In this week's beach report, Craig Holden says mornings will be the best time to swim at Bundaberg Region beaches over coming days while the winds are lighter and the tide higher.
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: Well it has been a mixed week of weather during this past week, with Monday and Wednesday producing light winds and great beach weather, but Tuesday and Thursday threw up wind, wind and more wind!
Looking ahead to the weekend and we can expect the warm conditions to continue despite the partly cloudy skies today and tomorrow, but aside from that it is also going to be a mixed bag of wind conditions for the next few days.
This morning’s winds will be from the E/SE at around 10 to 15 knots before they increase through the afternoon to 15 to 20 knots.
Tomorrow morning will then see more E/SE winds at around 15 knots or so before they then swing from the E/NE through the afternoon at 15 to 20 knots.
Sunday will then be dominated by N/NE winds, which will be around 10 to 15 knots through the morning and then once again getting up to 15 to 20 knots in the afternoon.
Swimming: With the changing wind conditions over the coming days, we will also be greeted with changing ocean conditions and more importantly, the best swimming beaches will also change.
Generally, we can expect choppy ocean conditions right across the next few days, with the afternoons getting even choppier and quite messy – particularly on the open and exposed beaches.
For today and tomorrow morning, the better swimming locations will be those beaches that offer protection from the E/SE winds – Hervey Bay, Agnes Water, Moore Park Beach and Nielson Park Beach being those locations.
However, by Saturday afternoon and right through Sunday, beaches that provide shelter from the N/NE winds will be the better options – Elliott Heads and Kellys Beach being the best options by far!
The best time for a swim over the coming days will be from early to mid-morning while the winds are lighter and the tide higher, and keep an eye out for bluebottles by Sunday.
Please check with the lifeguard or lifesavers 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!
Beach patrols: Today and weekdays – 9am to 5pm at Kellys Beach and Agnes Water only.
Saturday – 9am to 5pm at Kellys Beach, Nielson Park, Oaks Beach and Agnes Water; 1pm to 5pm at  Elliott Heads and Moore Park Beach.
Sunday – 9am to 5pm at Elliott Heads, Kellys Beach, Nielson Park, Oaks Beach, Moore Park Beach and Agnes Water.
Surfing: The surf conditions have again been a little all over the place this past week, with a few windows of opportunity to find a few clean, fun waves when the winds were lighter, but then plenty of messy, choppy and less enjoyable waves about when the winds were not so light!
The weekend ahead will be quite similar too, with the chance of some small, fun waves through the early mornings and then again through the late afternoon, although the waves will be quite wind-affected by the afternoon.
For today and tomorrow, have a look at Agnes Water, Mon Repos, Nielson Park and Moore Park Beach, however by Sunday morning, it may well be worth having a look around Kellys Beach or Elliott Heads as the tide drops around mid-morning onwards. Good luck!
For the SUP and ocean ski/kayak paddlers, the moderate wind conditions will once again create choppy and slightly messy conditions offshore, so downwind paddling conditions will be okay for the experienced paddlers, although the swell direction could once again be a bit confused.
For the lesser experienced paddlers, you will find some calmer conditions in the sheltered creeks and rivers yet again.
Events: Good luck to our small, but select group of local surf lifesavers that will represent Queensland Country this weekend at the 2020 Queensland Interbranch Championships on the Gold Coast.
- Last week's report: Moderate winds and mild temperatures to stay
