seaweed and beaches..predicting good sand banks etc.
Seen some killer seaweed banks over the years. Surprised you didn't see much of this in WA though as I've come across it almost everywhere at some point.
Depending on the kind of seaweed, in my experience it tends to appear (either washed ashore or 'uncovered' during large swells), and then slowly moves (or is covered back up again) over the course of a couple of weeks.
There's a particular variety of seaweed that congregates at Middleton (South Oz) every so often - resembling a thin fettuccine - that usually gets packed into hay bales on the shoreline, and I've seen it hang around for very long periods of time. It's the most annoying seaweed of all I reckon.
That seems to be the same type Ben, the Fettuccini stuff although its a bit mixed with other types as well. Its still hanging around and built up on the sand two feet above sand level.
Its mostly in the south end which looks the best, especially in se winds. Sharks don't like seaweed apparently, it gets in their gills according to Wayne lynch so there's a plus.
What about the weed build up at places like South beach , just south of Contos. THATS a seaweed bank.
You could drown in that shit . Easily.
Kelp in the great south, now theres a fin breaker...?
We have alot of weed on our beaches at the moment.
thermalben wrote:Seen some killer seaweed banks over the years. Surprised you didn't see much of this (outside?)WA though as I've come across it almost everywhere
I had noticed it a lot on east coast, but not as often or as in high amounts, mostly after big swells. Now over here its often there, like 1 out of every 3 surfs. So much its on the beach for hundreds of metres, sticking out of the water like rocks.
Today was even worse. WA has a few things to teach me that's for sure.
I might just stick with reefs.
By the way if you need a gero reporter I'm keen.
hehe how about when the seaweed starts to rot and the flies/bugs swarm in thick hovering around the weed and as you paddle out through the stench you forget to close your mouth and accidentally swallow one..
Done that a few times. Rotting seaweed seems to be the main course of flies around here.
It gets worse further north as well
Lancelin, Cervantes, Jurien, Greenhead, Leeman and up into the cray shacks all suffer from some of the heaviest weed/kelp mixture I have ever seen
Need a loader just to move it off the beach or boatramp otherwise you get bogged ontop of it launching the boat. The stretch from Greenhead to Dongora must get 2m plus deposited over the beach every winter. I guess soo much offshore reef, 6m swell washes it off then a couple of weeks later it all washes up.
Gets pretty damn thick south coast around Fitzgerald NP also in the bays
I grew up mostly on reefbreaks and points which when your a kid it seems heavier or scarier until you realise they make a lot of things in surfing easier. Things like paddling out in a channel and getting barrelled with your hair not wet yet. Also things like keeping up to date with sand bank conditions, predictions of good banks etc.so in a lot of ways they make you a bit lazy. All you have to think about in predictions are those same conditions you scored it good before.
Since moving to an area of NSW coal coast for work 9 years ago, an area with not that many reefs, but quality beaches aplenty, you learn a fair bit but a lot of things still seems a bit random.
Now since being in WA a new variant has come into play, seaweed. That was hardly ever a problem over east but over here I've been out in some of the most epicly shaped waves for a beachy I've seen only that there is so much seaweed built up you slow down to a halt mid bottom turn, then get stuck inside not being able to move during a set.
I guess the seaweed over here is from so many outer reefs along the coast and constant swell?
Anyway I was hoping this could be a thread about asking and answering things on topics such as when will the mountains of seaweed f.. Off from the great beachy down the road?
Or