After The Storm

The peak of the east coast low was Saturday down here on the south coast. The wave buoy off North Head peaked at 13 metres with an average wave height of 5 to 6 metres and winds off-shore were near 50 knots. It was definitely a day for heading out to some of the local lookouts, beaches and tracks for some storm watching.

At our home beach, the tide had run right through the parking lot and the swell was smashing onto the shore.

Next stop was Mosquito Bay as we were both curious to see what the reefs between the shore and Black Rock looked like remembering the day we had paddled north from Guerilla Bay with Nick. With a swell at about half the size we had been forced out around Black Rock to get past a string of breaking reefs. Today, the waves were so high they were leaping right over Black Rock and the strong SW wind was blowing the spray off the crests.

On to Pretty Point, where we could look north to Malua Bay and south to Jimmies Island. Quite a sight with about 800 metres of continuous whitewater into the beaches. The rain was like hard pellets driven by strong winds.

Passing Mckenzies Beach, no surfers out and no beach left even though high tide was still two hours away. Most impressive of all was the loop walk around Burrewarra Point where we could see almost the entire expanse of Broulee Bay had closed out. All the slots and caves we usually paddle into were buried in foam, and impressive wave faces were rolling in, plumes of spray blowing off the tops.

Coming home via Caseys and Corrigans Beaches, normally very sheltered inside the bay and there were surfers at Corrigans Beach and one lone surfer trying to ride the swell at Caseys Beach without getting smashed against the breakwall. The storm surge had been right across Surf Beach road.

Strolling around today, the day after the storm, the water is brown with soil raked off the backs of beaches, themselves stripped off soil. Seaweed is piled as tall as me on our home beach and on the rock platforms it is obvious that yesterdays swell reached about 4 metres up the steep banks behind the platforms.