Ballina North Wall Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Looks like it’s gonna be a slow start for the next week or so, with only a few windows that’ll get the heart pumping. The pick of the bunch is the Sunday morning session at Ballina North Wall (point/breakwater) – that’s the one to circle.

The water’s sitting at 68°F, which is about 1°F below the long-term average – nothing to write home about, just your standard mid-winter temp.

Let’s start with Wednesday morning. We’ve got a tiny 3ft easterly swell with a 10-second period rolling in, and the wind is glassy from the NNW at 3 mph. The combined swell energy is 161 – moderate. It’s surfable, but very ordinary. Not worth getting out of bed for, really.

Wednesday afternoon dies off quick – 2ft, period drops to 9 seconds, and a cross-onshore breeze from the NE at 9 mph chops it up. Poor.

Thursday morning brings a 2ft NE windswell with a short 7-second period. Cross-off wind from the WSW at 9 mph keeps it clean, but combined energy is only 74 – weak. Still just ordinary.

Friday and Saturday are more of the same – small, short-period swell, with energy figures in the 80–105 range. Clean conditions on the mornings with cross-off winds, but nothing to get excited about.

Then Sunday morning, 9th of August – that’s the standout. The swell picks up to 4ft from the east, period 9 seconds, and combined energy hits 286, which is moderate. The wind is dead calm – glassy. Expect good surf conditions. The break is consistent, and it’s exposed to the swell. The optimum swell direction is from the ENE, and this east swell is close enough to work well. This is your best bet for a clean, fun session.

Sunday afternoon gets messy – wind swings to the NNE at 16 mph, cross-shore, and the swell gets a bit lumpy. Poor.

Monday morning the 10th sees a bigger 5ft northerly windswell, but the period is a short 6 seconds, and it’s blowing 16 mph from the WNW – cross-off but strong. Combined energy is 319, but that’s mostly wind-driven mess. Poor.

Monday afternoon, however, is a nice surprise – offshore wind from the west at 12 mph, swell drops to 3ft from the ENE with a 9-second period, combined energy 220. The wind is offshore, so it’ll be clean. This is a good secondary option.

Tuesday through to the end of the first week stays small – 2ft to 3ft, periods around 10 seconds, clean mornings but ordinary afternoons. The energy is weak to moderate (89–163). Nothing to plan a trip around.

The second week – from the 13th – is a bit of a mixed bag. Thursday morning the 13th is clean but tiny (2ft, 10-second period, energy 89). Friday and Saturday mornings have some size – 4ft to 5ft – but the period drops to 6 seconds, so it’s short-period windswell. Saturday morning the 15th sees 5ft from the SSE, period 6 seconds, cross-off wind from the SW at 9 mph, and combined energy 237 – moderate. It’s clean, but it’s a short-period swell, so it’ll be a bit mushy and won’t have much punch. Good for a paddle, but not a standout.

The 20th of August, Thursday morning, is a glassy session with 4ft from the east, period 6 seconds, and combined energy 133. Glassy conditions, but the swell is short-period and ordinary.

Overall, don’t expect much until the 9th of August. There’s a real gap from now until then with only ordinary surf. Sunday morning the 9th is the clear winner – glassy, 4ft east swell, clean. The Monday afternoon session on the 10th is a decent backup with offshore winds. After that, it’s mostly small and short-period, with a few clean mornings but nothing that’ll get the blood pumping.

Stay patient, and lock in that Sunday morning session.

Rusty.

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