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.

Hello Friends,

Not too flash out there this morning. SSE wind is pushing along at a surf destroying 20-30 knots. The outlook is for it to slack off this afternoon and to go more SE, so who knows, maybe some of the south corners will come into play. But you’d have to say it’s not exactly looking like being all time. Swell at sea off Sydney is averaging around the 3 metre mark from the south. It’s coming in at around 8 seconds apart, so there isn’t a lot of power. Waves are messy and unattractive – to put it mildly – and as a consequence, I wasn’t surprised not to see anyone in the water.

I’m intrigued to see the Eden buoy showing an average period of around 11 seconds. There’s no guarantee we’ll see that make its way this far north, but the latest run of the wave forecast models is calling for our average period to jump into a similar range this afternoon. Should that happen, we might get a little more energy getting into the corners.

The Bureau says we’re set to have SE wind into Saturday, so the best hope for a wave will probably be the early (when the tide, sadly, is full).

Ah well, Huey will come to the party eventually, so keep on smilin’ and go well with today’s adventures.

TIDES: H @0620, L @1300
Sydney Coastal Waters, Broken Bay to Port Hacking and 60nm seawards:
Strong Wind Warning.
Thursday until midnight: Wind: S/SE 20/30 knots, easing to SE 15/20 knots in the afternoon. Sea: 2 to 3 metres, abating to 1.5 to 2 metres in the afternoon. Swell: S increasing to 2 to 3 metres.
Friday: Wind: S/SE 15/20 knots. Sea: 1 to 2 metres. Swell: S/SE 1.5 to 2.5 metres.
Saturday: Wind: SE 10/20 knots.

Messy, then getting smaller!

Friday: in the 1-2 metre rnage dead South – with S/SE wind.

Saturday: smaller in the 1-2 metre rnage South East –  with SE wind.

Sunday: about 1 metre East South East – with E/SE wind.

Monday: about 1 metre East.

Tuesday: less than 1 metre.

Wednesday: ditto.

Thursday: about the same.

Water temp is around 22.

Weather from the Bureau:

Forecast for Thursday evening
A shower or two. Moderate south to southeast winds, fresh near the
coast.
Precis: Shower or two.               

Forecast for Friday  
Cloudy periods with a shower or two. Light to moderate southeast
winds.
Precis: Shower or two.               

City:         Min:  18 Max:  23   Parramatta: Min:  16 Max:  24
Terrey Hills: Min:  17 Max:  22   Penrith:    Min:  16 Max:  24
Liverpool:    Min:  16 Max:  24   Richmond:   Min:  15 Max:  23

UV Alert:   10:00 am to 4:10 pm, UV Index predicted to reach 7 [High]

Saturday  Shower or two.
City:          Min:   18  Max:   23
West:          Min:   15  Max:   24

Sunday    Shower or two.
City:          Min:   17  Max:   23
West:          Min:   14  Max:   24

Monday    Chance shower
City:          Min:   18  Max:   25
West:          Min:   15  Max:   26

Tuesday   Mostly fine.
City:          Min:   18  Max:   24
West:          Min:   15  Max:   25

Wednesday Fine.
City:          Min:   18  Max:   25
West:          Min:   15  Max:   26

Thursday  Fine.
City:          Min:   18  Max:   26
West:          Min:   14  Max:   28

surf was pretty good, in Byron Bay today. We had some really nice swell, offshore winds and joyously crisp clear cooler autumn conditions. But tell me; was it a public holiday that nobody told us about? There were so many people in the water, I mean seriously folks at times it was pretty intense. You know the weird thing is, just a short stroll away there were perfect little waves with hardly anyone on them peeling through the bay. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, we surfers are a very strange mob indeed. We constantly bemoan the crowds, yet we stick together like navel lint at a sweat fest. Me, I went to the quiet spot, sat there with a couple of old locals and few smart visitors and we all marvelled at the mayhem further up the line. We all scored a few clean slides, and then I went back to shooting those trying pull a few out of the main circus, further outside. Sure there was a radical crew, but when all is said and done, it was still a very beautiful day with plenty of waves, In Byron Bay today.