Blacks Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Righto, let’s have a look at what’s cookin’ for Black Reef. We’ve got a bit of a slow burn start to this run, but there’s one window in there that’s got me pretty fired up. Most of the early week is looking pretty average, but keep your eyes peeled for Monday morning.

We kick things off on Thursday the 10th with a bit of a nothing burger. There’s a small 3ft southeast swell, but the energy is weak as, coming in at just 89, and the waves are poor. The afternoon cleans up a little with a glassy surface, but it’s still just “surfable” at best. You’re not missing anything.

Friday the 11th sees a jump in energy as a long-period south swell fills in, with the combined energy reading 437. The swell is small, around 2ft to 2ft, but that period is a lengthy 19 seconds, which is a proper groundswell. The morning is shot with rain and a cross-on wind, but by Friday afternoon, it turns glassy. The waves are still small, but that long-period energy from the south on the reef is worth a look if you’ve got a longboard and low expectations.

Saturday the 12th gets interesting, but messy. The morning is blown out with a moderate cross-onshore wind. The model is calling for a solid bump in size for the afternoon, with the swell jumping to 7ft, and the combined energy taking a massive leap to 2542. That’s a strong pulse of energy. But, the wind swings onshore and it’s going to be fairly chopped up. It could be powerful, but it's going to be a battle. Sunday the 13th holds similar size, 8ft in the morning, with that strong energy at 2452, but we’ve got more onshore wind and it looks like a messy, contestable kind of day. This is getting big and rough, not clean.

Right, now for the part we’ve all been waiting for. Things snap into focus on Monday the 14th. The wind swings around to a light northerly, giving us a clean cross-off breeze. The swell is still a solid 7ft, with a period of 12 seconds, and the combined energy is 1337. The report says "excellent surf conditions for experienced surfers," and I’m not gonna argue. This is the standout of the whole run. It’s a proper reef, it’s got size, it’s got energy, and it’s going to be clean. If you’ve got the skills, this is the session. The afternoon eases off a touch to 7ft, but the wind swings more cross-on.

After that peak, it settles down. Tuesday the 15th is smaller, around 4ft to 4ft, with the energy dropping back and one clean glassy window in the morning. Wednesday the 16th sees the swell fade back to under 3ft.

Now we have a proper gap in the action. From Wednesday afternoon through the weekend, it just goes flat and messy, with cross-shore winds and only tiny, weak waves. The 20th and 21st are particularly bleak, with a big jump in energy on the 21st but no clean wind at all.

The 23rd of September shows a few more of those long-period pulses on the charts, with energy around 350 and some clean conditions. The swell is small, less than 3ft, but the period is back up at 19 seconds on the Wednesday morning. It’s a tease, a sign of life, but not the main event.

So, there it is. A couple of average days, a couple of messy, powerful days, and one absolute gem on Monday the 14th. Don’t sleep on that one.

Rusty

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