Bali Bay (Glen Reef) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, grab your board and let’s have a look at what Bali Bay (Glen Reef) has in store for us over the next couple of weeks. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, and we’ve got a slow start before things kick off.

We’re looking at a bit of a wait for the first real surf. The early part of the window is pretty quiet. There’s a bit of swell around on Wednesday, but it’s not doing much for us. The 26th has some tiny 4ft swell with a 13-second period and light offshore winds, and the water is a bit colder than normal for this time of year, sitting around 58°F. It’s surfable but nothing to write home about. The next few days are even more marginal, with small, unorganised swell and cross-shore winds messing things up. Friday the 28th morning is worth a mention—the swell drops to 3ft but it’s glassy, so if you’re desperate for a grovel, that’s your window.

Then we see things start to build. Saturday the 29th afternoon brings a jump in size to 7ft, but the south wind is cross-on and it’s getting choppy. Sunday the 30th morning is bigger again with 10ft of WSW swell, but the wind is cross and it’s not going to be pretty. This is where it gets interesting, but not for the faint-hearted.

Now, the standout window is the 1st of September. This is where the real power shows up. The morning has a solid 12ft of SW groundswell with that long 14-second period, and the NW wind is cross-offshore, which should keep it reasonably clean. The energy is strong, with a combined energy of 4008, so you know there’s plenty of push. This is expert territory for sure—this is big, powerful reef surf. The afternoon sees it jump to 13ft with even more energy (5732). That’s a serious, heavy session, and the light cross-on wind takes a bit of the shine off. This is for the experienced crew only.

After that, it’s a bit of a letdown. The swell drops back on the 2nd, and the wind turns against us. The 3rd and 4th are a mess—huge, stormy SSE swell with near-gale winds. That’s not for surfing; that’s for watching from the beach. The conditions stay poor through the 5th with stormy winds and rain. The 6th has a bit of a recovery with 4ft and a 17-second period, but the fresh SE cross-off wind is still a factor.

The second week is a lot quieter. The 7th has a small 3ft WSW groundswell with a light offshore wind in the morning, which is about as good as it gets. But the surf is really on the small side. The 8th and 9th are poor, with weak energy and onshore winds. The 10th of September brings another swell pulse, with 12ft of SW swell and that long 14-second period, but again it’s too big for this break and the cross-shore winds are strong. That’s another one for the experts and probably not the best conditions.

So, to sum it up: the best waves are on offer on the morning of the 1st of September. That’s the big one. Big, clean, powerful—but only if you know what you’re doing on a reef. The 7th of September morning is your other chance, but it’s a lot smaller and cleaner. Just be aware that this reef break is very consistent, so there’s often something there, but the quality varies massively. If you’re not up for the big stuff, you might be waiting for that glassy, small day. If the wind stays on it, the setup might look more interesting for a kite session than paddling into that mess.

Keep an eye on the forecasts, as things can change.

Rusty.

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