Snapper riffing

[PeepeelaPew]

...

[steve shearer]

be careful what you wish for.

I just got back from a tour of duty of the Goldy.


OK, here's the state of play.

Fcuk the Gold Coast and everything living and breathing upon it.

No, Burleigh rockbreak was actually totally surfable. Taj was out there looking a million rupees.

The Snapper/Rainbow/Greenmount sandbar is far, far better than I thought it would be.

Water was blue as the EAC pushed in aggressively and shunted Tweed River flood water to the south.

Saw gabby Medina tearing the nutsack off it.

Charts are now looking almost unbelieveably better than they were this time yesterday and there's broad agreement on the surface pressure evolution.

Somehow, this might turn from shitt to gold.

[Donweather]

Charts are now looking almost unbelieveably better than they were this time yesterday and there's broad agreement on the surface pressure evolution.

Yes, it's almost like Quiky spoke directly to Huey and paid him some serious coin to dial up their forecast.

[crabmeat thompson]

Fcuk the Gold Coast and everything living and breathing upon it.

This fills me with a deep, burdening sadness.

[steve shearer]

Everything except Craig Braithwaite and his nearest and dearest.

[crabmeat thompson]

It is with great joy, I type this out...

[el rancho]

froggies is a huge hole, I was just there.
probably only hope is the slab inside snapper through little marley. but that's dependent on swell direction whether it will work and not just be a shouldery mush burger like last year.

although it's hard to tell considering it's a washing machine at the moment.

there is also this chart for seven days from now

[crabmeat thompson]

ˆˆ What's that you reckon? 5-6-foot swell from the ESE? With moderate to heavy accompanying winds? The latest bom 4-day outlook synoptic has the coral sea and tasman ocean lit up like a christmas tree with 3 or 4 lows. And a crap-ton of rain and brown water.

Yeah from what I saw, the traditional snapper -- take off behind the suck rock -- is a big deep mess.

[Yuke Hunt]

Fcuk the Gold Coast and everything living and breathing upon it.

When our paths most invariably cross during the quiky-pro ... I'll gracefully accept your humble apology.

Last year ... preceding the proceedings ... I threw out a challenge to you Mr Shearer ... think back ... (sound of rusty cogs grinding ... backwards) ... no good ... understandable.

The deal was this ... I offered to provide three long-necks for use during the interview ... if you could get Tommy Peterson and Westerly Windina to the table.

Now it seems you're half way there ... and with a little bit of effort on your behalf ... this dream scenario could still eventuate. Its a once in a lifetime opportunity ... Tommy and Westerly downing a couple of long-necks and chewing the fat so to speak ... under a pandamus on a point not far from the birth place of mano a mano. The brother of one of the first combatants ... and the woman who gave birth to the concept ... the mother of modern surfing.
You were born for this ... it could well be your day of days. When ya ship comes in you'd better not be waiting at the airport.

[2nd Reef]

Stu from Swellnet interviewed the bloke in charge of the Tweed Bypass about a week ago.
He was fairly cagey, an engineer and a bureaucrat, not a surfer.

http://www.swellnet.com.au/news/3434-sn ... f-the-sand

How'd you find that story, 'Boo? I whacked it in the deep, dark recesses of the Swellnet backend so it wasn't visible on the front page. Had it in a crude state intending to polish it up but had to take a week off at late notice (three sick kids). I finally gave it a spit and polish today but really, there's not much more to discern - ol' Helmut wouldn't come to the party.

Steve, I'm well aware of the difference between pumping and dredging, the reason I asked about dredging was this: A couple of times the bank at Snapper has been in poor shape leading up to the Quik Pro only to be fixed just in time for the start. During these occasions the TRESBP mob have stated that they can only pump as much sand as reaches Letitia Spit yet fairly reliable witnesses told me there wasn't much there. And yet the bank magically appears.

So how does it happen?

By asking Helmut about dredging I was trying to eliminate the only other means of sand reaching Snapper aside from pumping. It was a process of elimination undertaken by a sharp-eyed sleuth. Yeah, anyway, in the past I've enquired about a 'special relationship' Quiksilver may have with TRESBP only to be met with mild contempt. I didn't think that tactic was one worth trying with someone named Helmut Rangger.

[oldman]

My favourite weather site ER. I found it quite a few years ago when looking for anything that would give me a good site of our actual swell generating window, rather than just the weather immediately off the coast, and haven't let go.

[alakaboo]

Stu, it appeared briefly in the queue of article comments on the front page.
I knew it was there so I searched for it on Google and it popped back up.

Don't think there is anything sinister about the bank appearing, or even how that might work. They just need a SE swell to groom the bank properly. WIthout that, the sand just sits off the rock, and given that their current job description is to match natural transport rates, they try and work with the swell direction as much as possible.

Also not convinced that it is a problem this time either. The amount of sand necessary to build a bank that lasts 3 days is pretty minuscule compared to the annual volume of sand passing by.

[Yuke Hunt]

The circus is in town ... and whilst the big tops last few pegs get hammered home ... the performers hone their skills.
The crowd in unison shuffle feet ... the watchers watch ... the sleepers sleep. Some folk couldn't care less ... others on the other hand wait with baited breath.
Anticipation builds ... trepidation tingles ... running like an electrical current through the collective nervous system of those with a stake ... well done.
At the end of the day it will be run ... run and won ... winners and losers ... and then some. Cameras will flash as the gladiators clash ... whilst merchandise is swapped for cash ... happy punter with a brand new hat ... old brand new hat.
The fat lady will sing and that will be that.

[2nd Reef]

Hey 'Boo,

I'm not convinced something sinister is at play just have a sneaking suspicion that it may be possible. It seems the hole at Snapper, when it does occur prior to the Quik Pro, fills awfully fast. At other times of year away from the contest period it seems to take longer.

[crabmeat thompson]

At other times of year away from the contest period it seems to take longer.

Exactly.

Hard not to be suspicious there is some arrangement with the council to have it filled on demand, and the process to have the hole filled is not as complicated or as difficult as Helmut Wang makes it sound.

Either that, or Quik clearly has an arrangement with god, where they exchange sand for surfwear.

[alakaboo]

Stu and Braithy, I think you're looking for a conspiracy that isn't there.
If you look at the volumes they pump each month here: http://www.tweedsandbypass.nsw.gov.au/_ ... 013-01.pdf
And the wave climate info on pg 21 here:
http://www.ehp.qld.gov.au/register/p01315aa.pdf

You'll see that there is a peak in pumping that coincides with the peak in wave heights.
For the Coolangatta area this distribution is bimodal, with peaks in late Feb-March (i.e. when the hold the Pro) and in late May-June.

Further exploration of the volumes and wave heights would tell you that Jan-Feb-Mar has more frequent mid range swells and hence the opportunity to patch the bank are greater.
Waves in May-June tend to be the bigger swells, but less consistent.

[crabmeat thompson]

I don't know Boo. Those links look like witchcraft and sorcery to me.

[2nd Reef]

Clearly Alakaboo is in on the conspiracy.