Bud Bud Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. I’ve had a good look at what’s on the table for the next 16 days and, well, I’ll be straight with you – it’s a bit of a lean patch. We’ve got a long stretch with very little to get excited about, but there are a couple of moments where it might just come together.

Right off the bat, we’re looking at a lot of poor conditions. Most of the first week is filled with choppy, onshore wind slop, and wave heights barely scraping 2 ft to 2 ft. For the first few days, you’re looking at a lot of wind-affected dribble with combined swell energy sitting weak, under 100 – like 33, 30, 28 – nothing that’s going to make you paddle out. The water temperature is 70°, which is about average for this time of year, so no wetsuit worries there.

Now, there’s one brief window that stands out. Bud Bud on the morning of Saturday the 5th of September. For a few hours, we get a clean, gentle offshore breeze from the NE at 9 mph. The swell is coming from the W at barely 2 ft, but here’s the kicker: the period jumps to 14 seconds – that’s a proper long-period groundswell. The combined energy bumps up to a moderate 152. It’s not big, but it’ll have some shape and better energy than the week’s trash. This is a beginner-friendly break anyway, so those tiny, clean waves will be fun for the learners. Just know crowds are possible there.

The rest of the first week and into the second is pretty much a write-off. We get a spike on the afternoon of Tuesday the 8th with swell hitting 4 ft and a strong 404 energy reading, but the W winds are cross-onshore and it’s messy. Then on Thursday the 10th, we see 5 ft and 247 energy, but it’s a short-period 7 seconds with a 25 mph onshore gale – that’s blown-out chaos, more suited to kite surfing than a paddle. Don’t bother.

After that, there’s a long gap. From the 11th right through to the 16th, it’s back to tiny, weak pulses mostly under 2 ft with poor winds or cross-onshore chop. There are a couple of mornings with glassy or offshore conditions – like the morning of Sunday the 13th (glass, 1 ft) and Monday the 14th (light offshore, 1.0 ft) – but the swell is just too small and weak to call it a session. You’d be chasing ripples.

The only other faint glimmer is the morning of Thursday the 17th of September. We get a clean, gentle offshore from the ENE at 9 mph. The swell is small at 1 ft from the W with a 10-second period. The energy is weak at 42. It’s surfable if you’re desperate for a little cruise on a longboard, but it’s nothing special. That’s over two weeks away, so keep an eye on it but don’t hold your breath.

So, to sum it up: one standout morning on September 5 for a clean, tiny, long-period wave at Bud Bud. The rest is a long, frustrating gap of small, onshore junk. It’ll turn around eventually – it always does.

Rusty.

Read more