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Magnetic Island Kiting Forecast
Week from Monday September 1st 2008
Spring is here and the good news is that the winter weather pattern (highs in the bight, cool S to SE winds over NQ) seems to have finally changed! The water and air temps are heading upwards quickly (see the Cleveland Bay AIMS weather site), the highs have their centers more over the Tasman, and the winds are now coming more onto the coast from the ESE which means we should start to see some stronger trade winds and better sea breezes in the Townsville region. Looking at the long run weather data graphs on the AIMS site also shows that generally September, October and November have better winds than the winter months, so we have every reason to be optimistic about the wind forecast, and the tides get better too - not so many extreme afternoon lows.
Currently, we have a couple of cold fronts moving through Victoria, but following these is a high pressure system that should hit the Tasman by about late thursday. Buoyweather's reef location is predicting 12-18kn ESE til wednesday, light winds on thursday and friday, and then a 15-20kn SE flow starting on saturday and continuing into next week. So there should be the chance of a few afternoon sessions over the coming weekend on the seabreezes from 1330 onwards, and pallarenda is likely to have a bit more wind than the island as per usual when the SE is less than 20 knots.
Tides are good this week, with neaps starting on thursday and continuing to Sunday, after that the afternoon high tide will be a little too high late in the day.
Tips and Treats
*Latest issue of The Kiteboarder Magazine (electronic pdf)
*Slide Turns - a few have been asking about this one. Tip is "LEAD WITH THE KITE - FOLLOW WITH THE BOARD" while busting out the tail of the board to get it heading toward the new kite direction. If you go here iksurfmag.com and click on "back issues" and check issue 1 of the online mag in the technique section, you can see the turn demonstrated on video with great step-by-step instructions.
* New AIMS weather data - they have updated their web based interface and you can now get a detailed graph of past windspeeds over any time period you want, from half hours to years, for the Cleveland Bay site and also a host of other reef sites along the coast. Gives a nice idea of how often the stronger winds come and go.
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Remember you need 1.1m to launch from the sand at Nelly Bay and much over 2.3m is quite choppy. Call or sms me if you need more info. Andy 0419 712 579.
| Day | Kiting Times for Ideal Tides |
| Mon 1st | 1715 - dark |
| Tues | 1300 - dark |
| Wed | 1345 - dark |
| Thur | Neaps all day |
| Fri | Neaps all day |
| Sat | Neaps all day (best before 4pm) |
| Sun | Dawn - 1600 (above 2m after 1430) |
Download the Jtides program and use the Townsville station to plan your session using an accurate graph of the tide height throughout the day.
Sunferries timetable click here.
Satellite Pictures Local Waters Forecast Outer Reef Windspeed Forecast
4-day Forecast Charts Tides Current Windspeeds in Cleveland Bay
For more info contact us by phone or email.