East Coast Low

[khiemtran]

Saturday morning at Cronulla and the surf is huge. Why? Because somewhere out in the Tasman Sea, there's a massive low pressure that's been sending huge waves (and winds) our way, a phenomenon known here as an East Coast Low.




This is what greeted me as I made it to the sea on my morning run...



It was also high tide, so the waves were crashing right up against the seaside walkway. You can see how the how path has been soaked by previous waves.



Some of the other runners on the path. Definitely a good day to keep your eyes open as you run...



Meanwhile, out by the rocks, it was a dream day for surfers.



And crowds had gathered on the cliffs above to watch them.



It was too good to miss, so I put my run on hold to get some photos.



This one gives an idea of just how congested the waves were.



Besides being huge, they also came at fairly long intervals, so there were lots of surfers waiting for each one.



You want to be very sure you know what you're doing with waves this big though...



Some more surfers getting ready to join. Or maybe having second thoughts...





Heading back again, and the waves were still crashing into the walkway. Here you can see they've also thrown gravel up onto the path, possibly during the night. You definitely wouldn't want to be standing around when that happened.



Despite the surf, there were still swimmers in the ocean pools.



Looking back towards the Royal National Park.



And one last glimpse at the waves, before I turn and head back for home...

Comments

[heleninwales.livejournal.com]

Those waves are very big indeed! I'm glad the running is still going well, though being able to run in such a beautiful location must help the motivation.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's a nice place to run. Unfortunately, it's a bit hard for me to catch the actual sunrise at the moment - I would have to leave before 5 am - but there's still lots of early morning light by the time I get there.

[puddleshark.livejournal.com]

Wow - those are some spectacular pictures! I can almost smell the salt spray...

It seems odd to see people in their summer clothes with a storm raging in the background - good weather for surfers though, I guess!

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

It was actually quite a warm, pleasant day in Sydney. The storm itself is probably about 2000 kms away, out to sea. We're getting the huge waves that would have been whipped up days ago and they're only just reaching the shore.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

"May be boring if you don't like waves"

I love waves, though, and you always photograph the sea so beautifully.

In the second photo, the dark clouds on the horizon look like further waves.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Yes, I like it when the sky and surf seem to mirror each other. The sun was just starting to break over the clouds and I had to discard a lot of later photos because the waves were underexposed.

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

Wow. Thank you so much for sharing these. The light and colors are so terrific that they literally make me ache...with longing and at the beauty shared herein.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

You're welcome! It was certainly a great morning - well worth getting out of bed for!