Surf City Delivers Again by Adam Kamdar in Durban
Surf City Delivers Again by Adam Kamdar in Durban: October and November months are not known for their propensity to bring waves worth surfing.
But this year…yoh!
And especially Durban with its spread of north-facing beaches – the waves just keep on coming! And today, the 7 November 2024, features a chunky little leftover swell from the huge seas of yesterday. Brushed clean by unseasonal offshore winds. Surfers all over the place. Kayakers. All sorts…
A sight to behold!
Over to Adam who is right there…
Surfing
All the good spots will be firing today. Not just Surf City! From the high tide points to the low tide sandbanks and everything in between. The wind is gonna hold off. The ocean is glassy and smooth. The tide starts lekker high and drops to a decent low at midday.
Today’s surfing gallery shot in Durban at around 6am paints a pretty picture. Loads of ocean users getting their dose of saltwater before work or school. Summer months in the city can be so much fun. With the sun coming up so early – first light is at around or before 4:30 am these days the dawn patrol is a real thing.
We are just off the back of the spring tides with the low just reaching half a metre. Just under a metre difference between high and low today. We gonna have a nice gentle neap tide over the weekend. It’s gonna be windy though. And might even rain a tad in places.
Fishing
The backline off Durban City looks rather pleasant and the fine conditions will surely tempt a few boats out today. It is an extended garrick season after all. These fish are still around and game to take a live bait at the usual spots like the Containers and Blue Lagoon.
North and south will have bigger surf conditions which the garrick also revel in.
If you are into estuary gamefish then this is probably your last-gasp chance at getting a garrick, kingfish, perch or rock salmon this year. Luckily some of these fish stay when the water goes brown. Like perch, rock salmon and kob. But the others head back down south to where they can see better, when the rains come.
Shad season opens in three weeks time. You can kit up for shad right here, with the all-new MYDO Shad Trace. Catch shad on a moving fillet bait – hooks up every time!
Synoptic Chart
Those big old cold fronts marching like soldiers across the southern seas look mighty impressive. But they have been held at bay by the trusty high-pressure systems that gather to ward off the bad weather that the cold fronts usually bring at this time of the year.
Without tempting fate, we are having a peachy time here without the arrival of the impending rains. Sometimes the good times last right into December, but once again, we need to refer to what happened last year. The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption.
The layout of the volcano enabled a vaste amount of seawater to boil and evaporate and head straight up into the stratosphere. The highest recorded vapour injection up there ever recorded by NASA. 58,000 Olympic-size swimming pools went skyward.
And what goes up…must come down…
Sources:
– https://www.nasa.gov/earth/tonga-eruption-blasted-unprecedented-amount-of-water-into-stratosphere/
As can be expected, the ANC-run municipalities here in KZN have not cleared the stormwater systems from last year’s floods. Take a drive through any little coastal village or town to see the neglect of these basic duties. If water cannot cleanly run off when it rains hard, it will flood badly.