Well, it has been another weekend of mixed weather conditions, with moderate to strong onshore winds prevailing through the early part of the week before the winds started to ease.
Looking ahead to the weekend and there is good news for beach goers with sunny skies, unusually warm weather (for winter) and mostly light to only moderate winds forecast.
The winds this morning will be very light (around 5 knots) from the W/NW before they gradually increase to only around 10 knots from the N/NW during the afternoon.
Tomorrow will be similar with W/NW winds at 5 to 10 knots through the morning that will then increase to 10 to 15 knots from the N/NW during the afternoon.
Sunday will then bring slightly stronger winds with the forecast suggesting 10 to 15 knots of N/NW winds throughout the day.
Swimming
The swimming conditions have improved gradually during the past week as the winds have eased, and the good news continues for the coming days with more mild ocean conditions expected – particularly on those beaches that face away from the northerly winds.
With this in mind, Elliott Heads and Kelly’s Beach will certainly be the pick of the local beaches for swimmers over the coming days, but all beaches will be quite okay through the mornings while the winds are lighter, and particularly today and tomorrow.
High tides are due in the very early mornings and then again through the late afternoon to early evening period.
Therefore, the best time to hit the beach will be from early to mid-mornings, or again from mid to late afternoon.
Please check with the lifeguard on duty, read any safety signage or messages, and most importantly please swim only at patrolled beaches, between the red and yellow flags, and only during patrol times – remember, if we can’t see you, we can’t save you!
Beach patrols: Today and weekdays – NIL
Saturday and Sunday – 9 am to 5 pm at Kelly’s Beach and Agnes Water only
Surfing
Last weekend provided plenty of waves for the board-riders and even this past week has thrown up more opportunities to find a few fun waves.
Unfortunately though, northerly winds are forecast from today until Sunday, as we know these winds are not usually conducive to providing great surfing conditions.
But, I would suggest that you still keep an eye on your favourite beach through the early mornings while the winds are very light as there could still be some small, but clean, waves about to enjoy.
Beaches such as Kelly’s Beach and Elliott Heads could be good options this weekend for a sneaky wave, but as per usual keep an eye on the usual locations.
For the SUP and ocean ski paddlers, there probably won’t be an opportunity for a downwind paddle (north to south) until Sunday, so between now and then, just enjoy the relatively calm and gentle ocean conditions expected through the early mornings – and particularly at Elliott Heads and Kelly’s Beach.
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