Bribie Island Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’m not gonna sugarcoat it – for the main stretch of this outlook, we’re in for a pretty flat and frustrating run. There’s a solid block of days where you’ll be better off sorting your gear or having a cold one than paddling out. The first real window worth getting keen on doesn’t show up until late in the period.

Let’s start with Bribie Island. The water temp is sitting at 70°F, which is pretty much normal for this time of year, nothing unusual there.

Right out of the gate, Thursday 10 September through to the middle of the following week is almost a write-off. From Thursday morning all the way to Wednesday 16 September, we’ve got nothing but poor surf conditions. The combined wave energy stays in the weak to moderate range, between around 31 and 578 (weak to moderate), but the wind is all wrong – mostly strong to moderate cross-shore breezes, with a bit of cross-chop, and the swell is short-period, messy stuff around 4 ft to 8 ft. It’s all too lumpy and junky to bother with.

There is a brief flicker of hope on Saturday 12 September afternoon – the wind turns cross-offshore with a clean surface, but the swell is only 4 ft from the east at a short 6 seconds and energy is low at 107 (weak). It’s not worth a trip for that. The same goes for a few clean, glassy mornings and afternoons (like Tuesday 15 September), but the swell is tiny – 2 ft – and weak.

Then things get worse. From around Wednesday 16 September through to Monday 21 September, the swell stays small and weak, with combined energy mostly below 100. The wind cleans up at times, but there’s simply no size or push. There’s a bit of a bump on Thursday 17 September afternoon with 3 ft swell from the east and clean conditions, but the energy is still only 153 (weak), and it’s rated as very ordinary.

Now, the standout – the one you’ve been waiting for. It’s not until Saturday 19 September afternoon that things get interesting. We’ve got a 7 ft swell from the southeast, moderate offshore wind from the NNE, and combined energy of 305 (moderate). That’s the biggest, cleanest swell of the entire forecast. The wind is offshore and clean, which is a major positive. It’s a solid pulse of groundswell, with a period of just 6 seconds – so it’s short-period and a bit dumpy, but with 7 ft of SE swell and offshore wind, Bribie will have some punchy, clean waves. This is the pick of the bunch. That Saturday afternoon is the window.

After that, Sunday 20 September has a 5 ft swell from the ESE in the morning with clean cross-off wind and energy of 242 (moderate), which is rideable but not as good as Saturday. The rest of the period into the final week is back to small, weak, and ordinary.

Honestly, the first 9 days are a bust. If you can wait, that Saturday 19 September afternoon is your only real shot at something decent. Keep an eye on the forecasts, though – this stretch might not stay so quiet.

Rusty.

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