ASL Oakley Big Wave Awards eye incoming swell

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Surfing Life's Oakley Big Wave Awards Opening Swell Forecast: July 17 - 24

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 19 July, 2012 : - - El NIno: Typically this means a moderating of Pacific tradewinds and a backing-off of tropical activity; it can also mean an intensification of Southern Ocean storm activity during our winter months, and if this coming week is any guide, then holy shit, El Ninõ’s already here.

Two vast WSW fetches are hurling some significant swell pulses at all southern Australian coasts at the moment, with the second of those fetches looking like the broadest and most solidly built swell of the year so far.

The first pulse is already past much of SW Oz and is pouring past Tassie as we prepare this forecast, a little too directional for the better known spots like Shippies.  The second should begin to strike the far SW of the continent on Thursday the 19th and advance across all other southern coasts over the following 48 hours.

This swell has some serious legs on it and will have a fair bit of energy in the higher interval range, so if you’re on it, try to get its first six to eight hours’ worth.  Surprisingly little landfall from the associated massively strong westerly wind band can be expected, so OK to good winds can be expected in many areas, even around Tassie from the 20th on.

Later in the period, a most un El Ninõ-like event is being claimed by current forecast charts. They reckon a late-season Tasman low will cut itself off from the pack and aim what looks like a sizeable ESE groundswell at central and southern NSW.

The swell should bend more SE for points north and if the charts aren’t still imagining La Niña’s presence, then surf in the very solid range should be expected along most of that coast from the 22nd to the 24th.

Further out it looks as if storm activity in the south might shift its foci more into the Indian and Pacific ocean frames, but we’ll report in on that a bit more next week.

www.bigwaveawards.com.au

Source: Morrison Media

Author: Ryan Jones / Nick Carroll

Tags: Surfing Life’s Oakley Big Wave Awards, Slabs, Australia, Big Wave,

Awards: Surfersvillage