Swimmer rescued from Bondi surf as Sydney battered by powerful winds and huge swells

A swimmer was rescued from pounding surf at North Bondi on Saturday morning amid strong to gale force winds along Sydney’s coast, which has whipped up massive swells and closed most beaches from Batemans Bay to Newcastle.

Bondi lifeguards took to the water by jet-ski about 9am to rescue the man, one of three people who found themselves struggling in the hazardous conditions.

“Two people were able to get themselves out of difficulty, but we did see the Bondi lifeguards have to put themselves in harm’s way and go out and rescue the third person,” said Brent Manieri, general manage of public safety for Surf Life Saving NSW.

“We have been asking people to stay completely out of the ocean this weekend, due to the conditions. We are disappointed that three people did not listen to those warnings, but we want to thank the community for listening to us.”

Boaties and fishers have also been urged to stay away from the NSW coast amid a one-in-100 year swell warning for the weekend, with waves as big as two-storey buildings predicted as severe winds lash the coast.

The high swell added to extensive disruptions to public transport services. Manly ferry services were initially announced as being suspended on Friday night until Sunday morning, but both F1 and Manly Fast Ferry services had resumed by midday on Saturday.

Swells were expected to reach up to four metres as the swell train generated by an offshore low pushes north along the NSW coastline. At Newcastle, wild seas inundated the ocean pool and esplanade to its pavilion.

“We are expecting the conditions to continue across the majority of the coastline into late tomorrow,” Manieri said. “Then we’ll probably see conditions start to ease. But for the time being, the best thing that people can do is to make other plans.”

That included surfers, the bravest of whom took on wild waves at Coogee’s Wedding Cake Island break.

“We are asking that the majority of surfers stay out of the water today,” Manieri said. “There are obviously very capable competent surfers in the community, but we are asking people to heed the warnings and ensure they are heading out with the appropriate skill level to surf in those types of conditions.”

The Bureau of Meteorology issued strong wind warnings for Saturday for Sydney and Coffs Harbour, and gale force warnings for Macquarie, Hunter, Sydney, Illawarra, Batemans and Eden coastal waters. Wave heights of 5.7 metres were observed at the Sydney wave buoy.

Damaging surf conditions could lead to coastal erosion and localised damage to coastal infrastructure between the NSW and Victorian border and Seal Rocks, particularly for south-facing beaches. Minor seawater flooding of low-lying south-facing coastal areas was also possible during the early Saturday morning high tide.

Marine Area Command warned people to avoid walking near surf-exposed area, and rock fishers to avoid coastal rock platforms exposed to the ocean and seek safe locations sheltered from the surf. Boaters planning to cross shallow water and ocean bars were urged to change or delay their trip.

Southerly storms hit Sydney about 5pm on Friday, bringing more heavy rain and strong winds.

Dozens of flights in and out of Sydney were cancelled after the wild weather left one runway operating on Friday evening. Qantas upgraded capacity on its Melbourne and Brisbane routes on Saturday to clear the backlog of delayed passengers. At Sydney Airport all runways were operational.

The Bureau of Meteorology predicts the low to move slowly east into the Tasman Sea and weaken during this evening.

With Anthony Segaert

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