Small again, but not quite flat

Hello Friends,

At least you can catch 'em if you're in the right spot.

After peaking at close to 3 metres yesterday, the swell’s back into the sub-2m range. It’s pretty much dead south too, so the surf options this morning will be relatively few and far between. Dee Why sort of has little things at the point (looks like mals are more the go) and the beach. But you’d be doing well to score anything much above waist high.

The Bureau’s calling for steadily increasing E to SE wind, so the relatively glassy conditions early don’t look likely to last. So get out there asap.

From the models it appears we’re in for a steady supply of generally easterly wind through the weekend. From my reading of the data, it also looks as though we should get some short period but rideable windswell from the SE at first before swinging more to the ENE by Saturday.

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Tides: H @0927, L @1611
Synoptic Situation
A High is over the Coral Sea and another High is over the Bight. A trough between these systems lies over the northern New South Wales coast, and is expected to persist there until about Saturday. A small low is likely to form within this trough late Thursday or Friday morning, bringing strong east to southeast winds along parts of the northern coast to its south. The High in the Bight will move east of Bass Strait during Thursday, bringing northeast winds to southern parts of the coast.
Sydney Coastal Waters, Broken Bay to Port Hacking and 60nm seawards:
Thursday until midnight: Wind: E/SE 10/15 knots increasing to 18/23 knots.Sea: 1 to 2 metres. Swell: S 1.5 to 2 metres.
Friday: Wind: E/SE 10/15 knots.Sea: 1 to 1.5 metres.Swell: S/SE 1 to 1.5 metres.
Saturday: Wind: SE/NE 10/20 knots

Pics: Manly Festival of Surfing kicks off

RealSurf’s Don and Shari joined a hardy band of surfers in the paddleout at Manly beach to kick off the Manly Festival of Surfing. It was a pretty ordinary sort of afternoon weatherwise, but the vibe was cheerful and the ocean obliging. Here are a few snaps of the paddleout…

Waiting for the signal to begin the paddleout.

And they're off. The paddleout begins...

Holding the mixed waters aloft before paddling out to the centre of the circle.

At the conclusion of the formal opening ceremony, small bottles of ocean water from around Australia were poured into a wooden bowl. These were carried down the Corso to the beach and, somewhat miraculously, paddled out to the circle of surfers bobbing about a hundred metres or so off the beach.

The circle forms...

The mixed waters join the sea at Manly.

Folks paddle in and the festival's launched.

North wind fetch for the next few days.

Good news, its mostly offshore, but the variations of coastline and increasing wind speed may or may not give you a good ride. So plaese check your local conditions often the next few days. There is a tropic disturbance in the Carribean, But I doubt at this time it will assist us here in SC.

Roberto

C C Grey Skies

Overcast, dry and still on the Central Coast this Thursday morning.  The swell is semi-smooth and small at 1 – 2 feet  from the southeast.  There is no breeze at the moment but a east northeast breeze is expected.  Low tide at 0355 and high tide around 1025.  Local barometer 1014 hpa, 17 degrees C. 92% humidity.   Have a good one.

Did It Get Ya Goat, In Byron Bay Today?

Click Here for the full update, In Byron Bay Today.

Did It Get Ya Goat, In Byron Bay Today? A little story; back around 2003 there was a big effort to remove the feral goats off Cape Byron. Yeah I know, they’re feral but I was sad to see em go. I always liked the way they’d startle the odd trekker with a well timed leap from the bushes. Yet as I say they are feral. Of course if they’re feral, doesn’t that mean we are too? But I digress. There are those that argue for the goats, saying they eat the introduced weed, Bitou Bush, which they do. But the goats don’t belong at Cape Byron anymore than the Bitou Bush does, or so we’re told. So what’s the answer? I don’t even know if there is one. I mean let’s face it, animals and insects have been jumping continents ever since we took to the seas millennia back. Plants have been jumping continents long before that, as seeds in the bellies of birds. So where do we try to restore the balance back to, the primordial ooze? There is no easy answer, indeed rounding up a few mountain goats on terrain like the cape is obviously not easy either. Because here we are six years after they’ve all been removed, and we’re staring face to face with one of the light footed buggers up at the cape today. And you know although it’s not the environmentally correct stance to take. I just couldn’t help myself smiling at the one Goat they didn’t get, In Byron Bay Today.  Oh yeah obviously the surf was crap, or why would I be writing about goats?