Swell’s on the fade. In fact it was dropping fast this morning. But there are still the occasional sets turning up at south spots. You might even have caught something in the chest plus range if you were lucky at Dee Why beach when I checked around 330.

Hello Friends,

Swell peaked yesterday, but there’s still some fun to be had. It’s a touch under 2 metres from the SSE at 11 seconds. The complex of mainly left peaks at the Dee Why end of the beach are firing up again and the numbers are upon them. It’s been extremely crowded out there during this swell and I think, from looking elsewhere, that it’s largely due to the fact that there other places nearby aren’t offering quite the same standard of wave.

Tide will be low at @1045 and then back to the high at @1710.

Weather should be a bit warmer and partly cloudy in the morning, but clouding up later ahead of a week of grey skies and rain.

And it looks as though our swell will fade out today (if the Bureau and the models are right). And then we shift into marginal for a few days before a major SE blow kicks up at the end of the week. With any luck, we’ll be back to passable surf conditions by the weekend. Some of the modelling is showing quite good conditions for Sunday into Monday at south spots… the surf season seems to be revving up.

Go well with your plans one and all!

ps: I went shooting yesterday and ended up at Dee Why for the morning and afternoon sessions. They’re now in the process of becoming galleries, so stay tuned…

Weather Situation
A deep low pressure system over the southeastern Tasman Sea is moving towards New Zealand and a high pressure ridge over the northern Tasman Sea is weakening. Later on Thursday a low pressure trough will cross New South Wales coast and a low is expected to develop off the central coast by early Friday.
Forecast for Tuesday until midnight
Winds
Westerly 15 to 25 knots turning south to southwesterly 15 to 20 knots in the afternoon.
Seas
1 to 2 metres, decreasing below 1.5 metres by early evening.
Swell
Southerly 1.5 to 2 metres, decreasing to 1 to 1.5 metres around dawn.
Wednesday 22 May
Winds
Southerly 10 to 15 knots becoming variable about 10 knots before dawn.
Seas
Up to 1 metre.
Swell
Southerly 1.5 metres, decreasing to around 1 metre during the morning.
Thursday 23 May
Winds
East to southeasterly 10 to 15 knots, increasing to 25 to 30 knots during the afternoon.
Seas
1 to 2 metres, increasing to 2 to 3 metres during the afternoon or evening.
Swell
Southeasterly around 1 metre, increasing to 2 to 3 metres during the morning.

Hello Friends,

Another day of good waves at south swell spots. It’s 2.5 metres and coming from the SSE at a juicy 10 seconds apart. This is a near perfect size for Sydney’s beaches. Throw in a westerly of 10 kts, and you have every reason to bend the schedule around for a wave.

Tides: Low @0955 H@1625

The Bureau says the swell has peaked and will decline this afternoon (but not go flat). However, looking at the MHL data from down the coast, I don’t see any evidence of a drop in energy levels, so with any luck, the juice will continue all day long.

Outlook is for waves again tomorrow and Wednesday, although indications are that the average size will drop below the current chest-shoulder height.

BTW, I’m working through a backlog of shooting from the weekend, and I plan to add more today if possible. For the record I shot at Dee Why beach in the morning, then shot Curly near midday on Saturday. On Sunday I shot Mona Vale mid-afternoon and then went back to Dee Why for the sunset sesh.

Go well with your day!

Weather Situation
A low pressure system located over the southern Tasman Sea will continue to bring fresh southwesterly wind over southern NSW coast during Monday. The low will move slowly east towards New Zealand during the next few days and will be followed by a weak high pressure system moving over the eastern NSW during Tuesday and Wednesday. A low pressure system is expected to affect the NSW coast Thursday and Friday.
Forecast for Monday until midnight
Winds
Southwesterly 15 to 20 knots turning westerly in the evening.
Seas
1 to 1.5 metres, decreasing below 1 metre around midday, then increasing to 1 to 1.5 metres later in the evening.
Swell
Southerly 1.5 to 2 metres, decreasing to 1.5 metres during the afternoon.
Tuesday 21 May
Winds
Westerly 15 to 20 knots tending southwesterly 15 to 25 knots in the early afternoon.
Seas
1 to 1.5 metres, increasing to 1.5 to 2 metres during the afternoon.
Swell
Southerly 1.5 to 2 metres, decreasing to 1 to 1.5 metres around dawn.
Wednesday 22 May
Winds
South to southwesterly 15 to 20 knots turning east to southeasterly below 10 knots during the day.
Seas
1 to 1.5 metres, decreasing below 1 metre during the morning.
Swell
Southerly 1 to 1.5 metres, tending southeasterly around 1 metre during the evening.
Please be aware
Wind gusts can be 40 percent stronger than the averages given here, and maximum waves may be up to twice the height.

My weekend started early at North Curly Saturday morning with a pod of playful dolphins and ended (photography-wise anyway) back at North Curly early Sunday arvo for the wildest shorey body board action I have ever witnessed. And in between managed to get a session at North Narra and Dee Why into the mix.

A really decent swell and offshore all weekend well and truly set the stoke to high. Plus, the brilliant late autumn afternoon light we have at the moment is beautifully front-lighting everything and sending it all into high contrast land which is nirvana for photogs.

I’m still smiling – how about you?

See all the latest pics here

Cheers,

Doug