Category: South Coast

Onshore SSW winds at 17 knots are making a mess on the South Coast for the start of the working week. The swell is not exactly on the pump either, with surf around 1 – 2′ along the stretch from Middleton to Goolwa. It’s small and choppy between Victor and Port Elliot, Waits and Parson’s will be bigger but both messy. It’s gonna stay that way all day with onshore winds up to 25 knots after lunch. The swell should lift a bit later, but it won’t clean up today. Check the updated surf forecast to see how the next few days are looking.

The swell has dwindled on the South Coast and worse, SE winds are into it. Surf is small, weak and lumpy – barely 1′ at Middleton and not a lot bigger along the Day St – Surfer’s stretch. Parson’s is about your only hope this morning with ESE winds and 1 – 2′ surf. A W-SW change is on the way, and it may arrive before lunch. The rest of the day looks pretty sad, with onshore SW winds tending SOutherly, turning the lumps to chop. Check the updated surf forecast to see how the next few days are looking.

The wind is supposed to be E-NE on the South Coast this morning, but it’s light from the SW along the Middleton to Goolwa stretch. Conditions are slightly bumpy but there’s swell and waves around 2 – 3′ at Day St. The wind is ENE around the other side of Victor so Parson’s will probably be the best option for experienced surfers. The BoM predicts winds will swing SE during the morning, so everywhere from Waits to Goolwa will be lumpy by early arvo. The breeze does look like it might swing back to the NE again later. Bear in mind that although we are out of lockdown, travel restrictions still apply – a trip from Adelaide to the SOuth Coast may not be deemed “essential travel”… exercise or not. Maintain social distancing and use common sense. Check the updated surf forecast to see how the next few days are looking.

4pm: Well… in case you’ve been under a rock for the entire day you would know we are officially out of lockdown after today’s revelations. Crew were paddling out in the Bay halfway through today’s presser despite a light onshore SOutherly and a few bumps. The wind is still onshore but there are a few heads out in the pack picking off the sets. Tomorrow looks good! Normal reports will resume in the morning.

6am: Yesterday was tough… no denying it. As SA experienced its first day of a real NZ style lockdown, corduroy lines wrapped in to South Coast beaches and unloaded perfect, peeling waves just about everywhere. Screengrabs from various surf cam locations emerged during the day showing perfect waves unmolested by a single human being… it was kinda beautiful and immensely depressing at the same time.  You’ll probably be glad to know it’s nowhere near as good this morning – the wind has swung onshore and added bumps, although the swell still appears to be there. Surf looks in the 3′ range at Middleton but the lines are broken up and not as clean as yesterday.  Looks like some smaller waves around at Chiton on the CW cam, probably bigger and a bit uglier around at Waitpinga and Parson’s. The forecast suggests it’ll stay onshore all day, and the wind will go SE-E mid – late arvo. Here’s a few screen grabs I got sent yesterday off the Swellnet cams on the South Coast, from around 7am. Swellnet owns the copyright to the images, if you like the look of them sign up and get full access… it’s really not that expensive for pretty amazing quality. There you go… free plug. You’re welcome. 😀  One day down… five to go.

 

** PLEASE NOTE: SOUTH AUSTRALIA IS IN FULL COVID-19 LOCKDOWN AS OF  12:01AM 19 NOV 2020. ALL OUTDOOR EXERCISE ACTIVITIES ARE BANNED, BREACHES WILL INCUR HEAVY FINES. SURFING COMES UNDER THE BAN.**

Ok, with that out of the way, you probably wondered if you’d get surf reports during lockdown. Well, I decided you might like a distraction, and since NOBODY can go surfing we can all suffer together! The wind is offshore on the South Coast and conditions look nice and clean, which you probably did not want to hear. You also probably didn’t want to hear that the swell looks well lined up, and judging by the size on the Coastwatch cam at Chiton Rocks, surf should be around 2′ at Middleton with bigger sets. If you thought Waits would be about a foot bigger, you’d probably be close to the money.  There’s a W-SW change on the way, possibly hitting late morning. The rest of the day will be bumpy. We had a good run before we all got locked in. Stay safe, binge on snacks and Netflix, teach yourself chord inversions, or maybe even build an Airfix BF109E Messerschmitt and paint it in Humbroll. Here’s some pics from a similar sort of day a few years ago.

It’s clean and glassy on the South Coast early his morning with very light offshore North winds. The swell is a bit marginal, but you will still find a few 2′ waves along the Day St. / Surfers stretch best suited to longboards. Waits and Parson’s will be a bit bigger and a better option for boards under 6’6″, and both beaches should be nice and clean. The BoM predicts the Northerly will pick up during the morning, and might reach 17 knots for a few hours. It won’t be enough to blow it out, and it should ease off again after lunch. The swell will probably stay about the same size for the rest of the day, possibly smaller after lunch. Check the latest surf forecast to see how the next few days are looking.

 

Conditions have cleaned up on the South Coast overnight and conditions are clean early, with light North winds. There’s some minor wobble leftover from the last couple of days but there are 2 – 3′ waves at Middleton and occasional bigger sets down toward Cliffs and Goolwa. Waits and Parson’s will offer more size and power for more experienced, fitter surfers. The wind looks pretty good all day today, tending NW later this morning then becoming light and variable after lunch. The ever present threat of a seabreeze remains, of course. Check the latest surf forecast to see how the next few days are looking.

The wind is cross-shore from the West at 15 knots on the South Coast early, and conditions are semi-clean. The swell direction is not so great, with 1 – 2′ waves off the Point at Middleton and occasional bigger sets down toward Cliffs and Goolwa. Waits and Parson’s should be picking up a bit more swell, Waits Point will be nicely sheltered early. The swell should build during the day, but as winds shift more onshore SW and pick up it’ll get bumpier. Middleton Bay might hold up OK after lunch. Check the latest surf forecast to see how the next few days are looking.

Conditions on the South Coast actually look better this morning than this time yesterday, with glassy seas and light offshore North winds. The swell is better lined up and the waves are breaking better, with surf around 2 – 3′ between Day St. and Goolwa. Waits and Parson’s will be bigger,  and both spots should be nice and clean early. The bad news is that NW winds will soon start to pick up ahead of a SW-S change. The change may arrive mid-morning, and once it arrives it’ll be game over. Conditions will deteriorate for the rest of the day with SW winds possibly up to 30 knots early arvo. Get down there and get on it ASAP. Check the latest surf forecast to see how the next few days are looking.

Offshore winds have finally returned to the South Coast and it’s trying to clean up with a 5 knot Northerly. There’s still some swell with 2 – 3′ waves at Middleton, and bigger sets down toward Cliffs and Goolwa. The swell is lining up better but it still has a bit of leftover SE lump, and there are gaps between sets. There are 1 – 2′ waves around at Chiton / Gap, Waits and Parson’s will be bigger but possibly struggling on the sets. Parson’s might be the better option with the wind more NE around that side. The swell will probably eas a bit after lunch, but also should straighten up some more with offshore winds all day in the 10 – 15 knot range. Probably won’t hurt to leave it a few hours. Check the latest surf forecast to see how tomorrow is looking.