Well it was big (compared to what we've been getting lately)..and it was Wednesday.. and it was at Big Left (Flinders)..here's a few pictures from yesterday.

Driving down to the waters edge from the golf course you couldn't see much because of the fog.



I thought I'd try my DaKine impact vest that I sometimes used windsurfing (just took the spreader bar off)..

btw.. I did get one wack in the back from my board during a wipeout and it felt nice and soft.. I'm sure it would have hurt heaps without the vest.



I thought I could carry my camera around my neck and stuff it inside the vest when not using it.. It felt a bit tight and bulky but still ok.



During my first paddle out I see Ronnie drop into a nice one from out the back and I got three pics clicked off as he came past me.. I just made it over..







I've known Ronnie for a while now and he rides a Naish 11'4" like mine.





Greg was also down there and getting heaps of waves.



Here's Oliver picking off a little one.





One last picture of Ronnie looking like he's spear fishing..

DJ

Nice size waves looks like fun.... now DJ are you starting a new Sup fashion , steamer with vest over vest plus boadies.... at least you're warm

Rob

That looks like heaps of fun!! Looks bloody cold though!

Bnaccas said...

I might try get down this arvo. Swell still similar to yesterday but the swell "Significant period" is getting up around 15 to 20 seconds. I haven't seem that in a few years. It should be very straight, powerful and consistant.

Yep I rekon it's officially cold now in the water. My wetty (3/2 sealed) does a great job but my feet were getting a bit numb yesterday without booties

More points:

- The Swellnet surf forecast and the surf reporter lie. They says it's flat at Westernport when you can see in the cams it is clearly pumping. That's when the surf reporter bothers to put in a report. Sometimes I think he just phones in anything he likes and stays in bed. I'm not sure this is a good thing or a bad thing.




- While the pictures shows wonderful steep faces the wave at Big Left still backs off between the sections. You have to ride out the thick bits then get onto the face again when it reforms. If you're in the wrong place you either get left behind, or smashed by the white water.

Gorgo said...

More points:

- The Swellnet surf forecast and the surf reporter lie. They says it's flat at Westernport when you can see in the cams it is clearly pumping. That's when the surf reporter bothers to put in a report. Sometimes I think he just phones in anything he likes and stays in bed. I'm not sure this is a good thing or a bad thing.

- You have to ride out the thick bits then get onto the face again when it reforms.

Gorgo/Oliver,

Were does it say Western Port will be flat? There is a small wave there today but it
says Flinders 2-3ft increasing to 3-5ft which I rekon is spot on today. I think they
have just forgotten WP.

Rule of thumb though:
- Open beaches 4-6, Flinders 2-3, WP nothing worth riding
- Open beaches 6-8, Flinders 3-5, WP 2ft+ with chance of some better ones (bigger at Suicide)
- Open beaches 8-10, Flinders 4-6 with some bigger bombs, WP 3-4 with the chance of some bombs
* halve the WP forecast on low tide

The Swellnet forecast is a peninsula forecast and is for the open beaches, flinders and WP. If it's small on open beaches they won't even mention Flinders or WP. And thats even in the WP forecast as it's just the same thing.

Also, Big Left doesn't reform. It breaks left and right and eventually ends up in deep water. I think you mean it's just a wave with some fat sections?

Bnaccas said...

Gorgo said...

More points:

- The Swellnet surf forecast and the surf reporter lie. They says it's flat at Westernport when you can see in the cams it is clearly pumping. That's when the surf reporter bothers to put in a report. Sometimes I think he just phones in anything he likes and stays in bed. I'm not sure this is a good thing or a bad thing.

- You have to ride out the thick bits then get onto the face again when it reforms.

...Were does it say Western Port will be flat? ...

Not the forecast, the daily report. It usually doesn't appear until 10-12:00 and is often very wrong. Maybe he wants to keep people away.

The Mornington Peninsula report is generally online around 8:00 wit a current photo and a reasonable assessment of the conditions.

Updated: Thu Jun 18th, 7:40am
Surf: clean 0.5ft
Wind: light N
Weather: foggy
Dawn Patrol: Not much happening this morning but a few 3 footers out on the open beaches. Might be worth fueling up the surf wagon and checking out!!!

Reform, "wave that peaks up and backs off to nothing", call it what you like. What's the technical definition of reform?

books.google.com.au/books?id=-DWQSYRx4MUC&pg=PA499&lpg=PA499&dq=reform+wave+surf&source=bl&ots=UahS2vQzFW&sig=ylXaO_XApxzuIjp0DgDHlYqC9-A&hl=en&ei=9NY5SpC3MseNkAXj64CgDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result

Love that pic where the white water is about to hit.Great angle.

Gorgo said...


Updated: Thu Jun 18th, 7:40am
Surf: clean 0.5ft

Maybe Brooko writes those updates on Western Port from his home in Portland .

Good photos and commentary DJ
Like others have said it looks b....y cold
I like the Photo of Ronny with the white Water right behind, Did he eat it?

Nice one guy's.....How long were you out there for?

Gorgo said...
Not the forecast, the daily report. It usually doesn't appear until 10-12:00 and is often very wrong. Maybe he wants to keep people away.

The Mornington Peninsula report is generally online around 8:00 wit a current photo and a reasonable assessment of the conditions.

Updated: Thu Jun 18th, 7:40am
Surf: clean 0.5ft
Wind: light N
Weather: foggy
Dawn Patrol: Not much happening this morning but a few 3 footers out on the open beaches. Might be worth fueling up the surf wagon and checking out!!!

Reform, "wave that peaks up and backs off to nothing", call it what you like. What's the technical definition of reform?

Ah...to be honest I have never looked at that report (not deliberately). I always just check the real wave height bouy and go off that.
http://www.portofmelbourne.com/wavedata.asp
Once you know what the swell height observations convert to once they hit the beaches you can pretty accurately guess wave height.

I wasn't having a go about "reform" just thought you might be talking about somewhere else. Yeah reform is when wave breaks then turns back into a wave ready to break again. Big Left to me on a normal day peaks and then breaks left & right along the reef. Along the way there are some fat sections. I think we are on the same page here.

Not defending the Swellnet reporter but when he checked it (I don't rekon he physically did) average wave height was 1.06m and by lunch it was 1.72m. Thats a 2ft increase and by 3pm it was 1ft bigger again. So at the time he was probably spot on. But I'm the first to admit they are often way off the mark.

Anyone having a paddle tomorrow? Gorgo, Oli, DJ, Lobes?

Hows the bombs coming through on the Flinders cam at 5:02pm, 5:00pm and 4:58pm.

www.triggerbrothers.com.au/index.php?option=com_webcam&Itemid=153

Use the scroll bar below the webcam. For those that don't know the camera almost 1km from the actual break.

MIKO said...

Good photos and commentary DJ
Like others have said it looks b....y cold
I like the Photo of Ronny with the white Water right behind, Did he eat it?

Thanks.. and No.. He didn't eat it. Ronnie (neophyteguy) rode it like a champion.

It seemed bigger than it looks in the pics.

DJ

On Wednesday I was out for 3 hours, Oliver and Ronnie about 2, and DJ had a bit over an hour (I think he had to go to work).

The Trigger Bros cam points straight at the break. If you can see just a little bit of white water then the wave is a ridable 1-2'. If you can see solid faces then I'm guessing the peaks are a 6'+ face and maybe 8'. The peak backs off as soon as the wave passes the outer reef to something more managable.

The Swellnet cam is a real time stream but it points about halfway between Big Left and Cyrils so the folks at home can only see you while you're waiting for waves. You can't actually see the wave.

I have to say that I've surfed off and on for decades and been pretty crap at it. I never got much good at it until longboards came along. Even then the hot guys would take all the waves. In the past a really great surf would have been 4-5 good waves in an hour.

The last few weeks on the SUP I have had more waves than I could count, taken bigger drops, had longer rides, done more stuff. In the first hour I lose count of the number of waves I get, even while being careful to leave waves and set waves for others.

Of course, Flinders is a crap wave and nobody should surf it, ever.

Monday is looking real good???