Water has been flowing through the Caloundra Bar again but only a cyclone will unclog the sand-laden entrance, according to a local maritime authority.
Images captured during the past week by Bluey’s Photography showed the ocean linking with the Pumicestone Passage at high tide.
Water streamed through on a 2.04m king tide on Friday and was expected to breach the bar again on a 1.87m tide on Monday.
The events prompted some to wonder whether the tides could essentially unblock the bar and allow it reopen on a more permanent basis, which would allow more water to flow into and out of the relatively still northern end of the passage.
“Looks like it might open up again,” Robert Moore said via Bluey’s Facebook page.
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“Hopefully forces it open and gives it (the waterway) a good flush out,” Dean Winzar added.
But Coast Guard Caloundra commander Roger Pearce said this month’s high tides would only serve to exacerbate the situation.
“It (the bar) is just filling up with more sand,” he said.
“When the water flows over the top on a high tide it puts more sand on top (of the bar), so it could close off completely.”
Mr Pearce said only a severe weather event would prise open the bar.
“The only thing that would reverse it is a cyclone,” he said.
“We’ve got our fingers and toes crossed, but we don’t want any drama (associated with a cyclone).”
He added that anything could happen to the area in the event of a cyclone or severe weather.
“All bets would be off,” he said.
The Caloundra Bar has been clumped with sand over time following a tidal breakthrough at Bribie Island, about 1.3km to the south, in early 2022.
The ocean crashed through the isle, on the back of severe weather, and essentially created a mountain of sand at the bar that blocked the northern end of the passage.
The island breakthrough is now the main link between the passage and the ocean, but it comes with its own problems.
Coast Guard has been called into action several times to help boaties in trouble there, including during the past week.
“We had a couple of rollovers,” Mr Pearce said.
Five people in a 4m vessel were going through the breakthrough (also known as the Bribie Bar) when they were caught in unpredictable surf.
Four people went into the water and were plucked off a nearby beach by Coast Guard, who also brought their boat back to the mainland.
Meanwhile, three experienced fishermen were assisted when their 5m boat keeled over and sunk.
It was retrieved during the weekend but was battered beyond repair.
Mr Pearce said conditions were “terrible” and that boaties should check tide times before they attempt to navigate the breakthrough.
“It’s like a washing machine there,” he said.
Even experts can find the area difficult to negotiate, with Coast Guard members finding the conditions testing with their large vessel.
Some of them were put through their paces during an exam on Friday, ahead of Coast Guard’s assimilation with Marine Rescue Queensland in July.
“There were 3m waves and we were trying to push through with what is effectively an ocean-going four-wheel-drive,” Mr Pearce said.
“How people go out in their open tinnies is beyond me.
“Boaties should wait for the right tide: go out on a high tide when it’s nice and calm.
“When the tide runs out, it flies out, and at the end of the bar, waves just stand up and go bang, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
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