Waves are nothing out of ordinary

THE only thing that washed over people on Mooloolaba Esplanade yesterday was disappointment.

Despite the warnings a tsunami was on its way, a large crowd turned out to witness a moment in history and many were strangely frustrated that it was a non-event.

There was no sense of impending and the sun shone brightly on what would otherwise have been a normal Sunday.

The beaches were closed but it failed to stop many beachgoers from ignoring lifeguard’s warnings to stay out of the water and off the sand.

Parents took their children as close as possible to the forefront, where they squealed with excitement as waves crashed against the rocks.

It wasn’t the tsunami ... yet.

“Tsunami. What tsunami?” was the catchcry and esplanade businesses enjoyed the rush.

Oliver’s Cafe manager Andrew Ship said the tsunami warning had not affected business.

“It was business as usual,” he said. “It was the talking point of the morning.”

One elderly couple said they were disappointed to walk down to the surf club, only to find nothing happening.

Tourists staying at the low-lying caravan park made the decision to stay put, betting against Mother Nature ruining their holiday and their vans.

But as the hours dragged on, the crowds began to thin.

Photographers hoping for the shot-of-a-lifetime packed up and went home while the no-go zone in the surf gradually filled with swimmers and life got back to normal.

A determined few stayed put on the grass, waiting for something to happen. All they got to see was a lone sailing boat hovering on the horizon.

Meanwhile, at the Alexandra Headland beachfront yesterday morning, people waited – and waited – for the tsunami wave to hit. Or not.

But it may have already been and gone, for all the hundreds of wave-watchers lining Alexandra Headland yesterday morning knew.

Had a radio been handy, they would have heard just before 9am that the wave had been “delayed”.

It was a little like a railway or airport announcement, as in “The tsunami arriving on Sunshine Coast beaches this morning has been delayed. We apologise to all our customers”.

How does anyone “delay” a tsunami, one wonders, but apparently someone had.

Paul and June Tischer had arrived at Alex Headland all the way from Peachester to watch the, er, action. Paul said with the full moon and the high tides, water was already up around the bridges on Brisbane Road.

An aficionado of large waves, Paul expected a “plateau” of a wave with a possible set of waves accompanying it.

In the end, we probably got a bit less than the Gold Coast, as usual: just ask the State Government.

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