Bay Front Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, let’s have a look at what’s on the cards for the Bay Front.

Honestly, for the first week and a bit, it’s a bit of a struggle. We’re looking at a whole heap of cross-onshore winds and messy conditions right through until the end of the first week of September. The swell sticks around in that 5ft to 6ft range from the NE and ENE, but with the wind being all wrong, the wave energy is just getting chopped up. You’ll see the combined energy sitting between 211 and 585 (moderate), but it’s not doing us any favours.

Then we roll into Thursday the 3rd and Friday the 4th. The swell bumps up a bit – we’re seeing 7ft to 8ft from the ENE on the Friday – and the energy jumps into the strong range (1441 and 1617). But it’s still cross-onshore and choppy, so it’s marginal at best. This is more of a kite-surfing kind of setup than a good paddle session.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. The standout window looks like Saturday the 5th of September. The wind swings around to a cross-offshore from the SE, and we’ve got a solid 7ft groundswell from the ENE with a long period of 13 seconds. That’s clean, powerful energy (1545). The only catch is that the Bay Front is a reef break that *rarely breaks*, so to see it firing like this is a big deal. The water temp is about average for this time of year, so a springsuit should do the trick. Keep an eye on the crowds though – it can get busy when it’s good.

Sunday the 6th still has some lingering energy (5ft to 5ft, long period 11-12 seconds) and light cross-shore winds, but it’s more marginal.

Looking further out, the second week gets a bit more promising again. Wednesday the 9th of September is another one to circle. We’ve got clean, light cross-offshore winds from the E and ESE, with a 8ft NE swell (period 9 seconds). The energy is strong (1184) and the conditions look very good. Thursday the 10th afternoon also shapes up nicely with clean surf on a 6ft ENE swell. After that, it tails off into smaller, weaker surf with some cross-shore wind.

So, bottom line: If you’re a confident surfer, make a plan for Saturday the 5th of September – that’s the standout. The 9th is a solid backup option. Otherwise, it’s a waiting game.

Rusty.

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