Cairns wind

[Taylor2]

Bought a 5.5m tinnie last Nov and haven't really been able to get out (off Cairns) alot due ot the wind. Must be cursed as work seems to coincide with the good weather. Have fished around the leads and Fitzroy in the chop without much luck but noticed a few boats heading out. Does anyone know of or fished the lee side of the reefs off Cairns which provide reasonable shelter? Not sure how fishable they are in the chop and not really looking forward to the hour of banging to get out there to find out its not protected. Was thinking of trying a few, inside (north) of Arlington, thetord and oyster when the wind is up. Also, has the last six months been a more consistant 'gale' than past years...for anyone whos been around cairns for a while. Thanks

[FNQCairns]

Very valid questions, I defy you to utter the word wind up here without a swearword accompanying it. i know I do every single time.

This year has been worse than the average over my time up here but not the worst year just yet.

The inner reef offers little protection unless you situate yourself close to the lee side of a reef and it is at or near a low tide, the lower the better.

The problem for our small boats once in the paddock is the amount of flow and the wind direction, there is quite a few kilometres of it to travel through before the opportunity arises to find some calmer water that also see's less fetch.

I used to watch the green island oservations and their graph on seabreese as it gave a good represntation of conditions but they have since mover the GI weather station to the east end of arlington approximatly 45km from trinity inlet and I have yet to get a feel for the conditions it observes.

Anyway no real help I know but suffice to say unless you like banging all the way there, sticking it out in the rough at anchor and then bangin all the way back in a 5m boat never better than 25km/h it's best to wait for a 10-12kn day, these 20kn+ days are simply not worth it IMO.

But yes you can somewhat hide behind oyster/arlington in that shallow-ish area, there are lots of little reef fish that can drive a person crazy in there, but also Spanish and trevors etc + of coarse larger reef fish like trout.

[scuttlebutt]

I don't think this year is any worse than most years. I can remember plenty of years around this time thinking "this is the worst year for wind" but it's just a fact of life unfortunately. Winter is always bloody windy - that's why they call them "trade winds" - because they could be relied upon to blow a boat up the coast.

My suggestion - forget the reef, fish the inlet and take a sickie along with everyone else on the next calm day.

[Pazz01]

This is pretty standard for Cairns. Traditionally it will blow from May until late august/september. I've been fishing here with the old man for 20 years and we've seen it like this. When it's calm you have to go.

The reefs don't offer a lot of protection when the wind it up because the swell is very constant and doesn't get a chance to ease up. I've fished out the reef in 20knots or more heaps. It's uncomfortable, but the fishing is usually pretty good in my experience. We've generally caught more fish when it's rough then when it's calm. But we fish in a 6.4m and it can hanle the weather.

FNQ is right, use the weather indicator at arlington, it's pretty spot on. We fish up to 15knots generally and depending on how long it's been we may push it if it's 15-20knots. Generally tho, 15-20knots is closer to 23knots when you get there and check the weather so be careful.

Oyster doesn't offer a lot of protection because the southerly to south easterly blows straight onto the face of the reef, so you are exposed to all elements. I don't waste my time at thetford it's pretty exposed, plus in the southerlies you have to bash it all the way to get there. Alrington offers a little bit, but not heaps, it's not a drying reef so the chop still comes over the front.

Getting to alrington is a pain, because the chop and swell and wind channels through the land between Cape Grafton and Green and it gets progressively deeper until you hit oyster and the water really gets rough so it can make it really uncomfortable.

But just bide your time, it'll calm off and it will be perfect soon enough.

Pazz

[Moffy]

Yep - from March to September you can pretty much count on it being consistently rough up here - though you will get the occasional trip in.

September is when it normally starts to come good (though it is not always the case) and later on in October/November there'll be a lot better opportunities when the northerlies start to kick in.

For mine - we seem to have had a lot more 20-25+ knot days than usual this year - its nearly always 15-20 this time of year - but it just seems like there's an extra 5 knots or so on top this year.

Good time to get all your maintenance done and get ready for the good weather.

[whiteman]

Maintenance done. Batteries full. Rods/reels ready to go. I reckon tourists bring this wind.

Dead calm on Tuesday at my place - no-one predicted this. Coulda fished the reef all day across the low tide. Another day missed and no let up in sight.

[Moffy]

I here ya Whiteman..... Personally - i need three more months of rough stuff - to get the boat back on the water. but hey its only been upside down for 2 years so far............

[Pazz01]

Where I work I can see out over trinity inlet and out to green island, it is damn depressing when I see it's dead flat calm and numerous boats heading out. It's a real killer.

Pazz

[Flex]

Ever been to Cooktown during winter? If theres a 5 knot forecast half the town closes down and goes fishing Or alot just celebrate cause its not blowing 30 knots for a change

[nickstock]

Ever been to Cooktown during winter? If theres a 5 knot forecast half the town closes down and goes fishing Or alot just celebrate cause its not blowing 30 knots for a change

Tell me about it mate,

6 weeks of 25 knots plus to date!

[Taylor2]

My suggestion - forget the reef, fish the inlet and take a sickie along with everyone else on the next calm day.

sickie on a calm day...NEVER, its just been a coincidence

...my boss uses this forum..lol

[no eye deer]

Its calmed down here, to 26K/m and 46k gusts. was 54 earlier!

Mark

[blueline]

im hearing you boys, i havent had my boat in the water since febuary, itchin to get out. first chance of the weather droping get out early or friday night as come 530am the ramps will be chockers.

[don-one]

I reckon Moffy is right.... it seems to be consistantly 5-10kts more than normal and I believe its because we have a La Nina weather pattern occuring at the moment.

i always keep an eye on the SOI (southern oscillation index). it is currently at about +14. An SOI above +10 is indicative of stronger than normal trade winds and higher rainfall for northern queensland and that is exactly what we are getting.

For a quick explanation about the SOI see:
http://reg.bom.gov.au/climate/glossary/soi.shtml
http://www.bom.gov.au/lam/climate/le...alclim/soi.htm

if you go back through the tables you will see that the last time the SOI was in high positive territory during july was back in 1998.
http://www.bom.gov.au/lam/climate/le...alclim/soi.htm

The BOM just issued an update saying that we are in the early stages of a LaNina event and that 2010 will probably go down as a LaNina year. They say we can expect a continuation of the higher than normal trade winds and also a higher cyclone risk during our cyclone season.

I dont like to be the bearer of bad news, its just my 2 cents worth and happy to be corrected if anyone thinks im wrong..... this weather is frustrating the life out of me as well!

for the latest update on the LaNina pattern see:
http://www.bom.gov.au/lam/climate/le...alclim/soi.htm

[scuttlebutt]

Quick, check out Seabreeze/windguru - pointing towards a wind drop in 7 days time. No doubt by that time they'll pump it back up to 25 knots. I'm sure they do this just to drive us insane.