Large amounts of rain and wind on Saturday night indicated the arrival of the first of the winter lows bringing to an end the bizarre run of warm northerly weather that has dominated this summer. Hoping for an epic session to close out the Easter break the first signs were not good. Outside it was cold but almost still, I checked East Beach and watched the surfers enjoying some clean 2ft waves on the falling tide.

I received a text from Nick calling Bell Buoy at 1pm then Rory indicated he was also keen. The wind started to kick in at around 12.30, not super strong but sailable. Nick rigged a 5.8 and Rory and I rigged 5.3s, initially the 5.8 proved the better choice in the gusty and cool southwesterly , small 2 ft waves and a low tide were good for jumping and the occasional wave ride. By 2.30 the WSW had started to kick in with a slight increase in swell. With the right timing there was some down the line sailing to be had and more consistent jumping too. Nick impressed with his commitment to forwards ( note to self….must stop being such a wuss and learn to rotate).

According to BOM initially it was around 18 to 23 knots and built up to a solid 25 to 31 knots.

All in all a great way to spend a Sunday arvo. The westerly is still kicking this morning, I hope someone is out enjoying it.

Al, Nick told me he pulled off a couple of forwards and sailed out of them, frankly i reckon he was dreaming of pulling off a couple of sheep back on the farm