It’s autumn alright, the wind is strong it’s been raining nonstop since lunchtime and folks are starting to pull out their rubber, in Byron Bay today. Not that it’s particularly cold; truth is the water is still toasty and warm. But a thirty knot autumn southerly will start to chill even the hardiest of crew after a few hours. I don’t know whether it’s just me, but I always see a genuine beauty in this weather. I suspect the visitors would probably prefer blazing sunshine and gentle breezes. Yet this weather with all its contrasts and rapidly changing light is something that I just seems to sing to this old salt. I don’t know maybe it’s just the sheer life in it and the sense of perspective it tends to create. It just makes one feel small and insignificant, and that, I suspect is not a bad thing for any human, In Byron Bay today.