Burleigh Heads Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here, and I’ve been looking over the charts for our stretch. The good news is there’s a bit of a pulse coming through later in the window, but we’ve got a long wait for anything that’ll get you truly frothing. The first week and a half is pretty gutless, with only a few very average sessions on offer. The real standout looks like it’ll be the morning of Wednesday the 19th, and then maybe the very end of the month for a bit more size.

The water temp is sitting at 68°, which is about 1° cooler than the long-term average for this time of year – so nothing too wild, just a touch on the cooler side of normal for Burleigh Heads.

We kick off with a bit of a tease on Tuesday the 18th afternoon. There’s a 7ft swell from the SE at 8 seconds, but it’s messy with a cross-shore wind and a cross-chop. The combined energy is moderate at 578, but the conditions are poor – not worth paddling out for.

The first real highlight is Wednesday the 19th morning. Burleigh Heads is looking clean with a 5ft swell from the SSE, an 11-second period, and a gentle cross-offshore breeze. The combined energy is a solid 735, and the wave comment says expect very good surf. This is likely the best of the early run – it should be lined up, with that longer period giving it some punch. It’s a spot that handles a SE swell well, and it’s actually coming from the optimum direction of SSE. Keep in mind, Burleigh can get crowded, and “often” is the word here, so you’ll have company. It’s a consistent point break, so you can bank on waves.

Thursday the 20th morning has a clean 5ft ESE swell at 8 seconds, with a light cross-offshore breeze. The energy is lower at 303, and while the comment says good surf, it’s a step down from the day before. The afternoon swings to a cross-shore with a slight chop, and the swell height is similar, but the quality dips.

From Friday the 21st morning through to the end of August, it’s pretty grim. We get a glassy morning on the 21st with a tiny 3ft ENE swell, but the period is a short 7 seconds, and the energy is weak at 147. The comment says “surfable but very ordinary”, and that’s being generous. The next week is filled with onshore winds, tiny swells, and poor conditions. There’s a glassy morning on the 26th, but again, only 3ft at 8 seconds – barely worth a splash.

The second week starts to look a bit more promising right at the tail end. On Sunday the 30th afternoon, we see a 2ft SSE swell with a very long 14-second period, and the combined energy is 587. The wind is a clean cross-offshore, but the wave comment calls it marginal. The long period at a point like Burleigh can be great, giving you those long, lined-up walls, but the size is small. The real kicker might be Monday the 31st morning: a 4ft SSE swell at 10 seconds, with a cross-offshore breeze and energy of 621. Still called marginal, but with a bit more size and decent period, it’s the best of the late run. After that, it drops off again into early September.

So, bottom line: if you’re keen, hit Wednesday the 19th morning for the best waves of the week. The Monday the 31st morning is a bit of a gamble but could be a sleeper if the wind plays ball. The rest of the stretch is a write-off.

Rusty.

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