Bruces Beauties Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ve been staring at the charts for Bruces Beauties and, truth be told, we’ve got a bit of a slow patch to start before Mother Nature throws her weight around. For the next week, it’s mostly small and uninspiring, but don’t walk away yet – there’s a monster brewing for the end of the month that’ll have the heart pumping.

Right now, through the middle of August, we’re in a flat spell. The swell is small and weak, with combined energy hovering in the weak range (145), and the water is a brutal 56° – that’s a whopping 10° colder than usual, which is absolutely freezing for this time of year. Sunday the 16th has a little 3ft easterly swell but it's only 8 seconds of period, so it’s weak and disorganised. Not worth paddling out for.

Things don’t get much better through the week. Monday the 17th morning actually looks the pick of this quiet period – there’s a 3ft east swell (11 seconds) with clean conditions and a light breeze, combined energy at a moderate 229. It’s surfable, but nothing flash. After that, we sink into days of tiny, weak waves – 2ft, 2ft, 2ft – all with low energy and mostly clean winds, just not enough push. Wednesday the 19th sees a gusty 35 km/h offshore wind, but the swell is still pathetic. Honestly, it’s a kite surfer’s dream with the strong breezes and small waves, but not for a paddle surfer.

Now, hold onto your board. There’s a massive gap of small, poor conditions until the big swell arrives. Sunday the 23rd of August afternoon is when things get wild. We’ve got a predicted 20ft groundswell from the SSW with a very long 15-second period – that’s serious, serious energy at 16070. But here’s the catch: it’s too big. That’s expert-only territory, and even then, it might be almost too much for the reef here. The wind is strong offshore, so it’ll be textured but huge.

However, the true standout is Monday the 24th of August. That morning is the one to circle on the calendar. A 16ft SSW swell, still with a very long 14-second period, combined energy at 9210 – that’s powerful, clean, and the wind is light cross-offshore. This is exceptional for expert surfers who know this reef. The swell direction (SSW) lines up close to the optimum (ESE), which means it should wrap in nicely. Just be aware that with that kind of period, the sets will be thick and straight on a beach break, but on this reef it’ll be a thing of beauty. It’s a quiet spot (crowds sometimes), so you might have it to yourselves, but get there early.

After that, the window closes fast. Tuesday the 25th is already blown out by strong onshore wind from the ENE, ruining the leftover but still big 6ft swell. The rest of the week backtracks into small, poor conditions. So, in short: endure the flat first week, then get ready for a massive, expert-only Monday the 24th at Bruces Beauties. Don’t miss it.

Rusty.

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