Hello Friends,

There’s a turn-up for the books; no onshores and mostly clear skies. There is one ingredient I’d have liked to have seen more of though. As my piccie from this morning reveals, we have only the tiniest of tiny lines coming in. If you’ve got a SUP or a mal, you’re equipped. Sets at Dee Why early were in the knee to thigh high range for the early-risers.

It was all down to the paltry south wind swell. After briefly bumping above the two metre mark at the peak of yesterday’s southerly blow, it has since dropped to around the metre mark out at sea. Average period is only 7 seconds, so I wouldn’t be expecting too many waist high bombs.

Wind should not be a factor until later this afternoon, so it might be worth a wander down to your fave south swell spot to see if you can find a little something, or more accurately something little.

Tide is low at 0825 and high at 1430. The tidal range is only about half a metre today, so I wouldn’t expect it to be much of a factor in calculations.

Looking ahead to tomorrow, the Bureau says the southerly will return and last for a couple days. Tomorrow morning looks as though it might be similar to today. Monday and Tuesday may have a little south swell action, but the wind will be a factor from early.

So get out there and have yourself a great Saturday!

Weather Situation

Forecast for Saturday until midnight

Winds

Southerly 5 to 10 knots becoming light during the morning then tending northeasterly up to 15 knots during the afternoon. Winds tending north to northeasterly 15 to 20 knots later in the evening.

Seas

Below 1 metre.

Swell

Southeasterly 1 metre.

Sunday 4 December

Winds

Northerly 15 to 20 knots ahead of a southerly change up to 30 knots during the morning. Winds decreasing to southerly 20 to 25 knots during the afternoon.

Seas

1 to 1.5 metres increasing to 2 metres around midday.

Swell

Easterly 1 metre.

Hello Friends,

Cloudy with a 30% chance of rain today along Sydney’s beaches. But there’s almost no swell. Overnight the average period plummeted from around 10 seconds to about seven. And that means waves at south-exposed spots will be struggling to make waist high. A high tide at 0940 won’t help much either.

There were a few folks in the water at Dee Why when I grabbed the picture at around 0700. Waves looked to be about knee to waist and very weak and crumbly.

I wish I could report some suggestion of a significant improvement in the models’ outlook, but sadly it looks as though the east coast will be marginal to flat for at least another week. If you’re desperate for a wave, I’d be heading down to Vicco because from the look of the models it’s going to be pumping. You’ll want some pretty decent rubber though as sea temps are in the mid to low teens. Yikes!

Have yourself a top old day!

TIDES: H @ 0940, L @1550

Forecast for Thursday until midnight

Winds

South to southeasterly 10 to 20 knots tending east to northeasterly in the afternoon then tending north to northwesterly up to 10 knots later in the evening.

Seas

1 to 1.5 metres decreasing to below 1 metre during the morning.

Swell

Southerly about 1 metre.

Friday 16 September

Winds

West to southwesterly 10 to 20 knots becoming westerly 10 to 15 knots during the morning, with inshore northeasterly sea breezes developing in the afternoon.

Seas

Up to 1.5 metres.

Swell

Southerly 1 metre.

Hello Friends,

Sunny morning in Sydney once again, but quite a bit cooler than yesterday. A harbinger of mornings to come as autumn gears up. Energy levels are still at a low ebb on the surf front though. We’re almost at the midway point of April and we’re still not seeing things fire up along the east coast. It’s just barely breaking at Dee Why this morning because the swell’s only about a metre from the south, but worse, the period is bumbling along at a gutless 7 seconds. There was one person in the water when I took this morning’s snap and he didn’t seem to be having much luck with the knee high shutdowns at Dee Why centre.  Unsurprisingly it looked as though he’d pulled on the steamer as well – despite the water still being okay for boardies.

This morning’s riffs on the WAM data are showing the same variability as yesterday. The pessimistic interpretations reckon we won’t get much above the current levels for the next week, while the more hopeful calls are saying it’ll be flat until the weekend when we could get some stormy south swell. I’m hoping that the forecast increase in period from around tomorrow, will lead to a couple days of at least waist to chest high options at south facing beaches across the middle part of the week.

As always, we shall see what we shall see!

Have yourself a great Monday.

ps: I still have some raffle tickets for the Surfrider fundraiser Simon Anderson thruster replica (shaped by the man himself). You’ll need to act fast though because I’ve got to turn the stubs in today. The plan will be to pay me via paypal and then to send me a self-addressed stamped envelope so I can zap the tix back to you. Please use the feedback link to get in touch. This replica is of the ground breaking first thruster Simon used to win the ’81 Bells contest. Tickets are $5 for one or $10 for three.

TIDES: L @0800, H @1400

Weather Situation

A cold front crossed the southern and central NSW coast yesterday and will move slowly along the north coast today and weaken. A complex surface low will lie over southern NSW, Victoria and Bass Strait today, then move slowly to the southeast over the next few days as a weak high pressure ridge develops over northern and central parts of the state.

Forecast for Monday until midnight

Winds: West to northwesterly 10 to 15 knots, tending northwest to northeasterly to 10 knots in the afternoon, then tending northwesterly at about 15 knots in the evening. Seas: Below 1 metre. Swell: Northeasterly 1 metre. The chance of thunderstorms offshore this morning.

Forecast for Tuesday

Winds: West to northwesterly 15 to 20 knots becoming westerly 20 to 25 knots by early evening then tending west to northwesterly 15 to 20 knots later in the evening. Seas: 1 to 1.5 metres increasing to 2 metres by early evening. Swell: Easterly 1 metre tending southerly about 1.5 metres from midday.

Forecast for Wednesday

Winds: Westerly 10 to 20 knots tending west to northwesterly 10 to 15 knots during the afternoon then becoming westerly 15 to 20 knots during the evening. Seas: Up to 1.5 metres. Swell: Southeasterly 1 metre.

 

Hello Friends,

Wind this morning was out of the S-SW at around 20 kts, but the Bureau says it’ll soon be around to the south and south east. Swell was coming weakly from the south and was only about a metre at sea. There’s just not much happening wave wise. Checked the Collaroy-Narra and Dee Why- No Man’s stretches and did not see anything catchable with less than a SUP. Waves were ankle to knee high – if that. Water temp slumped late last week and is currently oscillating between around 17.5 and 18.5 – yikes!!

The flatness continues.

Outlook is for the minor conditions to go on for at least the next 48 hours. We might possibly get a tiny bump upward into the just barely surfable range toward the end of the week, but it’s not looking spectacular by any stretch of the imagination.

Ah well, keep on smilin’ and have yourself a top old day.

Weather Situation

A front and associated southerly change on the Mid North Coast is expected to weaken during Monday morning. A high pressure system is expected to develop over the Southern Tasman Sea on Tuesday with winds along the NSW coast tending east to northeasterly.

Forecast for Monday until midnight

Winds: South to southeasterly 15 to 20 knots. Seas: 1 to 1.5 metres. Swell: Northeasterly 0.5 metres.

Forecast for Tuesday

Winds: South to southeasterly 5 to 15 knots tending east to southeasterly about 10 knots during the afternoon then tending east to northeasterly by early evening. Seas: Below 1 metre. Swell: Easterly 0.5 metres.

Forecast for Wednesday

Winds: North to northwesterly 5 to 15 knots tending north to northeasterly during the afternoon then increasing to 15 to 20 knots during the evening. Seas: Below 1 metre increasing to 1 to 1.5 metres during the evening. Swell: Easterly about 1 metre.

Hello Friends,

Grey skies, SE breeze, the odd sprinkle. Another one of those mornings boys and girls. And the swell? What can you say, it’s much as it’s been I’m afraid. The MHL Sydney buoy was showing a metre of south wind swell and Dee Why’s responding in the usual way, ie weak, junky and too small for anyone but the super keen.

The general outlook for the next week in Sydney (and indeed much of the east coast) and beyond is pretty much more of the same or, as the Goat might say, up a bit, down a bit.

If you want some size, you’d be best advised to head down to Vicco or Tas (particularly the latter where some of those protected and famously long waves could be pretty impressive). And NZ’s west coasts could be firing heavily in another 48-72 hours. But the models are, if anything, less hopeful for the east coast of Oz. A heap of energy is going to be thundering up through the Tasman, but it’ll all be over the horizon as far as we’re concerned. Bah.

Yours truly will be focused increasingly on the we love waves conference in coming days. If you haven’t quite got around to registering, now is the time!

Go well one and all.

Weather Situation

A high pressure system near New Zealand extends a weak ridge to the Queensland coast, while a trough remains almost stationary over northeast New South Wales. This pattern is expected remain relatively unchanged during next few days.

Forecast for Wednesday until midnight

Winds: South to southeasterly 15 to 20 knots becoming southeasterly 10 to 15 knots around midday then tending east to southeasterly up to 10 knots by early evening. Seas: Up to 1.5 metres. Swell: Easterly 1 metre.

Forecast for Thursday

Winds: Light winds tending northeast to southeasterly up to 10 knots around midday then tending east to northeasterly up to 15 knots during the afternoon. Winds becoming northeasterly up to 10 knots later in the evening. Seas: Below 1 metre. Swell: Easterly 1 metre.

Forecast for Friday

Winds: East to southeasterly 5 to 15 knots becoming southeasterly up to 10 knots during the evening. Seas: Below 1 metre. Swell: Easterly 1 metre.

Hello Friends,

Grey and cool again. That would be endurable if Huey was also supplying us something in the way of waves. But no, we have only about a metre of 7 second period south wind swell and the wind’s out of the south. Worse, it’s due to swing SE this afternoon. Talk about adding insult to injury. The Big Guy’s obviously not too cheerful at the mo’.

That’s the quick version, back in a tick with some thoughts about the current state of the forecasts…

Weather Situation

A high pressure system near New Zealand extends a ridge to the Queensland coast, while a trough remains almost stationary over northeast New South Wales. This pattern is expected remain relatively unchanged during next few days.

Forecast for Tuesday until midnight

Winds: South to southwesterly 15 to 25 knots tending south to southeasterly 10 to 15 knots in the afternoon and evening. Seas: Below 1 metre increasing to 1 to 2 metres around midday. Swell: Northeasterly under 1 metre. The chance of thunderstorms offshore.

Forecast for Wednesday

Winds: South to southeasterly 10 to 15 knots tending east to northeasterly around midday. Seas: Below 1 metre increasing to 1 to 1.5 metres later in the evening. Swell: Easterly 1 metre tending southeasterly in the afternoon and evening.

Forecast for Thursday

Winds: East to northeasterly 5 to 10 knots increasing to up to 15 knots during the afternoon. Seas: Below 1 metre. Swell: Southerly 1 metre tending easterly from midday.

Hello Friends,

Had a look at the Collaroy-Narrabeen stretch around 1530. Fair number of people scattered along the beach chasing little knee to waist high faced windswell. Not as much wind as had earlier been anticipated, so aside from the water quality, it didn’t look hopeless on the low tide banks.

I reckon it’s come up a touch since this morning and the latest model run suggests that it should last through tomorrow. As I write this, another band of rain is headed toward the coast, and the Bureau says:

Forecast for Saturday evening
Showers. Chance of thunderstorms. Moderate east to southeast winds,
tending northeasterly.
Precis: Showers. Chance thunderstorms.

Forecast for Sunday
Rain at times and the chance of thunderstorms. Light to moderate
northwest to northeast winds freshening near the coast in the
afternoon.

So that water quality’s not about to improve. Outlook for midweek remains hopeful for something into the shoulder-head high range from late Tuesday to Thursday. Fingers crossed!

Go well with your Saturday one and all.

Hello Friends,

EVENING UPDATE: 1900, wind blowing steadily and pretty strongly from the SSE at around 20kts. Swell has gone from one to 2 metres on average, but the average period is still only a windswelly 7 sec. Some junky stuff in the corner at Dee Why, but you’d want to be keen. Outlook for tomorrow morning according to the Bureau is: Wind: S/SE 20/25 knots easing to 15/20 knots in the morning and 10/15 knots later.Sea: 1.5 to 2.5 metres abating 1 to 2 metres in the morning. Swell: S/SE 2 to 3 metres.

and not much of anything to be seen in the way of waves.

At 0540 the sun came into view from the sleepy sands at Dee Why.  And what it revealed was not a scene to gladden any surfer’s heart. The ocean is barely disturbed. Only the tiniest ripple approaches from the horizon. Out at the Sydney MHL buoy, the swell – such as it is – is coming from the south. It’s about a metre on average and the period is just 7 seconds. We all know what that means, don’t we? Your only hope for anything barely resembling a wave will be at south facing spots. And although we’re in for lengthy sunny periods today, the SE wind is set to increase steadily and be 20-30 kts by this afternoon. That ought to give us a little push on the swell front. I say “ought” because looking at the combined swell data from MHL, I can’t see any obvious evidence of it yet.

The wind’s supposed to stick around at around the same velocity overnight and with luck it will get us something into the surfable range by tomorrow morning. SE’ly winds pretty much hammer everywhere along our stretch of coast, so I’m not getting too excited about the prospects. But despite my experience, I can’t help hoping…

Have yourself a top old day and go well with your fine endeavours!

Don talks surf for Friday with Wendy Harmer on 702 ABC radio.