Never fear, it hasn't gone, just had a change of position.
It is now joined to the mainland !
There is still plenty of shallow water on the ocean side of it though.
Which is the same as it always has been.
The coast at Safety Bay has always been changing and i'm sure it will continue.
Apparently the original 'Safety Bay' used to be in the vicinity of what is now Hawker street. That means the ocean was considerably further inland. In more recent years this was a swampy area before housing was developed on it.
On Landgates web site (which i use at work) you can view the aerial photography over the years and see how much it changes.
Quite amazing.
Wayne, What is the URL for landgates, I cant seem to find it. One of the ol timers told me the story about safetybay. Amazing how the coast is changing down that way..Tiddly
Tiddlywinks, you need a logon and account to see the archival aerials unless you purchase them.
Here's Landgates link.
www0.landgate.wa.gov.au/
Go to Products and Services, Imagery.
Found Mr Ben Hollins very good Thesis on Sediment Dynamics of Warnbro Sound.
www.uwa.edu.au/ems/schools/school-of-engineering/department-of-civil-environmental-and-mining-engineering
Covers the whole lot, even has a picture of the jetty I used to fish of as a kid which I think is now buried
Wow, that's amazing!
Pretty soon beach front is going to be one street back!
And even the water has changed colour. Must be global warming.
I have windsurfing video from there, circa 1990, when the bar was definitely not joined to the mainland.
Some interesting reading especially Ben Hollins theses.
As a long time resident of Safety Bay and windsurfer, I keep an eye on the sandbar and its movement (albeit nature doing what nature does).
The sandbar did used to be an island that was approx 400-500m offshore and approx in line with the yacht club reaching outwards into the bay. Then over the course the late 80's and 90's the sandbar moved both inwards and eastwards. The sandbar then joined the coast at the end of Waimea Rd in the ~ late 90's. In the first few years the sandbar used to break through in big winter storms although now it seems set in place.
There has been a lot of conjecture about what has caused the movement of the sandbar by both locals and researchers.
It seems that the sandbar suits both windsurfers/kitesurfers and fishermen in both boats and shore at present. The unfortunate thing is that it will probably keep moving and may make conditions worse for all concerned.
having casually observed the bar for many years, I reckon there is probably about 5 years tops before the "pond" as we currently know it is gone or filled in completely.
