Burleigh Heads Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Righto, let’s have a look at what’s coming. First off, I’m not gonna lie to you—this stretch is a bit of a mixed bag. The first week is a write-off for decent waves, but there’s some promise further out if you’re patient and don’t mind it being a bit heavy.

We’re looking at Burleigh Heads, and it’s a classic point break that wants a clean SSE swell. Water temp’s sitting at 70°, which is about average for this time of year, so nothing to write home about there.

Alright, here’s how it shakes down:

The start is flat and poor. Monday the 14th has tiny 3 ft SSE stuff with a light cross breeze making it messy, and a combined swell energy of just 121—weak. Barely a ripple. That carries on through Tuesday and into Wednesday morning with nothing worth getting wet for. Wednesday morning the 16th sees a jump to 7 ft S swell at 6 seconds, but it’s blowing 30 km/h from the south, and that’s more of a windswell. Still, it’s clean, and the energy bumps to 333 (moderate). But the quality is poor for surfing.

Now, things get interesting from Wednesday afternoon through to Thursday. On Wednesday afternoon, we get a 10 ft SSE swell with an 8-second period, and combined energy rockets up to 1262—that’s strong. But it’s blowing 35 km/h from the SSE, so it’ll be heavy and a bit unruly. That’s only for experienced surfers, this is expert-only territory with the size over 8 ft. Thursday the 17th is the standout. Morning and afternoon both hold 10 ft and 8 ft respectively, SSE swell at 9 seconds, with clean conditions under a cross-offshore south wind (25 km/h). Combined energy spikes to 1436 and 1188. This is proper groundswell energy, long-period enough to shape up nicely on the point. The wind is clean and the break is fairly exposed, so it’ll be on. But be aware—crowds are often here, so get in early. That Thursday morning slot is the best on offer across the whole 16 days.

After that, it drops back. Friday the 18th has 6 ft SSE swell but cross-onshore wind chops it up. By the weekend, we’re back to dribbly small stuff—Saturday has 4 ft, Sunday only 2 ft, and it’s all cross-onshore. There’s a bit of a gap from Sunday the 21st until Wednesday the 23rd, with tiny waves and onshore junk. On Monday the 21st, there’s a weird 20-second period swell from the SSE at 0.7 ft—long period but no size, and combined energy is only 85. Worthless.

From Wednesday the 23rd, we see a new pulse coming in from the east and east-southeast. Swell heights climb back to 7 ft to 7 ft through Wednesday and Thursday, but the wind turns onshore and cross-onshore. The energy is moderate to strong (649 to 863 combined), but the quality is marginal at best. It’s not clean. That continues right through to the end of the month. Friday the 25th morning has 7 ft from the east at 8 seconds with light cross-onshore wind—marginal but maybe a sneaky one if the tide works. By the 28th and 29th, the wind swings cross-off from the south, but the swell drops to 4 ft and the energy is weak (under 300). It’s clean but small.

So overall, the one true standout is Thursday the 17th at Burleigh Heads—big SSE groundswell, clean under a cross-off, and proper point-break energy. If you’re keen on a paddle, that’s the day. Everything else is either too small, too windy, or too onshore to get excited about.

Rusty.

Read more