Kalbarri- murchison rivermouth treacherous conditions

Hi all,

I'm a regular visitor to Kalbarri WA but for the first time this year I'm taking my boat (5.5m Genesis) and I'm looking for some pointers on predicting the conditions on the infamous "washing machine" conditions at the mouth of the Murchison.

I'm a competent boatie, - ive been through the mouth a few times but always got lucky with the weather and so haven't been caught out yet! My question is not HOW to get in and out of the river, my question is: "is a specific combination of conditions that turn it really nasty?"

Is it say just a strong westerly? Or is it incoming tide combined with high swell etc etc if I knew this then I can limit my chances of having to wait for a cray boat to come in to follow!!

I'll be asking the locals at Xmas but nice to get other opinions etc

Can anyone help? There isn't much on the Internet besides "be careful" which is obvious!!

Cheers
James


Posts: 824

Date Joined: 22/07/10

ring this bloke..........

Mon, 2011-10-03 12:21

ring this bloke.......... laurie /murchisonboathire.com.au

 

 

carnarvonite's picture

Posts: 8667

Date Joined: 24/07/07

Sea Rescue

Mon, 2011-10-03 12:24

Get in touch with the sea rescue there, they can give you all the info you need and also handle sign on / off for boats going out. If in doubt radio them just before you tackle the mouth so they can keep an eye out.

TAPOUT's picture

Posts: 885

Date Joined: 27/01/06

Ive honestly been out that

Mon, 2011-10-03 14:42

Ive honestly been out that river mouth 100s of times and half that in dingys. And Ive never been caught out yet.Touch wood. I think the rule of thumb for me has always been if your not sure hang back and see the pattern of waves comeing through then when you make your move make sure you commit to it and dont stuff around. In the size boat you have and you obviously know the path through from previous experience I dont think you will have a problem personally. Laurie Malten will help with any info you need.

smash's picture

Posts: 434

Date Joined: 01/12/10

ring the locals

Mon, 2011-10-03 14:53

you'll be waiting a long time to follow a crayboat at this time of year!

 

*edit-whoops I see you might be there at xmas, not shortly!*

Posts: 38

Date Joined: 17/03/11

Thanks for the comments and

Mon, 2011-10-03 15:00

Thanks for the comments and advice guys, will definitely be speaking to the VSR guys and girls and Laurie sounds like the best person to chat to!

Keep the advice coming people, can never get too much information!!

Smash- ha ha yeah I'd best pack some sandwiches if I'm there now waiting for a cray boat!

James

Posts: 251

Date Joined: 28/07/11

I took my boat up there for

Mon, 2011-10-03 15:52

I took my boat up there for my first time a couple of years ago. When I got there I just sat in the carpark that overlooks the entrance and watched how a handful of others tackled it and just followed suit, had no drama's at all the times I did it. Being a surfer also helped i guess having an understanding of waves/channels/reefs etc. Tapouts advice was spot on, watch the pattern and go for it. And if the swell is large and the wind is blowing it probably isnt worth going out anyway.

Posts: 614

Date Joined: 24/02/11

Yes

Mon, 2011-10-03 18:55

Done it a few time and all good info from others

Posts: 38

Date Joined: 17/03/11

Thanks to all for the

Tue, 2011-10-04 11:33

Thanks to all for the feedback! I'll hopefully be posting some photos of a few decent fish upon my return!

James

Posts: 2319

Date Joined: 03/05/06

4 more methods

Tue, 2011-10-04 17:58