High seas, hidden hazards and flooding: Boat Warning

After such an extreme weather week, our thoughts go out to the boating communities
from Queensland to NSW that have endured the unimaginable tempest of Severe Tropical Cyclone Debbie and its aftermath.

If you are thinking about heading out on the water this weekend, well, reconsider. There are still Gale and Storm Warnings, 30-knot-plus winds, cracking seas and 4m swell forecast for many areas, plus major flooding to dams, rivers, creeks and estuaries.

The opening photo above is from the normally benign Coomera River on the Gold Coast in full flood today (March 31), with a beautifully Riviera underwater, and we have reports that Horizon Shores Marina has been evacuated due to the Albert River busting its banks mid-way between the Gold Coast and Brisbane.

Navigational markers have moved, some are missing altogether, and new channels will have carved a path. In addition, the murky water means you don’t know what lies below. A lot of boats have gone down in the flood along with pontoons and other infrastructure.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services even posted a photo of a decent albeit dead bull shark (above) that it found in the receding flood waters around Ayr.

While the ports have re-opened in the Whitsundays, Townsville and Mackay, there are untold navigational hazards both in the mooring and marina areas of this boating Mecca as well as offshore.

South East Queensland is a mess and on high alert with continuing extreme weather after Severe Tropical Cyclone Debbie morphed into a low-pressure system that tracked south to Brisbane and is now moving out to sea.

There are damaged beacons and buoys in the Coomera and Nerang Rivers, possible submerged obstructions and floating debris in all waterways, and authorities strongly suggest you avoid boating until the weather settles.

Riviera on Waterways Drive at Coomera posted photos revealing that the flood tide entered its yard and dumped a lot of mud, though all boats and boat-building infrastructure was in good shape. It was more of a clean up.

WATER MOVEMENT A WORRY
That same cyclonic system in Queensland has created flood condition in Northern NSW from The Tweed to Lismore with record river levels. There will be rafts of debris washed down the waterways that can easily foul your prop or, worse, smash a hole in your hull.

Just the sheer volume of water moving around from the past week's extreme weather events is of great concern. Not even the fish will like it at this point.

Put it all together and boating in the aftermath of Severe Tropical Cyclone Debbie requires a rethink. After such an incredible deluge and widespread flooding, the entire Eastern Seaboard has been adversely affected.

Dam levels are at 100 per cent and spilling over in many areas, adding to the increased water flows in the rivers and creeks that would be perilous for small craft and should be avoided.

With all the floodwater on top of the run-out tide, there will dangerous conditions on coastal bars where, together with the huge swell and wind, it will be nothing short of treacherous, even for experienced surfers.

PREP THE TACKLE AND BOAT INSTEAD
We're not going to sugarcoat the conditions, as this weekend on the Eastern Seaboard isn’t one for offshore boating.

Your time would be better spent working on the rig and tackle in the backyard or down at the marina.

You can also support your local fishing and boating business by dropping in to stock up on tackle or to buy some new parts to trick-up the trailerboat. As boat owners, we know there's always work to be done. This is the weekend for it.

After such a bleak week, our thoughts go out to the boating community from Queensland to NSW that has endured Severe Tropical Cyclone Debbie.

The cyclone wreaked havoc and destruction the likes of which we haven’t seen before.

The fact that there was no loss of life from boaters on the front-line underscores out collective good sense and prudent seamanship.

BOM CLIMATE OUTLOOK
The Bureau of Meteorology has just issued its April to June 2017 forecast. Rainfall is likely to be below average over the southern two-thirds of mainland Australia excluding the east coast, and above average for the far north.

April is likely to be drier than average across the south and southwest of Australia, but wetter for eastern NSW, southeast Queensland and far northern Australia.

Daytime temperatures for April to June are likely to be above average for most of Australia, except parts of eastern and northern Australia.

Night-time temperatures for April to June suggest a warmer three months for many parts of Australia, except northern WA and the Top End of the NT, where cooler than average nights are more likely. Additionally, southern WA, southern SA, eastern NSW and Cape York Peninsula show roughly equal chances of cooler or warmer April to June nights.

In Tasmania, the chances of warmer than average daytime and overnight temperatures are very high (greater than 80 per cent) for April, and for April to June.

Outlooks are influenced by warming in tropical Pacific sea surface temperatures and a cooler eastern Indian Ocean (see the Climate Influences section for more detail).

As ever, stay safe fellow boaters.
Everything you need to know about boating weather in our Complete Boating Weather Resource page.
See all the weather warnings on BOM's Weather Warning page.

Photo Credit: Riviera on the Coomera by Wasp Creek Rural Fire Service; shark at Ayr by Queensland Fire and Emergency Services.