Ballina North Wall Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Righto, grab a seat. Rusty here, and I’m looking at the Ballina North Wall forecast for the next couple of weeks. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, to be honest. This is a point and breakwater setup that usually loves a good ENE swell, but we’ve got a lot of junk to wade through before we see any real quality.

The water temp is sitting at 69°, which is bang on average for this time of year, so no surprises there. We’re starting off pretty flat and messy. The first half of the coming week is a write-off. Saturday the 12th and Sunday the 13th are a no-go with choppy, cross-onshore wind. Monday morning the 14th gives us a tiny 3 ft SSE swell with glassy conditions, but it’s tiny and the energy is weak (183). Not worth getting wet for. Tuesday and Wednesday are even smaller, and by Wednesday afternoon the wind is howling. There’s a big gap of nothing much happening until later in the week.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting, but also a bit dangerous. On Thursday the 17th, a solid 13 ft SSE swell arrives. That is big. The combined energy is through the roof at 3079, but it’s packing a 25 mph south wind, making it a lumpy, cross-shore mess. The forecast notes say it’s simply too big for this break. That’s a hard pass for anyone but the most experienced chargers, and even then, it looks more like a kite-surfing day than a paddle-surfing one. The size sticks around on Friday the 18th with a 10 ft swell (1808 energy), and while the wind eases, it’s still too solid and the cross-onshore wind won’t do it any favours.

The real standout, the only one worth circling on the calendar, is Saturday morning the 19th. We’ll have a dropping 7 ft swell from the ESE with an 11-second period. The energy is still very strong at 1104, but the wind is forecast to be glassy—absolutely dead calm from the NNE. For a spot like Ballina North Wall, a dropping swell with clean, glassy conditions is the dream. The size is still in the expert-only range, over 8 ft, but if you are experienced, the combination of a clean wall and that long-period groundswell energy will produce some proper, racey lines. Keep in mind, this is a longer-period swell (11 seconds), so expect wider, more powerful sets, but the paddle-out will be easier between them. It can also get a bit straight at a beach break, but the wall itself should focus it nicely. Just expect a crowd—it is a consistent, exposed spot and it’s going to be one of the best windows in the whole outlook.

After that, Sunday the 20th starts to fade quickly, dropping to 3 ft and glassy again in the morning, but the energy is gone (172). The rest of the second week is a slow, small run of poor surf conditions. There’s a glimpse of something on Wednesday the 23rd morning with a 6 ft ESE swell and clean cross-offshore wind, but the period is short at 7 seconds (345 energy), so the quality won’t be there. Nothing else really stands out. So, if you’re keen, you have to wait for that Saturday the 19th window. The rest? You’re better off waiting for the next system.

Rusty.

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