We had great sea conditions up till mid Monday then it literally went pear shaped. ..decent size cold front bringing with it much needed rains to the north coast where water restrictions have been in place for a while now. Not so good for diving. Umhlanga river is open as are a number of rivers on the south coast all spewing brown muddy water into the sea. A huge low pressure cell is predicted to arrive late Saturday bringing more rain and 3 to 4m swell so get in some family time this weekend or head up to sodwana. The final leg of Natal shore diving champs was held on Saturday with the 1st four places being hotly contested. I managed to take the honours with a great bag of fish. I am still waiting for the final results percentages from day 1 and 2. Thanks captain Chris West for putting it all together and it’s an absolute honour to now have my name on the trophy with all those legends! Kudos to you.
Although this was from Friday, the gallery gives you a clear look at what is going on up and down the North and South Coast of KZN Natal.
“The conditions this week have been fair with the game fish action being sporadic and the sardines not really putting in a showing. Apparently the garrick are coming out again south and some cuda and snoek north. Broderick had a good day today with snoek cuda and even a GT! There is good viz up and down the coast but ground surge is quite heavy and some swell and a north east wind predicted tomorrow. Sunday looks awesome conditions wise. Good luck to everyone diving the natal champs shore dive comp tomorrow.” – by Jason Heyne
Darrell reporting on from the south coast of Natal…
Awesome conditions once again after a week of swell Mid-May,the past 3 days have been flat swell with 8-15m viz middle-lower south coast area with offshore morning wind and a NE in between..yesterdays North Easter has swung to a South- West this weekend with the swell lifting marginally.
The garrick seem to have gone a bit quiet with the usual `pilot`shoals moving through in May and then usually more present come June-July.
Greg De Phillipi caught a good couta of 22kg off the hibberdene area on Wed.then on thurs. decided to dive off the boat and bagged one on his first `down`off the hotel area in deep water,whilst he was subduing it there was a +-30Kg cracker swimming around on the bottom underneath him! The odd snoek and some bottoms the order of the day otherwise.
Another Beautiful KZN Day Unfolds by Adam Kamdar: and the good times just keep rolling in! Whilst the rest of the country is under threat of doom from the SA Weather Service people bandying the words “cut-off low” about as if they were playthings, here in KZN we have escaped the alarmist rhetoric. And are experiencing first-class Natal weather.
“Waves man!” – Chicken Joe is in Durban at the moment
Surfing
It is cranking again in Durban town. Between the piers at all the beaches there are waves marching in squarely from the east. Being saluted in by another timely offshore breeze that threatens to hang about all morning?! Eventually swinging around to an east wind, today is a surfing day of note.
Fishing
Fish also love the aerating effect any decent swell has on the ocean. And many gamefish move right in shallow when the waves are up. To hunt in amongst the white water patches – this is spectacular spearfishing time and you never know who you might bump into in the shallows. Big kob and GTs are amongst the big wave enthusiasts.
Garrick and snoek! What champions these fish are they get us from one couta season to the next. Any point or shallow reef will out you in with a chance at these shallow swimming fish too.
Diving
Well The Bear has been uncharacteristically quiet and this can only be due to the brown water hanging around on the coast still. The only chance of a dive would be to find a blue patch in amongst the brown sections moving up and down the coast.
It is deffos more fishing time than diving time. But the lovely SW forecast for tomorrow will sweep the ocean clean all over again.
Synoptic
Let’s hope the SAWS people are not tempting fate by calling a “cut-off low”. For there are two little low pressures looking to team up off KZN and the Eastern Cape at the moment. These little guys are flanked by two mighty high pressures. Which have been keeping our area of the globe quite stable since they have formed up and started working together. Pushing the queue of ever-incoming cold fronts way down south and out of the way.
This is the reason we are getting the nice east swell, which is currently coming in at 9 seconds or so. It has travelled miles to get into such good shape and form. And is at the exact right angle to sneak into the Durban town waves. If the high pressures were not there, the swell be from the SW and the waves would go straight past Durban.
Sardines and Sighting Maps
It has been a fantastic sardine run this memorable 2024. And all the action has been logged right here on The Sardine News. This year’s map has been viewed 189,000 times and keeps growing.
Which led us to decide to keep the map live. And keep adding unique marine animal sightings and events. That occurs non-stop all year round. This year we started to log more whale and dolphin sightings. And we even had a shipwreck! And a freaking tornado! And recently a capsized KZNSB boat!
These events will from now on be included in the Sardine News Sightings Map for 2024. And on the 1 January 2025, we shall start all over again.
Here are the links to existing and past Sardine Sighting Maps. Great for a windy day like today to research. With instructions to install The Sardine News right on your phone or desktop.
Durban Surf Cooking Again by Adam Kamdar: The waves are even better looking in Durban today! And up and down the coast the light north offshore jacked the waves up just right this morning. Adam Kamdar on the scene at North Beach in got some rad video and pics. Thank you Adam!
Tomorrow is another surfing day for Durban town beaches as a stiff south-westerly starts early and blows all day. The piers love these conditions and all the waves come alive.
The neap tides are a bit odd but do facilitate calmer weather at the same time. And Saturday is the next perfect day with hardly any wind again. Actually, the perfect fishing day.
Not sure about diving as the recent rains have discoloured most stretches of coastline here in KZN. Especially down south, finding a clean patch will be tough. The water has also dropped down to 19 degrees Celsius today, not sure what caused that – an upwelling from the onshore winds, or from the melting snow on the Berg?
We will find out more tomorrow when The Bear of the Master Watermen files his spearfishing report in the afternoon.
Over to Adam…
Durban Surf Cooking Again
Thank you Adam…and for the gallery…
Durban surf cooking again by Adam Kamdar
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Sardines n Sighting Maps
It has been a fantastic sardine run this memorable 2024. And all the action has been logged right here on The Sardine News. This year’s map has been viewed 188,000 times and keeps growing.
Which led us to decide to keep the map live. And keep adding unique marine animal sightings and events. That occurs non-stop all year round. This year we started to log more whale and dolphin sightings. And we even had a shipwreck! And a freaking tornado! And recently a capsized KZNSB boat!
These events will from now on be included in the Sardine News Sightings Map for 2024. And on the 1 January 2025, we shall start all over again.
Here are the links to existing and past Sardine Sighting Maps. Great for a windy day like today to research. With instructions to install The Sardine News right on your phone or desktop.
