Please select your home edition
Edition
Sea Sure 2025

Forecast 2011 Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week Day 4

by Kenn Batt on 16 Aug 2011
Forecast 2011 Merdien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week Day 4 SW
2011 Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week day four forecast: Nil Warnings current. Synoptic Discussion: A ridge of high pressure lies over the race area.

Observations: At 0600hr Hamilton Island was reporting the following conditions:

Wind 170deg at 13kn gusting to 16kn, Temp 18C, Pressure 1019hPa). Light SW land breezes were observed at coastal mainland places. Some weak shower cells were observed well offshore.

Forecast Winds for Middle of Pioneer Bay (Read Discussion below).

1000:MD140 DR(160-120) MS06 SR02-09kn, could be light and variable or glassout?

1200:MD120 DR(140-100) MS08 SR04-11kn, could be light and variable or glassout?

1400:MD110 DR(130-090) MS08 SR05-12kn, could be 080-040deg?

1600:MD090 DR(110-070) MS10 SR06-14kn, could be 060-040deg?

1800:MD090 DR(110-070) MS10 SR06-14kn, could be 060-040deg?

Whitsunday Passage and Molle Channel: Wind speeds maybe two to three knots stronger at times than those above particularly around some headlands and in more constrained locations. Wind direction could be 10-30deg more left than above at times.

Further offshore: 130-110deg at 8-12kn (ave)

Key to wind forecast: First column is forecast mean wind direction in deg Magnetic (MD). It is the 10min average (mean) value at a height of 10m above the water leading up to the hour quoted. The second column is the directional range (DR) of the wind direction in deg Mag. This takes into account the natural oscillation of the wind and is a function of the atmospheric stability, etc. The third column is the mean speed (MS) in knots (kn) and is the average 10min value leading up to the hour quoted at a height of 10m above the water. The last column is the wind speed range (SR) in knots and is the lowest wind speed to highest wind speed in the 10min leading up to forecast hour.


Discussion: A ridge of high pressure currently lies over the Qld coast. Forecast gradient wind is expected to be 090deg at around 15kn.

This gradient should keep a SE’ly into the area which is expected to trend left during the afternoon. It appears that we are now entering a lighter wind phase?

The big questions today are (hopefully answered in forecast above??):

1. How far left will the surface direction get?
2. How quickly will the direction turn left?
3. How strong will the winds be?
4. Will the wind drop out this morning and a light sea breeze develop?

Note: Wind will be lighter in the lee of any landmass and stronger and more gusty between islands (in channels and passages) and around some headlands.

Natural wind oscillations today around 15 to 20 deg away from effects of topography, tending 30 to 50 deg closer to the effects of any land mass and in lighter wind regimes.

Other possibilities: 65% chance that wind drops out this morning and a 5-12kn E-NE sea breeze develops late morning/early afternoon??

Weather: Remaining fine. Some cloud and isolated weak shower activity further seawards.
Maximum land temperature at Airlie Beach: about 23 degrees.

Wind Waves: 0.4 to 1.0metres, less in lee of land, more when wind wave opposes tidal current and further offshore depending on fetch.

(Wave heights quoted are significant wave heights).

Tide at Shute Harbour: Low of 0.74m at 0600hr, High of 2.70m at 1203hr and Low of 0.81m at 1744hr.

Tidal Stream: Slack stream around start times becoming a good ebb during this afternoon. Be very careful particularly in the passages, channels, close to islands, etc.

Remember: Tide floods to the south and ebbs to the north in the Whitsundays.

Sea Temperature: 20-21 degrees.

Outlook: Wednesday: Similar to above. Thursday: Glassout to weak seabreeze??

Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week website
Doyle_SailWorld_728X90px_GP BOTTOMRS Sailing 2021 - FOOTERHyde Sails 2024 - One Design

Related Articles

Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup Day 2
Philip Köster triumphs again in Pozo Izquierdo The 37th edition of the Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup delivered a thrilling second day this Sunday, once again marked by strong winds and the talent of the world's best windsurfers.
Posted today at 8:47 pm
A perfect start to the 5th annual AEGEAN 600
Cloudless blue skies, crystal clear waters and perfect 12-15 knots of northerly wind At the very southern end of the Greek mainland at Cape Sounion in Attica, today's start to the 5th edition of the AEGEAN 600 was perfect: cloudless blue skies, crystal clear waters and perfect 12-15 knots of northerly wind.
Posted today at 8:39 pm
29er Europeans at Lake Garda day 4
One race, one storm, and one big lay day vibe With qualification wrapped and the fleet now split into six groups—Gold, Silver, Bronze, Emerald, Purple, and White—Day 4 of the 29er Europeans kicked off with early optimism and an earlier-than-usual launch in pursuit of the morning breeze.
Posted today at 7:09 pm
iQFOiL Worlds a Aarhus day 1
Full foiling conditions launch the World Championship with four high-intensity races for both fleets The iQFOiL World Championship kicked off today in Aarhus with dynamic and demanding conditions that truly tested the world's top foiling windsurfers. The wind was anything but steady, shifting in both direction and intensity throughout the day.
Posted today at 7:01 pm
Rolex TP52 Worlds in Cascais overall
American Magic Quantum Racing win Rolex TP52 Worlds after breezy week in Cascais. Doug DeVos' American Magic Quantum Racing crew were crowned 2025 Rolex TP52 World Champions today in Cascais, Portugal.
Posted today at 6:54 pm
Red Bull Sailing Academy Opens
A new hub for current and future superstars to reach the top of their sport Marina Monfalcone, North Italy, made waves yesterday, as sports superstars gathered to open the Red Bull Sailing Academy, marking the beginning of a new era in the sport.
Posted today at 12:53 pm
Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup Day 1
Philip Köster edges out Marcilio Browne in one of the closest finals ever Philip Köster edges out Marcilio Browne in one of the closest finals ever as Pozo delivers 50 knot winds and waves.
Posted today at 11:42 am
America's Cup: French give the Brits the "Hurry-up
Frustration builds between Cup factions over lack of progress with Protocol. Last weekend's missive from the French America's Cup challenge team is further evidence over the building frustration with progress towards the 2027 America's Cup in Naples.
Posted today at 11:12 am
The oldest video footage of Moth sailing
A look back into our video archive, to when the name of this class first settled down We delve into our video archive to find the oldest possible videos that show Moth racing. Are these International Moths, British Moths... or was the name still Olive, Inverloch 11ft, National Moth or Brent One-Design?!
Posted today at 11:00 am
GKSS Match Cup & Nordea Women's Trophy overall
It is the first time the Match Cup Sweden title has been won by a Danish Skipper Denmark's Jeppe Borch/ Team Borch Match Race, and France's Pauline Courtois/ Match in Pink by Normandy crowned the new champions of Marstrand in a day of fierce weather for the final of 2025 GKSS Match Cup Sweden and Nordea Women's Trophy in Marstrand.
Posted today at 7:14 am