Better conditions for Friday

Look for light winds and small longboard waves for most of the day Friday. Saturday may still see some small waves and some SW winds.

Roberto

Decreasing

Still a few waves around Dee Why/Longy this morning but it’s fading rapidly. Less consistent and starting to lose its punch but there are still some rideable ones.

Good again today …

Looking good. Solid sets early in the 3-4ft+ range.  Nice lines stacked up, possibly a bit more E in the swell than y’day. Looked like it may be easing a little. Wind is out of the N/NE so there’ll be some decent options all day by the looks.  Water temp on the Gerroa stretch this morn was around 16-18C  – pretty comfortable in a steamer. Well worth a paddle. Rosco.

Not huge, but catchable.

The swell dipped yesterday, came up again in the evening and seems to have faded a touch overnight. However, as the morning got started it was a respectable two metres from the SSE at 10 seconds apart. Dee Why point was hosting a group of Huey worshippers, but the beach was looking pretty empty. Not surprising really, the line is very long, so those gently sloping banks are delivering a steady supply of 200 metre long shutdowns. Biggest set wave I saw had a wave face in the two metre range, however given the specifications on this swell, I’d be surprised if there weren’t bigger ones elsewhere.

Speaking of which, I’ll try to get out and about for another look later today, so check back again later ’cause I should have an update for you all.

Have yourself a great day.

Tides: H 1241, L 1941g

From the Bureau
Forecast for Sydney on Friday
Fine. Mostly sunny. Light to moderate northwest winds, turning north
to northeasterly and freshening during the afternoon near the coast.

Strong Wind Warning south of Wooli.

Synoptic Situation
A deep low over the southern Tasman Sea is moving steadily east. A high pressure ridge over northern NSW will move into the Coral Sea on Friday as another front moves into western NSW. This front is expected to cross the coast early Saturday with the wind turning strong to gale force west to southwesterly over the weekend. A deep low is expected to develop behind the front to the east of Tasmania on Saturday, then move northeastward into the Tasman Sea on Sunday with wind along the South Coast increasing further.

Sydney Coastal Waters, Broken Bay to Port Hacking and 60nm seawards:
Strong Wind Warning.
Friday until midnight: Wind: NW 10/15 knots, increasing to N/NE 20/30 knots in the late afternoon or evening, chiefly offshore.Sea: about 1 metre, rising 2 to 3 metres in the afternoon/evening. Swell: S/SE 1.5 to 2 metres.
Saturday: Wind: N/NW 25/35 knots, turning W/NW of similar strength early.Sea: 2.5 to 3.5 metres. Swell: SE 1 to 1.5 metres.
Sunday: Wind: W 25/35 knots.

Round 2 Quik Pro France, Buchan Ousted

Aritz Aranburu (EUK), 23, was in devastating form this morning in Round 2 of the Quiksilver Pro France, eliminating local favorite Jeremy Flores (FRA), 21.

SEIGNOSSE, France –The Quiksilver Pro France presented by Orange, Event No. 7 of 10 on the 2009 ASP World Tour, got back in motion today at the event’s main venue of Les Bourdaines in consistent-but-testing five-foot (1.5 metre) waves.

Battling against elements with strong currents coming into the equation, Round 2 competitors put on a show of strategic game plans and athletic skills, holding their line-up positions and taking off on fast-breaking five-to-six foot wave faces to grab their Round 3 tickets.

With most top seeds getting the job done in various ways, from solid scores to tight heat results, surprise came with the eliminations of highly-touted competitors Jeremy Flores (FRA), 21, and defending champion Adrian Buchan (AUS), 27, losing to Aritz Aranburu (EUK), 23, and ASP Dream Tour veteran Greg Emslie (ZAF), 32, respectively, creating the biggest upsets of the day.

Emslie eliminated Buchan in the dying minutes of their exchange, netting a solid 8.00 point score to stamp his authority and get away with the win. Emslie, ASP World No. 33, was able to catch-up with Buchan’s early lead using his experience and patience to wait for a good opportunity and rush to victory.

“It’s super challenging out there and I knew that we’d be getting 4s and 5s and it would come down to whoever got that one smoker,” Emslie said. “That wave came to me right at the end of the heat and was able to stand-up for me really well. I was stoked when I heard the score.”

Emslie, a former runner-up in the Quiksilver Pro France (2007), has not had any stellar results on tour this year, the South African sitting on four 17th places and a couple of 33rds, and will be looking to get through another few rounds to get back into the ASP Top 27, the re-qualifying group for next year’s ASP World Tour.

“For sure, I was definitely thinking about Ace winning here last year,” Emslie said. “I was also thinking about when I was in the Final the last time I came here to so that gave me a bit of confidence. I’m currently sitting 33rd right now, but Europe is a great place for you to bang out a few good results and if you can remain consistent, you can really make some ground up.”

Aranburu caused the other major upset of the day by eliminating current ASP World Tour No. 19, Flores, in Heat 8, and advancing through to Round 3 for the second time this year. Aranburu, who tamed the fast lefthanders of Les Bourdaines using his powerful and vertical backhand attack, led the exchange from start to finish to defeat national surf star Flores, peaking with a 7.50 point ride en route to victory.

“I was warming up my legs before the heat because I knew I would need them strong for the heat,” Aranburu said. “There are some heavy sections out there and you have to complete your maneuvers to get the bigger scores.”

Aranburu, who has finished a disappointing 33^rd in all ASP World Tour events but one this year (in Tahiti where he reached the Semifinals), gave himself a bit of air today his result guaranteeing an equal 17th place finish at least in the Quiksilver Pro France. The only Basque surfer to ever qualify for the ASP World Tour, Aranburu’s backhand talent will be a threat to any of his upcoming opponents in the event.

“I knew Jeremy (Flores) would be really tough in these conditions,” Aranburu said. “Although he’s hurt a little bit, he’s still very dangerous out here. It’s an important part of the year for me. I have had only 33rds and one 3rd so I think 3 isn’t necessarily my lucky number. I’m happy to advance through to Round 3 and hopefully I can keep going.”

Kai Otton (AUS), 28, current ASP World No. 16, was another of today’s standouts, the renowned goofy-footer putting on a solid performance to oust ASP Dream Tour rookie Nathaniel Curran (California, USA), 25. Otton, who chose the inside lefthanders to show his skills to the ASP judging panel, surfed twelve waves throughout the 30-minute heat finding his rhythm despite the strong current washing down the beach.

“I just tried to keep busy, it is a tricky rip and there is a lot of water moving around and obviously I didn’t want to paddle against it and would rather catch waves. So that’s what I did, kept catching waves.”

Posting a convincing 14.26 point score to Curran’s low 5.17 point combination of two scores, Otton stuck to his game plan and will surf in Round 3 of the Quiksilver Pro France.

“Obviously I didn’t start very well this year but I feel I am in form now and surfing pretty good,” Otton said. “I had a good result at Jeffreys Bay and got through a few rounds at Trestles so it would be good to keep it going here. I love France and there’s some swell so it’s looking good.”

Event officials will re-assess conditions and make a call tomorrow at 7:30am for a possible 8am start.

First out will be Heitor Alves (BRA), 26, up against Jay Thompson (AUS), 26, when Round 2 of the Quiksilver Pro France resumes.

Highlights from today’s Quiksilver Pro France will be available at www.quiksilverlive.com

Great conditions but straight

Around 3+ feet of south ground swell with light offshores and sunny conditions but it’s pretty straight and useless.  There’s a crew down south having a fair crack with a few makable ones but up north it’s useless and dead straight.  Dee Why was the same last night.  Plenty of swell all weekend. Enjoy.

C C Sunny & Nice

Fine, dry and cooler on the Central Coast this Friday morning.  The swell is smooth and inconsistent at 2 –  4 feet  from the east.  There is a light northwest breeze at the moment forecast to go north northeast later.  Low tide 0555 and high tide around 1240.  Local barometer 1007 hpa, 11 degrees C. 71% humidity.   Have a good weekend.  Realsurfers while Don is surveying Digital SLR cameras, I have a brand new Digital SLR underwater housing by DiCapac 100% waterproof SLR housing up to 5 metres (takes long lenses).  Never used.  Was going to take it on my Kokoda trek but in the end did not take it.  Worth $180 sell for $120.  Contact Matt on ms2007@bigpond.com

Thar She Blows in Byron Bay today,

Curly this am

Went for a quick splash at south Curly this morning. Looked at Dee Why on the way, but mate Brendon scared us off with a report that it had just stopped dead in the last hour. Curly was consistent and sizable, but the banks are far from their best and the shutdown percentages were rather high. Water has chilled down a degree or so from last week too. But, it was a beautiful day and good to be getting wet. Grabbed a few snaps to share. Depending how I go with my other obligations today, I’ll try to go get dsome more later.

Curly looking a weird combo of wobbly lips and slamming shutdowns.

The odd briefly makeable section to be had.

Bodyboarders probably best equipped for extracting fun from the shutdowns

I have yet to get this right all week…

So I might as well say that Thursday is starting to look OK. Winds should be almost calm at day break with a 3.5 foot swell and best of all, the tide going out. So since I have no morning meetings, I hope to check first thing in see if I got this predication right. Of course after two weeks of horrible wind and weather, I have no idea what condition the beach bottom and bars are like. And I will grab a light piece of rubber since the temperature has dropped over 8 degrees in two weeks.

Roberto