Broadbeach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s take a hard look at what’s on offer for Broadbeach over the next 16 days. I’ll be straight with you – it’s a quiet stretch.

The pattern for the whole run is pretty grim. We’ve got a few small bumps of energy, but the wind is almost always a problem. The first real sniff of anything rideable doesn’t show up until Sunday the 6th of September, but even then, it’s only just barely surfable. The waves are small, the conditions are ordinary, and the good windows are few and far between.

For the first week, the only session that even gets a nod is Sunday afternoon, the 6th of September. The swell is a weak 1.3m from the North, with a short period of 6 seconds, and the combined wave energy is a paltry 171 (moderate). The wind is cross-off from the NNW at 10 km/h, which is better than most, but the quality is still “very ordinary”. It’s a beginner-friendly height, but don’t expect anything special.

After that, we hit a long dry spell. From Monday the 7th of September all the way through the following week, it’s a mess of onshore and cross-shore winds, with swell heights bouncing between 1 ft and 6 ft. The wind is almost always from the SE or SSE, blowing across or onto the beach, making it lumpy, choppy, and poor. The best of a bad lot might be Thursday the 10th of September afternoon, when the swell hits 6 ft from the SE with a period of 9 seconds and a combined energy of 518 (strong), but the wind is a fresh cross-shore 18 mph from the SSE, turning it into a lumpy, windy mess. That’s kite-surfing territory, not paddle surfing.

The only other glimmer of hope comes much later, on Sunday the 13th of September. The morning shows a 4 ft SSE swell with a period of 9 seconds and a combined energy of 282 (moderate), but the wind is light – almost calm – from the East at 3 mph. The report says “marginal surf forecast or questionable tide conditions”, so it’s a gamble. If the tide is right, you might get a clean little wave, but it’s a long shot. The water temperature is about average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

The second week is a total write-off. From Monday the 14th of September through to the end of the forecast on the 21st of September, the swell is tiny – mostly under 2 ft – and the wind is either cross-shore or onshore, often strong. The afternoons are particularly bad with fresh breezes making it choppy and lumpy. No standouts in that period at all.

For a true standout, I’m struggling. If I had to pick one, I’d say the Sunday 13th of September morning at Broadbeach is the best on offer. The swell is 4 ft from the SSE, period 9 seconds, and the wind is a glassy 3 mph from the East. That’s the only time the wind is light enough to produce clean conditions. But it’s only a marginal call, and the tide could mess it up. It’s not a day to book a trip, but if you’re local and desperate, it’s your best shot.

Bottom line: this is a lean, mean stretch with very little to get excited about. The surf is poor, the wind is wrong, and the energy is weak. It’s not unusual for this area to have a blank run like this, so don’t lose hope – forecasts can change.

Rusty.

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