Redwood family's Sumner beach day lasts 20 minutes, nor'wester blamed
Chilly bin packed, togs on, kids in the car. Weather had other ideas.
A Redwood family who drove to Sumner for a beach day on Saturday were back in the car within twenty minutes.
Dad Karl Weatherston, 41, told The Daily Yarn he'd checked the MetService app twice before leaving. "Said fine. 24 degrees. We get there, unload the whole circus, and the sky just goes grey. Someone flicked a switch."
Within ten minutes the wind had turned. A plastic bag Karl described as "not ours, for the record" was airborne over the esplanade. His youngest was crying. The gazebo was doing something a gazebo shouldn't.
A bloke two carparks over, Macca, reckoned he'd seen it coming. "Mate. It's Canterbury. You get your two hours and you're grateful. Anyone still setting up after 11am is a tourist." Macca had built his own windbreak out of ply and number 8 wire.
MetService said conditions were "consistent with the forecast", which the forecast had not been. A spokesperson noted the nor'wester arrived "slightly earlier than modelled". By four hours.
Karl and family were back in Redwood by 1pm eating servo pies in the driveway. The gazebo's in three pieces on the front lawn. He reckons he'll fix it Tuesday.
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Reader Letters
★ JoannePetone
Typical Canterbury weather, honestly.
★ Garry (Halswell)
In my day, we checked the sky, not apps. Wouldn't have happened back then, because you'd actually feel the breeze before you left your home. That's what standards were like.
Rob_from_Rangiora
Mate, trade weather watchers with some old lads up north. They’ve got it down to an art, even without tech.
★ Margaret_F
Glad they weren't real tourists! Imagine the Kiwi embarrassment if international visitors faced such a letdown at Sumner Beach. Back in my day, beach visits meant guaranteed sunshine and no quick turns by a nor’wester.
★ Trev_Hornby
Honestly, if they’d brought a decent gazebo instead of one of those flimsy things, it would have been rooted but still a shelter.
tired_in_timaru
Macca's onto it with the ply and wire. That's proper Kiwi ingenuity right there. More of that and less whinging, eh?
parked_kiwi
Our weather is only predictable in its unpredictability. You'd think the MetService was using a bloody magic eight ball.
SaltySue
Bloody MetService. Have you seen them ever get it right? They're as reliable as a chocolate teapot!
beachykeen
Servo pies fix everything though!
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