Bunkers Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, I'm Rusty. Let's have a look at what's on the cards for Bunkers over the next couple of weeks.

Right off the bat, the water temp is sitting at 55°, which is a bit colder than normal for this time of year – so a good 4/3 wetsuit is the go.

Honestly, the outlook is a bit of a slow burn. There's a bit of swell around in the first few days, but it's not really coming together. On Tuesday the 11th, we've got a 8ft to 8ft NNW swell rolling in, but the period is short at 8 seconds, and the wind is light all day. The morning is an onshore breeze, and the afternoon is a light cross-onshore. It's a messy setup, and the wave energy is moderate (905 dropping to 1040), but it's just not clean. The surf quality is marginal at best. Wednesday the 12th and Thursday the 13th are similar – a 7ft to 8ft NW swell, with short periods and cross-onshore or onshore winds. The energy is still moderate (722 to 860), but the conditions are poor to marginal. This is not the time to get excited.

The real drama is that from the 11th all the way through to the 21st of August, there's a massive gap. The surf is either poor or marginal, with no real standout sessions. We get a few days of small SSW swell with a very long period of 16 to 18 seconds around the 15th and 16th, but the swell height is only 2ft to 3ft and the wind is cross-onshore. The energy is moderate (523 to 626), but the combination of small size and messy wind means it's not worth paddling out. The long period is a tease for a point break, but Bunkers is a beach, so that long period will just make it close out.

Then, on Wednesday the 19th of August, there's a flicker of hope. The afternoon session shows a 3ft SSW swell with a 15-second period, and the wind goes glassy. The wave energy is moderate (546), and the forecast says "expect very good surf conditions." This is the only real standout in the entire outlook. The swell is small, but glassy conditions at Bunkers are a rare treat. The combined energy is moderate (546), so it's not a powerhouse, but it'll be clean. Keep an eye on it, but remember, this is a long-range call, so it's promising but not locked in.

After that, the 20th and 21st see a return to poor and marginal conditions with short-period NNW swells, and the wind stays onshore or cross-onshore. The 22nd to the 25th are all sub-par, with NNW swell up to 6ft but short period (7 seconds) and cross-onshore winds. The energy is moderate (358 to 582), but it's choppy and messy. For the last few days, the 26th, the swell drops to 2ft with a very long 19-second period, but the wind is poor and the energy is still moderate (324 to 542). It's not a goer.

So, the summary is: this is a long stretch of average to poor surf. The one true standout is the glassy session on the afternoon of Wednesday the 19th of August. If you can get out then, do it. Otherwise, it's a waiting game. The consistency is fairly consistent at Bunkers, so it tends not to stay poor for long, but this run looks like a bit of a blank spell. For the rest of the time, the setup looks like it might be more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, given the strong wind and poor surf quality.

Rusty.

Read more