Gold & Sunshine Coast Report Updated at 8am 12th February 2024

Wind:

The forecast is for 10-15kts SE winds this morning, freshening to 15kts plus during the day and tending E/SE this afternoon. However, winds were E/SE on the Gold Coast have swung back SE in the past hour or so. Winds are SE on the Sunshine Coast, but based on the modelling, could swing E/SE late this afternoon

Swell:

1-1.5m E/SE

Tides:

Low: 3.30am & 4.30pm … High: 10am …

Best waves:

Early this morning, the waves on the Gold Coast points were messy due to onshore wind. The swell is still coming through, but wave quality was poor. Since the wind has swung back SE, it’s a bit cleaner but still uneven. On the Sunshine Coast, there were some clean little sliders on the lower part of the tide early in the inners bays at Noosa, but have now become too full as the big morning tide pushes in to a mid morning high. If the wind stays SE for most of the day on the Sunshine Coast, there might be a few waves at Noosa and The Bluff at Alex this afternoon on the lower parts of the tide

Best Beaches:

The forecast is for a partly cloudy day with a chance of showers. The best beaches for a swim in the forecast winds are the sheltered bays on the north side of the headlands at Noosa, Mooloolaba, Burleigh, Kirra and Greenmount

It was New Moon last Friday night and although the tidal differences will slowly decrease over the next week, there’s still a big morning high tide today. When that big tide ebbs, the increased volume of water draining off the beach will enhance the rips and sweep working around the inshore holes and gutters. Despite cloud cover and the chance of showers, use sun protection and swim only in the patrolled areas marked by the red and yellow flags

Please have a look at “Learn to Read the Beach” on this page, or watch the videos under this report. It’s good to know how to identify and survive rips