Broken Head Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at the surf ahead for Broken Head.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you: the next week or so is looking pretty grim. We’ve got a long stretch of tiny, weak swell and onshore winds that just won’t quit. From Tuesday the 18th all the way through to Saturday the 29th of August, it’s a real struggle. Most days the waves are under 3ft, the period is short, and the wind is either cross or onshore, making for chop and poor conditions. There’s a couple of brief moments – like Thursday morning the 20th and Sunday morning the 23rd – where the wind goes offshore or glassy, but the swell is just too small to get excited about, with combined energy barely cracking 100. It’s not a total loss, but you’d be paddling for ankle-biters.

Now, the real story is what’s brewing out there for the very end of the month and into early September. This is the promising part, but it’s a long-range call, so keep that in mind.

The first real standout is looking like Sunday the 30th of August. The morning shows a 5ft SSE swell with a period of 14 seconds, pushing strong energy (963). The wind is a clean cross-offshore from the S at 15 km/h. That’s a solid, clean groundswell for Broken Head. The afternoon gets even bigger, with a 7ft SSE swell and a very long period of 18 seconds, pumping out massive energy (3340). That’s a serious groundswell, and for a point break like this, it’s going to draw in nicely. The wind stays cross-off, so the face should be clean. For experienced surfers, the afternoon is the pick of the entire forecast, but that 7ft is getting into expert territory. The water temp is about 68°, which is pretty average for this time of year, nothing unusual.

The run continues into Monday the 31st with a 7ft SSE swell (13 sec, 1444 energy) and clean cross-off winds, offering another quality day. Then Tuesday the 1st of September still has a respectable 5ft SSE swell (12 sec, 591 energy) with clean conditions in the morning. That’s a great, solid option for the start of spring.

So, to sum it up: the first week and a half is a write-off, with a whole lot of flat, windy days. The best surf on offer is undoubtedly the late-season groundswell hitting on Sunday the 30th and Monday the 31st of August. The Sunday afternoon session is the biggest and most powerful, but know your limits. The Tuesday morning on the 1st of September is a solid, more manageable option. Don’t bother paddling out before the 30th unless you’re desperate for a splash.

Rusty.

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