The Coastalwatch Story

7 May 2008

The Company

Since its inception in 1998, Coastalwatch has been committed to bringing the coast to you. With live camera vision, forecasts and news and features from around the country’s coast, it’s grown into the Australia’s most comprehensive coastal reference site.

Using our camera network and working with some of the country’s pre-eminent coastal scientists our monitoring arm, CoastalCOMS, provides vital real-time data on beach erosion, risk and surf quality for councils and governments, lifeguards and rescue services.

Coastalwatch’s community focus also lends support to groups and charities such as Surfrider Foundation Australia, SurfAid International, Surf Life Saving Australia and numerous volunteer rescue organisations.

The Team

The Coastalwatch crew are a mixed bunch, brought aboard from the distant shores of media, meteorology and atmospheric science, corporate management, computing, information technology and infrastructure, even professional snowboarding. And then there’s our army of contributors scatted around the country, armed with cameras and keyboards to keep you up to speed on the best swells and pressing issues affecting our coast.

Despite our mixed heritage, we’re united in our goal of bringing the best of the coast to you, wherever you are in the country. From the reporters who roll out of bed before sunrise so you know what the waves are doing to the meteorologists who burn the midnight oil pawing over weather charts to tell you what tomorrow’s got in store, from the technicians who keep the cameras oiled to the academics who use the data to model sand movement for city councils, it’s all one big family.

So come and get to know us...

Nick Gregory - Head of Digital & Camera Network Manager nick.gregory@coastalwatch.com

Nick’s previous life as a professional snowboarder saw him chasing powder around the globe on an 11-year endless-winter. After a five-year stint on the Billabong team, he hung up the boots and picked up a video camera to produce a TV series on professional snowboarders in Australia and New Zealand.

This led to work with Coastalwatch’s sister site, Mountainwatch, and Transfer Snowboard Magazine. When the Coastalwatch office moved to his hometown in Avalon in Summer 2010-11, he took over as our Digital Guru.

Between keeping the site and our apps looking fresh with creative solutions, Nick finds time to show up the rest of the office staff during lunch-time surfs at Little Avalon, make regular cameo appearances in Manly surfing e-newsletter, Sprout Daily, and hit the slopes for the odd spot of heli-boarding.

Justine Elderfield - Customer Service & Subscriptions Manager customerservice@coastalwatch.com

Justine joined Coastalwatch over five years ago. Since that time she's been the eloquent, comforting voice of the company, taking care of our loyal audience's concerns and questions each and every day. Justine is the first point-of-call for Coastalwatch, Surfing World Magazine, Mountainwatch, Transfer Magazine and Transmoto Magazine.

The Surf Forecast Team

Ben Macartney - Chief Forecaster - Ben joined the Coastalwatch team in 2005 and has grown to become the lead of the forecasting team. On a daily basis at Coastalwatch Ben forecasts for the east coast regions of Australia including QLD, NSW and down through Victoria, and also tracks major swells for INdonesia and the South Pacific region that take in some of Australia's most favourite surfing destinations like Indonesia.

Dan Wyer – Western Australia - Dan Wyer lives in the South West of WA. He’s passionate about the waves in this region and is constantly searching and researching the rest of the WA coastline from the NW, to the Perth metro beaches, tro some secret spots way down south and has his finger on the pulse of all the action that’s happening in WA.

Katie Jackson - Swell Forecaster / Meteorologist - Katie joined the Coastalwatch team as Swell Forecaster and Meteorologist after moving to Australia from the States. She resides in Western Australia and has undertaken a PhD at Griffith University on the topic of Wave Analysis in the nearshore region. Prior to her Australian adventures, Katie has worked for the US Navy and for the biggest surf forecasting site in the US, Surfline - both as a swell forecaster and meteorologist. Katie forecasts for Western Australia and South Australia.

Associates & technical staff

Mark Pottie - CTO
Ella Risby - Group Account Director
Justine Elderfield - Customer Service & Subscriptions Manager
Sean Doherty - Senior Contributing Writer
Nick Carroll - Senior Contributing Writer