Altona Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get straight into it.

First up, the good news: there’s barely any surf at Altona Pier for the next week and a half. We’re looking at a whole lot of tiny, weak lines, mostly under a foot and a half, with a few days of flatness. Monday the 14th and Tuesday the 15th are basically a write-off—nothing but knee-high dribble with onshore winds making it messy. Monday morning might have a bit of a clean look early with that light WNW breeze, but the swell’s just nothing, energy readings of 4 (weak), so don’t waste the petrol.

The one real blip of interest in this whole stretch is Tuesday the 15th afternoon when a solid SW pulse rolls in at 4 feet with a 13-second period. That’s a jump in energy to 482 (moderate to strong), but the wind swings onshore and lumpy out of the SSW at 19 mph, so it’s going to be a mess. If you’ve got no choice, it’ll be out there, but it’s not going to be pretty.

Wednesday the 16th keeps some size—3 feet with a 15-second period, energy around 365 (moderate)—but it’s onshore wind from the south at 16 mph, so it’s lumpy, closed-up, and not worth the paddle.

After that, the swell just fades away. Thursday 17th and Friday 18th drop back under a foot and a half, with light offshore breezes but just not enough water moving. Friday morning the 18th is your best bet in this early run—2 feet, 14-second period, clean with a light offshore. That’s barely surfable, but if you’re desperate for a slide, it’s the cleanest you’ll get.

Then we hit a flat spell. From Saturday the 19th right through to Monday the 28th, it’s all under a foot and a half, with energy readings mostly in the low double digits. A few days have clean offshore winds, but there’s just nothing to ride. It’s a long, flat stretch—nearly ten days of nothing.

Finally, on Tuesday the 29th morning, something stirs. There’s a 1-foot bump at 18 seconds—long period, very long period actually—with a 102 energy reading (moderate). The wind is glassy out of the ENE at 3 mph. Now, 1 foot is tiny, and with a period that long, it’s going to be breaking straight at this beach break. It’s not for the faint-hearted, but it’s clean. The afternoon picks up slightly to 2 feet at 17 seconds, but the wind goes onshore at 12 mph, chopping it up.

So bottom line: if you’re a beginner, there’s nothing here for you for the entire 16 days—nothing ever pushes over 5 feet. If you’re an expert and you’re desperate, Friday morning the 18th might give you a couple of clean little walls, and Tuesday the 29th morning is the only other window with clean conditions. Otherwise, it’s a long, flat look at the ocean.

The water’s sitting around 57°, which is about normal for this time of year, no wild anomalies there.

It’s not a great outlook, but it doesn’t stay poor forever. Forecasts change. Keep an eye on that Tuesday the 29th window.

Rusty

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