Big Ben Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s coming down the pipe for Big Ben.

To be honest, the outlook for this next fortnight is mostly a case of picking your moments. The swell ticks up and down, but the wind is the real story here, and it’s not playing nice most days. For the first week, you’re looking at small to moderate surf, but a lot of cross-shore and onshore wind makes it messy. There is one standout morning early on if you time it right, and then a glassy window a week away, but the long-range stuff is a gamble.

Alright, let’s get into the rundown.

Monday the 24th starts with a bit of juice. The morning session sees a 3ft SSE groundswell with a long 18-second period, and the water temp is sitting at a balmy 82°F, which is a touch warmer than usual for this time of year (2°F anomaly). The combined energy is pumping at (1390), so there’s plenty of push. But the wind is a light cross-shore from the SSW at 3 mph, so it’s not perfectly clean. It’ll be surfable, but you'll be sharing it with others as crowds are sometimes a factor. It’s a beach/jetty setup, so this long period swell might want to stand up a bit too straight. The afternoon gets blown out as the wind picks up to 12 mph with the same cross-shore direction, and the swell jumps to 7ft, but it’s rough.

Tuesday the 25th drops off a bit. 6ft swell, but the period drops and the wind is up. Early morning cross-shore at 12 mph is not worth the paddle. The afternoon gets worse with 16 mph wind and the swell backing off.

The middle of the week is pretty grim. Wednesday the 26th has a small 3ft swell but a fresh 19 mph cross-shore wind in the afternoon making it a total write-off. Through to the weekend, it’s small and choppy with little to recommend.

Now, the first real standout. Thursday the 27th morning is where you want to be. A clean, 4ft swell from the SW, with a light cross-offshore wind from the W at 9 mph. The downside is the swell period is a very short 6 seconds, so the waves will lack real power. But the clean conditions make it the best of the first week. The energy reading is (346), so it’s workable. Bring a groveller.

After that, things go flat and messy for several days. We’re looking at a gap from Friday the 28th afternoon all the way through to the end of the month with poor conditions and tiny swell. It’s a real lull.

The second standout comes on Monday the 31st morning. This is a sneaky one. The swell is only 2ft from the E, with a 12-second period, but here’s the kicker: the wind is glassy. Absolutely dead from the SW at 3 mph. If you’ve got a longboard, this is your session. The energy is low (183), but clean, glassy waves will make it a fun, easy paddle. The crowds will be there though, so get out early.

The first week of September is a mixed bag. There’s a small uptick on Wednesday the 2nd with a 3ft SSW swell and a long 14-second period, but the wind is messy. The real potential is on the morning of Friday the 4th, but no, it’s cross-shore wind again. Look, the best call in the second week might be Saturday the 5th morning, with a 6ft E swell. It’s not huge, but the period is only 10 seconds. The wind is a gentle cross-shore at 9 mph. The energy is (638), so there’s enough there to get a few waves, but it’s not a standout. It’s a marginal call. You’d be chasing it.

Past that, the swell tries to build again into the second week of September, with a 7ft E swell on Tuesday the 8th afternoon, but it comes with a 19 mph cross-shore wind. That’s kite-surfing territory, not paddle surfing. That setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

So in summary, your two best windows are:
- Thursday 27th morning: clean, light offshore, 4ft SW swell. The most reliable of the lot.
- Monday 31st morning: tiny but glassy. Bring the log.

The rest is a lot of waiting. Be patient.

Rusty.

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