Big Rock Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here.

Let’s be straight with you. The next couple of days are a bit of a write-off. We’ve got swell, but the wind is mostly cross-off and bumpy, and the tide’s making things messy. Thursday arvo has 12ft of SW swell with a 14-second period, but that 30 km/h SSE wind is going to chop it all up. It’s not worth paddling out for a fight.

Friday’s not much better. Swell drops to 8ft in the morning but the wind is still up, and the tide’s questionable. You’re better off waiting.

Now, Saturday is where it starts to get interesting. That’s the 29th. Morning brings 7ft of SW groundswell with a 16-second period and a decent offshore ESE breeze. It’s clean, it’s got push, and for an intermediate, that’s a solid window. But the real standout is Saturday afternoon. The swell bumps up to 10ft, the period stretches to 17 seconds, and you’ve got a clean offshore E wind. It’s a powerful, lined-up swell for the reefs. The energy is strong – we’re looking at a combined energy of 4536. This is the pick of the first week. It’s not for the faint of heart at that size, but for the experienced crew, it’s gonna be firing.

Sunday the 30th still has good size, 10ft from the WSW, but the wind swings around. Morning looks glassy with a gentle NE breeze, and the energy is even bigger at 6043. That’s your other top window. But the afternoon gets a cross-on and gets a bit messy, so get your waves in early.

Then it all goes pear-shaped for a stretch. From Monday the 31st through to Wednesday the 2nd, we’ve got onshore winds – WSW and W – blowing 20 to 30 km/h. The surf is still there, 8ft to 10ft, but it’s going to be ugly and lumpy. Not worth a look. This is a gap of about three days where you’re better off doing something else. The water temp at the start of this run is 65°F, which is a touch warmer than usual for this time of year, so at least it’s not cold while you’re watching it blow out.

Things get interesting again on Thursday the 3rd of September. The wind drops right out, and we get a 13ft SW swell with a 14-second period. The morning is clean, and the energy is cranked – 5705. That’s a big, powerful day, only for experts though. It’s over 8ft, so the lineup is for the hardcore only. The afternoon goes cross-on with a light breeze, so it’ll get a little texture on it, but the morning session is the one.

Friday the 4th has size but the wind is back up and it’s lumpy. Saturday the 5th is a total blowout. We’re talking gale-force WSW winds at 65 km/h. The surf is 10-13ft and completely destroyed. That’s a kite day, not a surf day.

The following week, from the 6th, the energy drops off. Sunday has 7ft from the SW but it’s cross-on and choppy. Monday through Wednesday, the swell backs right down to 5ft – 6ft. It’s small and a bit all over the place. Not inspiring.

But hold on, because Thursday the 11th of September looks promising. It’s far out, so take it with a grain of salt, but we’re looking at an 12ft WSW groundswell with a 16-second period, and the wind is almost nothing – 5 km/h. The combined energy is massive at 7471 for the morning. If that holds, it’s another serious day on the reefs at Big Rock. Very long-period swell can break a bit straight at beach breaks, but on a reef like this, it’s gonna be beautiful, clean, and powerful. That’s the one to keep an eye on, but it’s a long-range call.

So, overall: Saturday the 29th afternoon is your best bet for a proper session, with Sunday the 30th morning a close second. Then, that Thursday the 11th is the dark horse, but we'll see how it shapes up. There’s a few days of nothing in between, so pick your moments.

Big Rock is pretty consistent when it’s on, and it’s exposed to the SW, which is exactly what we’re getting. It can get crowded sometimes, so get out there early.

Rusty.

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