Bribie Island Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, grab a coffee—or a beer—and let’s have a yarn about what’s coming up. I’ll be straight with you: this is a lean stretch. The first real surf worth paddling out for doesn’t show until Wednesday afternoon, August 19th, and even then it’s a modest start. After that, we’ve got a solid run of small, clean conditions through to Monday, August 25th, then a gap of a few days where things get real small and sloppy. There’s a glimmer toward the very end—September 3rd—but it’s a long way off and uncertain.

Alright, let’s get into it. The spot on the radar is Bribie Island. The water’s sitting a bit colder than normal for this time of year—about 67°F, which is 3°F cooler than the long-term average. That’s notable, so you might want a spring suit.

Wednesday afternoon, August 19th, the surf is poor—cross-shore wind from the SE at 16 mph, messy. Not worth your time. Thursday morning, August 20th, it improves a touch: waves around 4ft to 5ft from the east, period short at 7 to 8 seconds. The wind swings ESE at 9 to 12 mph, cross-off, so it’s clean. The energy is moderate (214–264). Still, it’s very ordinary. Friday, August 21st, is the best of the early run: morning has clean 4ft east swell, light ESE wind at 3 mph, cross-off, glassy. Afternoon goes offshore from ENE at 6 mph, 3ft, clean. The combined energy drops to around 127–134, so it’s weak, but for a small wave board, it’ll be fun. Saturday morning, August 22nd, is glassy—SW wind at 3 mph, 3ft from ENE, weak energy (100). That’s about as clean as it gets, but small. Crowds are *sometimes* an issue at Bribie, so on a glassy morning, expect a few locals out.

Sunday, August 23rd, and Monday, August 24th, keep the pattern: clean, glassy mornings, tiny 3ft to 3ft east-northeast swell, periods around 8 seconds. Energy is weak (91–128). The best of the bunch is probably Saturday afternoon, August 22nd, with offshore ENE wind at 9 mph, 3ft, clean and lined up. That’s the standout in the first week—small but clean.

Tuesday, August 25th, the morning is still clean, 3ft, but the afternoon turns poor—fresh offshore NNE wind at 19 mph, only 3ft, messy. From Wednesday, August 26th, through to Sunday, August 30th, the surf drops to 2ft to 2ft, mostly cross-shore or onshore winds, choppy. A few clean moments on the 27th and 28th afternoons, but it’s tiny. This is a real slow patch.

Now, looking ahead to the second week: the long-range charts show a bit of life. On Thursday, September 3rd, there’s a pulse of swell expected—4ft to 6ft from the SSE and SE, but period is short at 6 seconds. That’s windswell, not groundswell, so it’ll be lumpy. The energy jumps to moderate (247–354). Wind is light from the east and east-northeast, cross-off, so conditions could be clean. But this is a week and a half away, so treat it as promising but not locked in. The short period means it’ll be weak for the size, and the swell direction (SSE/SE) is not ideal for Bribie’s optimum ENE. So don’t get too excited.

All in all, nothing dramatic here. If you’re itching for a paddle, the cleanest windows are Friday, August 21st, and Saturday, August 22nd, with small but glassy surf. The rest is mostly flat or poor. Stay patient.

Rusty.

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