Burleigh Heads Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, it’s been a bit of a slow start down the Gold Coast, but there’s a window of quality coming if you’re patient. The first few days are a write-off, with messy, cross-onshore winds and poor surf conditions keeping the scores real low. From the 7th of September afternoon through to the 8th, it’s all choppy, weak, and not worth the paddle. Then we get a little gap before things start to look up.

The real standout, and the only one worth marking on the calendar, is Wednesday morning, 9th of September at Burleigh Heads. The water temp is sitting at 70°, which is bang on average for this time of year – nothing unusual there. The wind is glassy, light from the east at just 3 mph, and that’s a massive positive. You’re looking at chest-high sets around 5 ft, pushing in from the SSE, with a solid 9-second period. The combined energy is moderate at 295, and honestly, the conditions are set to be clean and smooth. That’s the morning to be out there. It’s not a big swell, but the quality will be there for a fun, lined-up point break session. Crowds are often around here, so expect company.

Later that Wednesday afternoon, the wind swings onshore and the quality drops. Thursday the 10th through to Friday the 11th sees a big pulse of swell – up to 12 ft from the SSE, with combined energy peaking at 2078 and 1650, which is strong. But the wind is blowing a solid 22 to 22 mph, cross-off sure, but it’s strong enough to make it bumpy and challenging. This is expert-only territory, and even then, it’s marginal. The 10 ft sets on Friday morning with 19 mph winds are raw and powerful. For most surfers, it’s a look-and-think situation.

After that, the swell drops off fast. From Saturday the 12th onward, it’s small, weak, and inconsistent. The 3 ft to 5 ft range with cross-shore winds and short periods just doesn’t offer much. The combined energy drops to 123 and below by the 14th, with some readings as low as 69. That’s weak energy, barely worth a paddle.

Then, out of the blue, there’s a real wildcard on Friday morning, 18th of September. The swell jumps back to 10 ft from the SSE, with a massive combined energy of 2704 – that’s very strong. The period is 10 seconds, and the wind is cross-off from the south at 16 mph. It’s clean, but it’s big. This is only for experienced surfers, and the setup at Burleigh (a point break) will handle that long-period groundswell well. The afternoon sees a 6 ft set with a 15-second period – very long period – and that will make for some long, drawn-out lines, but again, only for the crew who know what they’re doing. This is a promising call, but it’s over a week away, so keep an eye on it.

The following days through to the 22nd of September are small again, with onshore winds and poor conditions. The 5 ft on Monday afternoon the 21st is from the north with a 6-second period, which is just windswell and messy.

So, bottom line: the best bet is Wednesday morning, 9th of September, for clean, glassy, chest-high waves. The 18th of September morning is a big-swell option for experts only. The rest of the forecast is mostly quiet or blown out.

Rusty.

Read more