Have you ever seen an 8 metre wave?

[bunsen]

Well if you live in Newcastle, you might get your wish next Tuesday/Wednesday!

Whaaat?

Hope this swell doesnt last too long up the coast with the Snapper comp at Coffs next weekend!

[nad97]

I like they can predict that it will go to 5kts for a brief moment befor jumping to 40kts

[bunsen]

Is that what you call the calm before the storm?

[Barrabundy]

You reckon it could be a case of fat fingers on the keyboard typing in the numbers?

[Plasman]

Hit Newcastle harbour for some awesome barrels.

[bunsen]

Crew of the Pasha Bulker are steering the ship back out to sea as we speak!

[kayakone]

Have you ever seen an 8 metre wave?

Yes. For 3 hours, in a sea kayak. And I was all but sitting in brown stuff. More adrenalin than a state of origin Grand Final.


I (personally) think the limit for most SOT's is around 20 + knots, and then with considerable experience and skill levels. They are generally nowhere near as seaworthy as sea kayaks.

Trevor

[kraley]

You reckon it could be a case of fat fingers on the keyboard typing in the numbers?

its derived from a math based model - not someone mistyping anything. the prediction willl get more accurate within a few days.

there is a hell of a southerly brewing, so should be interesting how hard it actually hits. check back on saturday for an accurate wind wave time.....

[goanywhere]

I wouldn't go out if there was a prediction of anything like an 8 metre swell. Combine that with high winds and you've got a submarine waiting to set out on it's maiden voyage. Regardless of whether you could stay afloat out in it, launching and retrieving would be a very dangerous proposition.

[dru]

Where was that Trev? Big swell with really big periods could be exciting but fun as long as it wasn't breaking. Though I imagine in a kayak you'd be too close to land for that to work. I think the biggest I've been in is around 3.5m to 4.0m. It's enough when you're in shore I reckon.

I've heard some fabulous stories from racing yachts in these conditions during the Sydney to Hobart. Best to stay on land!

8m in Newcastle, amazing? Willy weather says 6m at Longie tuesday pm. But the BOM won't predict that far out. As the commercial sites use BOM data to feed into their algorithms, I'd hold off expectations for a couple of days. Something is happening though.

[kayakone]

Where was that Trev? Big swell with really big periods could be exciting but fun as long as it wasn't breaking. Though I imagine in a kayak you'd be too close to land for that to work. I think the biggest I've been in is around 3.5m to 4.0m. It's enough when you're in shore I reckon.

I've heard some fabulous stories from racing yachts in these conditions during the Sydney to Hobart. Best to stay on land!

8m in Newcastle, amazing? Willy weather says 6m at Longie tuesday pm. But the BOM won't predict that far out. As the commercial sites use BOM data to feed into their algorithms, I'd hold off expectations for a couple of days. Something is happening though.

Dru

No shit here, but nearly literally. The crossing was from Cowan Cowan (Moreton Is) in 30 - 38 knot SE'ers to Woorim (Bribie Is). the tide was big (2.5 m) and was 2 hours into the flood, so heading south, directly opposing the wind, and increasing wave wind interaction over the entire trip. The 5.3 metre Natareline Mermaid was screaming down the faces of the waves, with a metre behind and below, and threatening to broach repeatedly. I was fit and skilled at the time, but was still pretty spooked, for the entire 3 hours.

If you know this crossing, it also has several large shallow sandbanks in it, which were large breaking surf, with clapitas from the circling swells....definitely a no go zone. I really didn't want to flip (though I could roll at that point in time), as I had a 90 cm Spotted Mackeral in the hull, hooked in the first 20 minutes of the crossing. Really didn't want to risk losing that if I swam. Needless to say, there wasn't another boat on the entire bay.

trevor

[TheFishinMusician]

Trumpet player in my horn section is in the ocean racing scene, he had 90 ft around the SW corner of tassie a few years back!
If it was a gentle 8m then no worries, 8m & wind, nooo way!

[Plasman]

Actually not uncommon to get up that big in the winter southerlies around Newcastle. I wasn't joking about hitting the harbour. The swell wraps around the corner into the harbour with Nobby's breakwall shielding it from the wind and knocking about 2/3rds of the size out of it giving awesome stand up barrels for those with the kahoonas to take it on. Saw some pretty horrific injuries out there from guys being dragged across the conjevoi. Luckily I wasn't one of them.

[bunsen]

Plasman, when I was younger and lived down the coast, on a swell that big, the only place to surf was inside jervis bay. The boat ramp at callala bay in particular was a pretty nice barrel. I was pretty lucky to have surfed it one day with Kong and tom Carroll.

[kayakone]

Nowhere near 8 metres, so still in the 'fun' category (river wave surfing)....


Trevor