were rather crowded which, given the messy, choppy conditions and slate grey skies, might seem kinda strange. But on closer observation it was evident that folks were getting some okay rides. The swell has a little push and it was carrying those skilled enough to negotiate the lumps a fair old way.

Here’s the latest marine forecast:

Saturday until midnight: Wind: S/SE 15/20 knots, easing to 10/15 knots overnight.Sea: 1.5 to 2 metres, abating to 1 to 1.5 metres overnight. Swell: SE 2 to 3 metres.
Sunday: Wind: SW/SE 5/15 knots, tending E/NE in the afternoon. Sea: about 1 metre. Swell: E/SE about 2 metres.
Monday: Wind: NW/SW 5/15 knots before a S’ly change 20/30 knots.
[models predict S-3m-6s]
Tuesday: Wind: S/SE 15/25 knots.

[models predict SE-2.5m-10s]

Could be some fun ones around tomorrow morning, and then maybe a few to be had in the north corners in the afternoon…

Dee Why around 1600

It may be a chop fest, but it's a well-attended chop fest.

They're sectioning and lumpy and junky, but there's some speed to play with.

On our forums: Why we surf

I reckon Zingomar’s post is a good ‘un. -Don

Why we surf – an attempt to articulate it in depth

Post by zingomar » Thu Apr 02, 2009 11:21 pm
After watching Bombora (which I enjoyed) I was left feeling that no-one really pinned down the many dimensions of why we love to surf. So here goes my try in no special order:

1. The primitive thrill of the hunt:

i.e. the search – going out hunting for surf, scoring a session or wave for personal satisfaction and to show off and to bring back to tell and impress the tribe.

2. The primitive desire to explore and wander

We evolved to wander the globe and find new areas and places. We still love this – new spots, new countries with surf as a meaningful and exciting goal – what is over the hill or around the bend may be genuinely exciting. Most tourists wander from destination to destination with a sesne of going through the motions and are thinking about what is for lunch. Surfers travel with excitement

3. The desire to show off in a dramatic way

Waves provide a stage that is missing for most of us in day to day lives. Being on a wave you stand out and are watched by paddlers and those on the beach. We may pretend we don’t care to be seen but we do. Getting tubed or pulling off a big move gives a little moment of being centre stage. How often do you get a hoot in life outside surfing??

4. The visual beauty – waves can create some amazingly appealing visuals that few other sports can begin to come near (skiing, diving, rock climbing come a bit close)

One reason the surf industry can be so successful is that the visuals of waves and surfers are so strong and “cool”. Streetwear, skate fashion imagery etc just can’t compete with the appeal sun surf and beach.

5. The ability to wrap oneself in the beauty of nature – see, feel, hear and taste it

Most visual beauty is something you see rather than experience. In surfing you can wrap yourself in it, touch, feel ride and get thrashed about by it. Sex is one of the few other things where you can get so involved in beauty (if you are lucky)

6. The sensation of weighting and unweighting and subtle direction changes at speed

Roller coaster designers have long known these thrills but recently discovered that subtle weighting and unweighting while in motion give humans a lot of pleasure – more so that radical direction changes. Surfing is full of this as you weave up and down a wave

7. The ability to taste and overcome real fear without life and death being at stake and with a soft landing

Surfing can confront you with all sorts of fear situations in heavy waves and big waves with just a short paddle from the beach. Our ancestors would have hunted or escaped from wild animals both hating and loving the fear sensation then and later around the camp fire as stories are told. Surfing can do the same at a host of levels.

8. Scarcity of the peak experience

For most of us the peak experiences of pefect waves are rare and it is hard to totally get your fill. So often you want more or had a fleeting taste of a new level of speed or a deeper tube and want it again. Wanting draws you back. The average surf is not magical but the peak moments definitely are.

9. Waves are ephemeral – they disappear

Familiarity breeds contempt, so the fact that you can’t sit a wave in your living room for years so that it gathers dust and becomes just another object perpetuates their appeal.

10. Hanging out with mates with a purpose and something in common that gives you stories to tell and adventures to share

11. The sense of achievement from learning new skills and pulling off good moves

Surfing wraps all of the above together to make it unique and hard to be matched in any other human activity.

zingomar
To read the whole thread, click here

Just before the southerly

I knew the southerly was coming, so I dashed over to Edgecliff Blvd and took a few long distance shots of the Collaroy Narrabeen stretch with my 40 yr old Century 650mm lens.

Heaps of people in the water scoring a few fun ones before it went pear shaped as 20-30 kts of wind ripped into it a little after 0900.

Who'd mind something like this? South of Gardens before the southerly.

Just part of the crowd at Northy - before the southerly.

One grinds in just south of Gardens.

Good for beginners at Collaroy, but watch the huge weed build up on the inside.

Little one at Whiterock

Around 0900 the southerly hadn't quite arrived...

3 foot but Southerly has arrived

It’s around 3 feet at 8.50am, the tide is dropping but the wind has just changed direction with a southerly blowing out the quality of the East swell.  I’m off to Manly but Dee Why might b a chance for a protected wave early. Should be waves all week. Enjoy.

Before the change

update: here are the first pics for the day…

As the rising sun's first rays pink the spray, one comes through the point.

Waits are getting longer, but still a few on tap.

Hello Friends,

Swell continues on a slow decline, but it shouldn’t be flat. It’s still dark out as I start writing this, so I’m having to rely on the MHL data for the moment. It’s showing the swell still coming from the east and just a touch under 2 metres at about 9 seconds apart. Yesterday was only a touch bigger, so as long as you can find a place out of the expected south change, there should be waves.

While we’re waiting for some light, here’s the latest marine forecast:

Sydney Coastal Waters, Broken Bay to Port Hacking and 60nm seawards:
Strong Wind Warning.
Saturday until midnight: Wind: N/NW 10/15 knots ahead of an early morning S/SE change 20/30 knots, easing to 15/20 knots late in the day and evening.Sea: 1 to 1.5 metres early, rising to 2 to 3 metres in the morning, then abating to 1.5 to 2 metres in the evening. Swell: E/NE 2 to 2.5 metres.
Sunday: Wind: SW/SE 5/15 knots, tending E/NE in the afternoon. Sea: about 1 metre. Swell: E/SE 2 to 2.5 metres.
Monday: Wind: NW/SW 5/15 knots before a S’ly change 20/30 knots.

Back soon when I have a picture or two…

Byron Bay April 3rd / 09