Sea Conditions off Port Fairy

Live wave, swell and wind off the Moyne River mouth — what the fishing fleet and small boats read before crossing the bar to the Southern Ocean.

Live wave, swell and wind off Port Fairy — the conditions the cray and abalone boats, and anyone taking a small boat out through the Moyne River mouth, read before they go. These are open-water model forecasts; the bar at the river mouth can be far rougher than the open sea, and it moves. Check again before you leave the wharf.

The bar is the real danger, not the open sea

The bar — where the Southern Ocean swell stands up over the shifting sand at the Moyne River mouth — is far more dangerous than the open water these numbers describe, and it shifts with each dredging and each big swell. A workable forecast offshore does not mean a workable bar. Watch it cross before you commit, wear a lifejacket, log on with Marine Rescue, and if it is breaking hard across the entrance, wait.

Why the morning is usually the window

Port Fairy is exposed and windy nearly year-round; the sea breeze and afternoon wind build the chop, so the calmest water is most often early in the day. The wettest, windiest stretch is winter, around August.

Off the Moyne River mouth

The open water just outside the training walls and Griffiths Island, facing the Southern Ocean swell. This is the sea the fleet crosses the bar into — exposed and windy most of the year, calmest first thing in the morning.

Building — the bar will be breaking; cross with care

Waves: 1.2 m · 4 ft
Swell: 9s from the SW
Wind: 12 mph from the NNW — offshore
Sea temperature: 14.9°C

Next few days

Day	Waves	Wind	Looks like
Fri 19 Jun	3.4 m · 11 ft	14 mph WNW (cross-shore)	Very rough — the bar will be breaking hard
Sat 20 Jun	3.3 m · 11 ft	11 mph SSE (onshore)	Very rough — the bar will be breaking hard
Sun 21 Jun	2.3 m · 7 ft	5 mph SSE (onshore)	Rough — dangerous at the bar, many crews stay in
Mon 22 Jun	1.6 m · 5 ft	7 mph NW (cross-shore)	Rough — dangerous at the bar, many crews stay in
Tue 23 Jun	2.3 m · 7 ft	13 mph SW (onshore)	Rough — dangerous at the bar, many crews stay in

A forecast is not the bar

These are open-water model forecasts, not what the river-mouth bar is doing — the bar can be far more dangerous than the open sea, and it shifts. Wear a life jacket, tell someone your plan, and if the bar is breaking hard, wait. In an emergency on the water call Triple Zero (000) and ask for the Police, or call for help on marine VHF Channel 16.

Forecast updated 18 June at 19:35. Weather and marine data by Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).