In this week's beach report, Craig Holden says good weather conditions will attract more people to the local beaches as spring begins.
Important note: Remember there are updated COVID-19 restrictions, if you are at the beach, please maintain the social/physical distancing minimum guidelines and abide by the current group gathering guidelines as well.
Weather: It has been another great week of weather across the local region, with more beautiful beach conditions on offer and just a few light showers of rain yesterday with those partly overcast skies.
Looking ahead to Friday and the weekend, it does appear that we are set for more good conditions that will hopefully entice plenty of people to get down and enjoy our beautiful beaches.
The winds will remain mostly light through today and tomorrow, with just a slight increase up to moderate strength by Sunday afternoon.
Friday’s forecast is for E/NE winds at around 10 knots throughout the day, before Saturday brings N/NE winds, but again, at only around 10 knots throughout the entire day.
Sunday will then bring a change in wind direction with E/SE winds at around 10 knots through the morning, but they will increase to around 15 knots through Sunday afternoon.
Both Friday and Saturday will likely be partly cloudy, but the chance of showers is very slight, before mostly sunny skies return by Sunday.
Swimming: Based on the wind forecast, I believe that we are set for a great few days of beach conditions with mostly gentle ocean conditions that will be perfect for swimmers – if anything, Sunday afternoon will likely see choppier conditions develop as those SE winds increase.
If you are going for a swim, the best time to do that will be from mid to late morning while the tide is high, but really anytime from early morning through until early afternoon will be pretty good across almost all beaches.
If you are seeking the absolute best swimming conditions, my advice would be to head to locations such as Elliott Heads and Kellys Beach today and tomorrow, but on Sunday, try locations such as Nielson Park, Moore Park Beach, Agnes Water and Hervey Bay.
Don’t forget though, please check with the lifeguard on duty, read any safety signage or messages, and most importantly please swim only at patrolled beaches, only between the red and yellow flags, and only during patrol times – remember, if we can’t see you, we can’t save you! (and the countdown is on – only two weeks to go until volunteer beach patrols are back on our beaches)
Beach patrols: Today and weekdays – Nil
Saturday and Sunday – 9am to 5pm at Kelly’s Beach and Agnes Water only
Surfing: This week has been surprisingly good for local board-riders, with pretty much every day this week throwing up clean, fun-sized waves to enjoy.
Obviously, some beaches were better than others, and the time of the day and stage of the tide did vary the conditions, but there have been plenty of people enjoying what has been on offer.
Looking ahead to the next few days and there is no reason why these conditions will not continue with more fun-sized waves from an E/NE swell expected for at least the next two to three days – and if the winds remain light, the waves will stay clean as well.
All beaches will be worth checking out and probably better from early morning through until around midday. Enjoy.
Events: Surf Life Saving Club sign-on days and nipper pool swims are rolling out over the coming weekends, with the following options available this weekend:
- Elliott Heads SLSC – Saturday 1pm to 3pm at Bundaberg Swimming Academy
- Bundaberg SLSC – Sunday 9am to 11am at Bundaberg Swimming Academy
- Last week's beach report with Craig Holden: Choppy conditions likely at local beaches
Hi , Can you also add kayaking and SUPing to your condition reports thank you