Bells Beach - Bowl Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. We’ve got a solid run of surf on the way, with the standout window centred around Monday the 31st of August and into Tuesday the 1st of September. Before that, there’s a mix of clean but smaller days and a few that’ll get blown out. Let’s walk through it.

Monday the 24th of August is a good, easy starter. Bells Beach – Bowl (reef and point) gets a clean 3 ft SSW swell, glassy with a period of 12 seconds. The water’s sitting at 56°, which is about average for this time of year. Combined energy is moderate at 372. Nice little intro.

Tuesday the 25th gets a bit messy. Morning swell pushes to 4 ft SW, but it’s onshore ESE wind, and the outlook is marginal. Afternoon turns cross-shore from the SSW at 9 mph with 4 ft SW swell. Not worth paddling out for if you can wait.

Wednesday the 26th is a mixed bag. Morning has 3 ft SSW swell, clean enough with cross-offshore wind, but the swell’s a touch short at 10 seconds. Afternoon brings a bigger 5 ft SW swell (energy 1279), but it’s cross-onshore and choppy. If you’re a kite surfer, that afternoon might look more interesting than paddle surfing.

Thursday the 27th is a return to clean conditions. Morning has 3 ft SSW with offshore NW wind – glassy, clean. Afternoon drops to 2 ft but stays clean with light WNW offshore. Small but fun.

Friday the 28th morning is a highlight of the first week. Bells gets a 3 ft SW groundswell with a very long 18-second period. Clean with light cross-offshore wind. Energy is 666 – moderate – but the period makes those waves really line up on this reef and point break. Paddling out will be easier between sets. The afternoon turns onshore from the SE, so get in early.

Saturday the 29th morning is glassy again, 3 ft SW at 14 seconds. Clean as a whistle. Afternoon gets a light cross-onshore, still surfable but not as pristine.

Sunday the 30th starts glassy with 3 ft SW at 14 seconds. Nice. Afternoon picks up a longer-period 4 ft SSW at 15 seconds but gets light cross-onshore. Still workable.

The standout is Monday the 31st of August. Morning brings an excellent 6 ft SW groundswell with a long 17-second period. Offshore wind, clean as. Combined energy is strong at 2276. This is for experienced surfers – over 5 ft, so if you’re a beginner, give it a miss. Afternoon stays excellent at 6 ft SW, 16 seconds, still clean. This is the session to aim for.

Tuesday the 1st of September follows up strong. Morning has 4 ft SW at 15 seconds with moderate offshore NW wind at 16 mph, clean. Very good. Afternoon stays clean with 3 ft SW at 15 seconds, lighter offshore. Still quality.

Wednesday the 2nd sees the quality drop. Morning gets 4 ft SW at 15 seconds but with cross-shore wind creating ripples. Afternoon is cross-onshore and weak. Not worth it.

Thursday the 3rd and Friday the 4th are poor. Thursday has 19 mph onshore winds with short-period 4 ft SSW at 8 seconds. Friday morning is choppy with only 1 ft SW, though Friday afternoon shows a bit of recovery with 4 ft SW at 15 seconds and light cross-onshore. Marginal.

Now for the second week. Saturday the 5th of September morning is another solid option. Bells gets 6 ft SW at 17 seconds, offshore wind, clean, and energy is strong at 1891. Again, for experienced surfers. Afternoon drops to 5 ft but gets a light cross-onshore – still okay if you’re keen.

Sunday the 6th is onshore and choppy, poor. Monday the 7th is blown out with 19 mph onshores and 6 ft to 7 ft SW – ugly.

Tuesday the 8th of September has a big 10 ft SW swell at 16 seconds, but it’s onshore and marginal. Combined energy is 3920 – very strong wave energy. Only for experts, and they’ll be battling the wind. Kite surfers might fancy this one.

So, the two true standouts are Monday the 31st of August morning and Saturday the 5th of September morning. Both offer clean, strong SW groundswell with long period and offshore wind. Get onto them.

Rusty.

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