Bonza Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you – this 16-day window for Bonza Bay is a tough one for us paddle surfers. The overall story is a whole lot of messy, onshore or cross-shore wind, and not much in the way of a quality wave. We’re looking at a long stretch of below-par conditions, so don’t get your hopes up for any epic sessions.

The first real chance to even think about a wave comes this week, but it’s not pretty. Thursday the 13th and Friday the 14th have some solid long-period groundswell arriving, with that combined energy sitting at 804 on Thursday morning and 825 in the afternoon – that’s a lot of power. But the wind is a fresh cross-shore, gusting up to 19 mph, and the reports are calling it “poor surf conditions” and “lumpy cross-chop.” That’s just not ridable with any sort of pleasure. The swell is a tiny 2 ft to 3 ft, but that energy is there, wasted.

We get a bit of a break around Saturday the 16th and Sunday the 17th, but it’s still marginal. On Saturday morning, we’ve got a 4 ft easterly swell with a light cross-shore breeze, but the period drops to 8 seconds, which is short and weak. The combined energy is only 220. It’s still a “marginal” call. Sunday morning is a bit cleaner with a light cross-offshore wind from the SW on the 19th, but again, the swell is small at 5 ft and the period is 10 seconds. The energy is moderate at 456, but it’s still a marginal forecast.

The real issue is that from the 13th right through to the 22nd, there’s not a single day where the wind and swell line up properly. We’ve got a run of “poor” or “marginal” ratings. The wind is almost always a cross-shore or cross-onshore, and often fresh or strong. The water temp is about average for the time of year, nothing wild there.

The only standout, if you can call it one, is Saturday morning, 22 August. We’ve got a 5 ft easterly swell with a light cross-onshore wind from the south. The combined energy is strong at 706. That’s a lot of water moving. But the wind is still onshore, so it’s not going to be clean. It’s a “marginal” forecast. For a river break like Bonza Bay, this much swell with a cross-onshore wind is going to be a bumpy, choppy mess. Honestly, with that much swell and the wind setup, this spot looks more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer.

After that, we see a bit of a swell pulse on the 26th, but it’s accompanied by a fresh cross-shore wind from the NE at 19-22 mph and a combined energy of 786. That’s a lot of power, but the wind will ruin it. The period is 10 seconds, which is okay, but the wind is just too strong.

So, the bottom line: there’s no day in this 16-day window that offers a proper, clean, quality surf session at Bonza Bay. The best you can hope for is a marginal, choppy wave on a day like the 22nd. The blank run is pretty much the whole period. Forecasts can change, but right now, it’s a waiting game. Hang tight.

Rusty.

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