While we're on meteorology. I found myself up on the escarpment last week on the day that MT set the NSW speed record down at Lake Illawarra. Bands of calm and white capping water were easily seen from Sublime Point where the escarpment is close to the ocean. It was windy close to shore, a band of calm water, the coal ships were anchored in a windy band. It's not too clear in the photos, but you could just make out the next calm band beyond the coal ships. The bands stretched north and south as far as you could see and for the half an hour or so that I was watching remained stable in position.

Helps make sense of how sometimes it can be blowing at Lake Illawarra, where the escarpment is further inland, and not at Bellambi and vice versa. Used to think a similar thing was happening back in the '80s when I was working around Bunbury in the lee of the escarpment in WA. The morning easterlies would be howling sometimes, but as you drove out to the worksite the wind would suddenly drop. I drove back and forward a few time on days off but couldn't make sense of it. ( On the days off Lake Preston was a little like Lake Illawarra, plenty of wind but not much water )

Sometimes I consider sailing the ocean in westerlies, maybe not, but at least you'd know there's a calm patch between you and NZ.

ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/fw/grad.rxml