Bonza Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty. Let’s talk about what’s coming up at Bonza Bay.

Right off the bat, we’ve got a bit of a flat start. The first real chance to get wet won’t be until Saturday afternoon, the 5th of September. The swell is a modest 4ft from the south, with a period of 11 seconds – that’s a proper groundswell, so it’ll have some shape and energy. The combined wave energy is 560 (moderate), but the wind is cross-shore from the east-northeast at 12 mph, so it’s not going to be glassy. It’s a marginal call, honestly. The water temp is sitting at 67°, which is about average for this time of year.

Sunday the 6th sees a drop in size to 3ft on the morning, but the wind turns cross-onshore and choppy – not great. The afternoon pumps up to 5ft, but again, the wind is messy. The combined energy jumps to 1005 (strong) that afternoon, but the conditions are poor.

Monday the 7th brings a 7ft south swell with a very long period of 15 seconds, hitting 2276 (very strong) combined energy. But the wind is a fresh breeze from the northeast at 22 mph, making it lumpy and cross-shore. This is getting too big for beginners, and the wind is wrecking the quality. The period is so long it’s going to break pretty straight across the beach, so it’s not ideal for a beach break like this.

Things settle down a bit on Tuesday the 8th with 5ft from the east, but the period is short at 8 seconds, and the cross-onshore wind keeps it choppy. The energy is 632 (moderate). Wednesday the 9th drops to 5ft in the morning, still cross-onshore, and by the afternoon it’s tiny at 1ft with only 42 (weak) energy. Not worth paddling out.

From Thursday the 10th through to Friday the 11th, the swell hangs around 4ft to 3ft, but the wind is onshore or cross-onshore, with poor comments across the board. The water temp anomaly is missing, so we can’t say much about that.

Now, here’s a standout: Monday the 14th of September. We’ve got a 6ft swell from the south-southwest with a 12-second period, and the combined energy is 1195 (strong). The wind is a fresh breeze from the west-southwest at 22 mph, but it’s cross-offshore and the report says “clean.” That’s the key – clean conditions. The swell is solid, the period is long enough for good shape, and the wind is working with the break. This is the best on offer in the whole window. It’s a little big for beginners, but for intermediates and above, it’s a goer. The crowd factor is “sometimes,” so you might have a few others out, but it’s not going to be packed.

The rest of the second week is a bit of a mixed bag. Saturday the 12th has 7ft in the morning but cross-onshore and choppy. Sunday the 13th sees 10ft from the east with 19 mph winds – way too big, and the energy is 2982 (very strong). That’s only for experts, and even then, the wind is messy. Monday the 14th afternoon is the last good call at 5ft, but the wind turns cross-shore.

Later in the week, Wednesday the 16th afternoon has a 7ft swell with a short 7-second period and cross-offshore wind, giving 1097 (strong) energy. It’s clean, but the short period means the waves will be weaker and less organised. The 19th of September has a 10ft swell predicted, but it’s flagged as too big for this break, so we’ll skip that.

Look, overall, the pick of the entire 16 days is Monday the 14th at Bonza Bay. Get on it if you can. The rest of the run is choppy, messy, or just too big. Keep an eye on the forecasts, but for now, that’s your window.

Rusty.

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