Two days late

But it was two years ago on the 31st January that Bunbury got the classic Cyclone Bianca swell. I still thing the Iggy swell was better locally but down south Bianca uncovered a gem near Inji, which has been willed into life every time there is some north in the swell.

 Here are some reminder videos and pics.


 

Cyclone Swell ?

Coastalwatch.com are talking up a northerly swell from TC Narelle for this afternoon but it does seem to be showing on the buoys. There is apparently a decent south swell as well and they are counteracting each other.

The Naturaliste buoy is 2.9 but coming down and the harbour buoy is 0.46 at 12 seconds with seas from the west at 0.55.

I'm taking the Kelvinator and the belly board to get wet anyway. Its 29 degrees and 74% humidity so any wave is just a bonus. I looked 20 minutes ago and there isn't much.

Click here to see the Coastwatch TC Narelle forecast.

And while you're there click here to see Taj at North Point

Guess what

It's been flat for over a week now. The conditions, other than swell have been great but swell is the most important condition.

The long range forecast site shows a jump early next week, which will be good for the Margaret River Pro. Hopefully we'll get some in here.

As much as I'm wishing for the late season cyclones to drift south and pump us another northerly swell I'm not confident it will.

There might be a slight bump on the weekend but it is coming of 0.16 metres so needs some decent size to get waves moving. Fingers crossed.

Cyclone swell ?

Glassy, light ESE winds and a decent north swell. What are you waiting for ?

I have just had the best Juniors of the summer so far with no one out. The swell is clean and wally. The only problem is the long, long wait between sets. At the top of the range the waves are chest height and driving across the reef to dump you on the southern rocks.

Size : up to 3 foot
Wind : ESE
Swell : 0.56 at 13 seconds
Desperation level : low - get out there
Recommendation : hit it

Rain

Quick bit of rain and a strong gust of wind about 9.00 pm. The harbour buoy is rising quickly and is over 0.4,although Naturaliste isn't going up that sharply. It looks like there is a fair whack of north in it so we might be getting it first. Some of the cloud is from Cyclone Iggy, which is heading down past Carnarvon, so maybe we'll get some swell on the weekend from it. The forecast is for showers, offshores and up to three metres of swell for tomorrow. I'm always disappointed when I hype myself up for waves but my blistered feet might keep me out of the water and guarantee waves for everyone else. Plus school is back - no groms.

Sorry

I know that twice before I have said that this is the last Cyclone Bianca video but Taj and friends have released yet another angle of Mitchell Rocks grinding. Just when you think that Taj or Jay Davies or Dino Adrian can't possibly make it out of this grinding sandpit they do.

Keep an eye out for the guy getting sucked over the falls sitting on his board !!!

Call me when February is done

Fen is always a shitty month for surf in WA. It hasn't mattered where I've lived it has always been the same. Bunbury is probably the worst because when it's flat, it's flat everywhere. At least when I lived in Dunsborough you could go hunting to find enough dribble to push you a little.

I was looking at the blog entries from last year and they are basically the same as these (minus the cyclone swells !). The only positive is that as the shortest month of the year it's almost gone.

Cyclone Carlos seems to be tracking on a similar path to Di and Biancca. It's predicted to be stronger for longer than Dianne so maybe we'll get something a little biggerband longer than Monday. However it wasn't was well formed so there is a very good chance of jack. Anyway if it does arrive it will probably be on Sunday and packed again.

Don't get excited

The forecast is for a very short lived 2 metre swell tomorrow with north easterly winds.

One report claims it's from Cyclone Dianne but it is probably too far away at the moment. The winds are up to 160 odd kph so there could be some swell from it but considering how close Bianca had to get to send a day of waves it might be a bit early to wax up the gun.

Devil wind

These easterlies have been sent by the surfing version of the devil. The ocean is flat and any ripples are head out to sea not in from it.

Not much on the horizon either. Is it wrong to pray for another cyclone ?

I lied

One more Bianca video. There are no waves in the foreseeable future so you need something to keep your spirits up.

Just a tip - if you're watching a wave and thinking "gee its pretty fast but that guy seems to be making them", make sure "that guy" isn't Taj Burrow !!!!

Last of Bianca

Nothing to write about for this weekend unless you are aiming on windsurfing to South Africa !

Instead this is my poor quality video of the Cyclone Bianca waves. My reasonable camera was smashed a little while ago and hasn't been replaced so this was shot on my little camera with no zoom which is my excuse !

More Bianca

Some video has started to surface of the waves from Cyclone Bianca. Coastalwatch has some of the deepest tube riding probably ever down south and definately at this spot (because it never breaks). One tube will leave you shaking your head. Click here.

And here is some footage taken of other side of the moon.



Cyclone Bianca hits the Moon from Rory Gollow on Vimeo.

Dribble

Flat again. Just had a quick swim with my board and grabbed a couple of 6 inch take offs at Juniors. Not really surfing just a nice way to wash away work.

Some rumours of a small pulse in the next couple of day which would be good as there are a couple of funky banks from Cyclone Bianca.

Hanging around

Both the swell and the crowds hung around all day.The wind did turn light onshore but with the huge storm tide it just made the take offs a little easier.

BP Reef was still the go for rights but Fraggles cleaned up a little from the morning and was offering some decent rides. There were a few making the trek to the Bay but the BPA has locked the gates again so it was a bigger hassle that it should have been.

The swell looks like it is on the wane but there still could be some waves tomorrow morning for those running out of school holidays or lucky enough to have a RDO.

Bianca

There may not have been any rain or wind (yet) by cyclone Bianca has produced a classic surf day. The swell is around 0.6 and is building a little again. The water is bath temperature and it is humid as he'll.

With so much north in the swell the mystical BP Reef right has made an appearanceand so has the crowd. It was chockas this morning, with some less skilled surfers dropping in and ther wereva few hassles. Eden was the only one getting the hard sucky lefts but the rights were the pick.

BP groyne was throwing down sand spiting drainers. Exclusively body boarders only but you could stand on the beach and look straight into the throat of the wave as bit broke just off the beach.

I saw one grommet on the beachie do a take off that looked like small Backdoor and then throw the full Kong hands tube stance before getting a stand up pit and a sand blast smashing.

Fraggles had waves. They were really inconsistent as usual and really bumpy as usual. They were also breaking really close to the rocks and those riding outside weren't being able to clear the inside bulge

My intense hatred for crowds, especially one that was such a mix of skills, lead me to Barnacles and some short but fun take offs and little runners.

Who knows when a summer swell like this will appear again, get into it or you'll miss out..

Weather

Cyclone due tomorrow and severe thunderstorms just starting to move in as I type. The City of Bunbury surf club will be happy that they were able to get their country carnival done before the weather moved in.

The scary conditions haven't brought any swell yet. The buoy has been in or around the twenties but is just starting to move up again. There isn't away waves locally and it is a bit of a toss up whether we'll get any from the cyclone.

Batten down and hope