From time to time I’ll add some thoughts here about a coastal or beach safety related topic. I write an (almost) regular monthly feature called ‘The Science of the Surf’ for some local community magazines near where I live in the Northern Illawarra (just south of Sydney) called 2508 District News and 2515 District News and I’ll post those here as well. If you’ve got a topic you’d like me to talk about, let me know!
The Global Surfer Survey!
Are you a surfer? If so, please fill in this important anonymous survey for surfers that aims to show the important contributions they make to society!
The Myth of the Collapsing Sand Bar
After I give one of my Science of the Surf community talks I often get asked a question along the lines of ‘Why do sand bars collapse?’ and I always give the same answer ‘They don’t. The only way to collapse a sand bar is to use explosives!’
No Such Thing as a Freak Wave
There’s been a lot of talk about freak waves lately, particularly in regards to some of the tragic incidents involving rock fishers being swept off rock platforms and beloved locals being injured on the rocks.
Storm Surge
It might already be a distant memory, but in the last week of August the Northern Illawarra coast experienced a fairly significant East Coast Low storm event that generated some of the highest wave run ups (how far up the beach the waves come) seen in decadesIt all begins with an idea.