Craig Holden advises both swimmers and board riders to hit the beaches in the morning as moderate winds make for slightly messy and choppy conditions over the weekend.
Weather
Well, it has a gorgeous week of weather across the local region during this past week with plenty of sunshine and blue skies, and even some unusually mild to warm weather – until yesterday’s cool change arrived to remind us it is still Winter!
Looking ahead to today and then across the weekend, we can expect more cooler temperatures, along with moderate winds, partly cloudy skies, and the chance of showers on Sunday.
This morning’s winds will be from the S/SW at around 15 knots before they swing more from the S/SE to E/SE during the day and creep up to be 15+ knots by this afternoon.
Tomorrow’s forecast suggests similar again, with S/SE to E/SE winds at around 15 knots, before Sunday brings a slight drop in intensity with S/SE to E/SE winds at 10 to 15 knots.
Swimming
Swimming conditions have been a little mixed during this past week, with slightly wobbly and choppy conditions early in the week, which were replaced with more mild and calm conditions through Wednesday and Thursday, with plenty of fun body surfing waves as well.
The moderate onshore winds forecast for the coming days, will provide choppy conditions on the open and exposed beaches, and there will also be a slight side sweep from south to north along those more open and exposed beaches as well.
The wave action will also continue across the weekend, but will drop in size and become messier, so just be mindful of this when swimming.
Best beaches for swimmers over the coming days will be those that provide some protection from the SE winds, so these will be Hervey Bay, Agnes Water, Nielson Park and Moore Park – with the best time for a swim being from early morning to midday.
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!
Beach patrols
Today and weekdays – 9 am to 5 pm at Agnes Water only
Saturday and Sunday – 9 am to 5 pm at Kelly’s Beach and Agnes Water only
Surfing
There have been plenty of fun waves about our local beaches this week, with the waves jumping in size last Sunday and hanging around for most of the week with plenty of period between sets.
The forecast for the coming days is not as promising as what we have seen though, with the onshore winds set to make the ocean a little messy and choppy, and the swell period and size dropping away as well, but there should still be enough out there to still have some fun.
The best time to hit the beaches will be through the mornings, with the better spots likely to be Agnes Water, Nielson Park, Mon Repos and Moore Park. Good Luck.
For the SUP and Ocean Ski paddlers, there will be enough wind about today and tomorrow to jump for a slick south to north downwind run, but for those looking for calm and gentle conditions to enjoy on the ocean you will have to get there very early in the morning, or else head to the protected inland waterways.
After what seems like an eternity, this will be my last Beach & Surf Report for Bundaberg Now.
It has been my pleasure to provide these reports over the years, and I sincerely thank everyone that has found them to be beneficial!
Stay safe and I hope to see you on the beach! (P.S. You will still get my up-to-date reports on ABC Radio Wide Bay for those that are keen).
