Banna Strand Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, this is Rusty, and I’m looking at the next couple of weeks for Banna Strand. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, and we’ve got a long wait for anything truly good. The first ten days or so are pretty grim, with a lot of wind-ruined swell and messy conditions. You’ll have to be patient.

The pattern starts off rough. Tuesday, the 8th, is a write-off with a 10-foot cross-on swell and 30 km/h winds – just a total mess. That energy is serious, in the thousands (1697), but it’s unusable. Wednesday and Thursday don’t get much better; the wind stays onshore or cross-shore, and the wave quality is poor or marginal. Friday the 11th afternoon offers a glimmer with 6-foot swell and a rare onshore wind turning light, but it’s still a marginal call. Saturday the 12th brings a big 8-foot groundswell from the WNW with a long 13-second period, but 30 km/h cross-winds will chop it up something fierce. The energy is huge (2310), but it’s not for paddling.

There’s a big gap of poor or marginal surf from the 14th through the 16th. The 17th is a Thursday morning, and we finally see some glassy conditions with a light NE wind, but the swell is tiny at 3 feet. It’s surfable, but very ordinary.

Now, the standout. The best chance of the whole forecast comes on Saturday, the 19th of September. The morning session is the one to circle. We’ve got a solid 7-foot WNW groundswell (11-second period, 1080 combined energy) and the wind is a light 15 km/h from the SE, which is cross-offshore. The report calls it *clean*. This is the time for experienced surfers to get out there. That swell direction is right on the money for the break’s optimum. It’s a consistent sandbar, but it’s often crowded, so expect company.

The 18th of September, Friday morning, is the runner-up. A touch bigger at 8 feet with the same period, but it’s cross-shore, not as clean. Still worth a look if you can’t wait for Saturday.

The 21st of September, Monday, is a brutal return to form with a massive 10-foot, very long-period groundswell (15 seconds) and 45 km/h winds. That’s pure, dangerous, messy energy (4346) – one for the experts only, or maybe just the kite surfers.

A quick note on the water: Banna Strand is a beach setup, so those long-period groundswells (anything over 11 seconds) can make it break a bit straight and fat. The point is, for a sandbar, you want the period to be just right, and Saturday’s 11 seconds should be sweet.

So, to wrap it up: the first week and a half is a slog. The only real window that’s worth getting excited about is the morning of Saturday, the 19th of September. It’s promising, but it’s far out, so keep an eye on the wind. After that, it’s back to the washing machine.

Rusty.

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