Not a good day

Sorry about the quality, from our local newspaper, with a crease across the paper




This was 2 weeks ago monday, I was fishing there from first light untill 9-30, when a very confused sea was making things dodgy.
high tide was midday, and it was a very high tide, I had caught 3 kahawai, but decided to leave before it became dangerous. There were still 3 people fishing, but I do not know what time the Burmese couple came down.
I think the photo was taken on the day, if not they were similar conditions.
It's funny, there were only 2 of us on the wednesday morning in better conditions, and plenty of fish.

Common sense must prevail in these places and those situations surely

Yes, you would think so, but many of the immigrants to NZ have no experience of the sea, and despite weather, surf and tide forecasts being freely available today, I am not sure how many people check them. I get anglers down there asking me what the tide is doing.
Another problem is that inexperienced anglers see the regulars there catching fish then thinking I could do that.
I have spent over 3000 hours down there over the last 45 years, I know when to be there and when not. If it is too rough I will go home. I am sure there are many days that I would not go near the rock that there are some braving the conditions.

The media plays up the weather like they are selling it here,yet they ignore the dangers of tides.
It wouldn't take much to make people aware if the media put the same hype on it as they do the weather.
In this day and age,the public are tuned in by social media,maybe a rethink on the tides and weather reporting and awareness should be in their "To Do"list.
Foreign visitors or immigrants have the problem of understanding the language,which leaves them more vulnerable.Plus money can be a driving force,ie,Morecambe bay.

That's not good, safety first alway it's just not worth it. We've all been caught out by that big wave on the shore usually just wet feet but on rocks your off into deep water. I lost a rig bag with an unexpected wave on a beach, just setting up and thought I was well above the water line back to the sea then suddenly everything was floating off went my rigs never to be seen again. On rocks that could of been me.

Plenty of freak waves about,before I used to set up rock fishing,I used to count the waves,usually the seventh wave is the biggest,or to clarify,one wave in seven is usually the biggest.
I watched the height where the wave got to on the rocks,and set up a safe height above it.
Even then,there could have been the odd freak wave.
Fished in a boat out of ST Davids harbour,sea was flat,the tide changed and we were in a 20ft swell.
always a good idea to have a chat to the locals I reckon.

The sea bed is relatively shallow at Muriwai, and there is a sandbar off the front of the rock, varies from 50 to 100m off the front, and is typical for surf beaches, a sandbar and a channel off the beach. Rips are formed where the waves roll over the bar at low tide and this water cuts a channel through the bar with a current from either side towards the channel. At high tide water is deep enough to allow backwash over the sand bar so the rip is not so fast.

A few years ago I was fishing a rocky deep water east coast spot on a falling tide, I watched the waves on a rock spur for a while then went to fish off it, too much weed so I returned to the old spot and half an hour later a wave washed right over it. I may not have knocked me in, but I would have had a fright.

Snorkelled with my son around the breakwater in Portreath Cornwall,to what looked like a beach with waves breaking on it.The waves were actually breaking against rocks.
The swell was massive,and getting back looked very dodgy,I used the seventh wave theory,because usually,there is a bigger time lag after the seventh wave,and the drag back out is bigger and longer.
Obviously,it worked.
I had to get my son to promise not to tell her indoors that I almost got us both drowned.

Rhod Lloyd wrote:

The sea bed is relatively shallow at Muriwai, and there is a sandbar off the front of the rock, varies from 50 to 100m off the front, and is typical for surf beaches, a sandbar and a channel off the beach. Rips are formed where the waves roll over the bar at low tide and this water cuts a channel through the bar with a current from either side towards the channel. At high tide water is deep enough to allow backwash over the sand bar so the rip is not so fast.

A few years ago I was fishing a rocky deep water east coast spot on a falling tide, I watched the waves on a rock spur for a while then went to fish off it, too much weed so I returned to the old spot and half an hour later a wave washed right over it. I may not have knocked me in, but I would have had a fright.

The other problem is the bow wave from big ships around parts of our coast they travel a lot further than think and can be quite big when they reach the shore and very unpredictable.

And the "caution ship approaching" wave wash warning lights at the end of Holyhead breakwater are for the same reason. ( haven't been there when they've been used myself)