This stretch of coast gets proper wind, not just a breeze. A fence that would be perfectly fine in a sheltered inland garden can take real punishment out here, especially a solid privacy fence that catches the full force of a southeaster like a sail. Most fence failures I get called out to weren't bad luck, they were built without the wind in mind from the start.
Solid panels catch more wind than people expect
A fully closed privacy fence looks great and blocks the neighbours' view, but it also gives the wind a flat surface to push against. The taller and more solid the fence, the more load goes through every post. That doesn't mean you can't have a solid fence here, it means the posts and footings need to actually be sized for it, not just for a normal garden fence.
The posts matter more than the boards
People tend to focus on the timber they can see and pay less attention to what's holding it up. Post depth, post spacing and how they're set in the ground are what actually keep a fence standing in wind, not the boards themselves. On an exposed property I'll set posts deeper and closer together than I would on a sheltered one, and I'll say so upfront rather than build to a lower spec and have it come loose in a year.
A gap pattern can be the better call
Full privacy isn't always the right trade-off on a very exposed stretch. A slatted or gapped fence still blocks the view effectively at eye level while letting some wind pass through instead of loading up against a solid wall. It's a genuine option worth discussing before assuming solid is automatically better, sometimes the fence that lets a bit of wind through is the one that's still standing in five years.
Stainless fixings, same as decking
Same reasoning as anything else I build on this coast, standard fixings corrode faster in salt air, and a rusting fixing weakens the timber around it long before the timber itself would fail. Every fence I build uses stainless steel fixings for exactly that reason.
If you're planning a new fence, or an existing one is starting to lean or loosen, the right answer depends on exactly how exposed your property is, that's genuinely different from one street to the next around here. Get in touch and I'll come take a look.