As much as I have enjoyed the long summer and its almost, but not quite, perpetually small east swell pattern, it has shuffled the sand completely along our coastline. All my favourite sand banks have shifted, often with long shore gutters taking the energy from the swell. It can make for a frustrating hunt for waves.
It rings true to the great Sir Isaac Newton's third law: for every action, or force, in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction. In our case that means the swell energy has migrated the sand banks to new places and without any stonking week of hefty south swell that's where they will remain. But Newton's third law, which was published in 1687, also holds true: the old banks may be gone, but new banks are emerging.
I almost walked out the back of Blackhead at low tide recently (where the rip used to run through the rocks). The left peak was tucked right under the cliff face – a blessing in disguise as this places it directly in the wind shadow. On the right swell this new peak is a lot of fun – question is; how many new waves are there with a fresh load of sand. And perhaps that is the equal and opposite reaction that can keep a coastline of surfers stoked for a lifetime.
Thanks Newton.
See you at the beach ... Derek
PS Loads of swell in the forecast this week with a decent south swell kicking in about the same time you're reading this and, with luck, we'll get a flick of cyclone energy courtesy of Hola later in the week.
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