Chapadmalal Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ll be straight with you – the next couple of weeks at Chapadmalal are a mixed bag, but there’s a couple of absolute rippers hidden in there if you’re patient. We’ve got a bit of a wait for the real quality, with a few days of messy onshores and junk surf to sit through first. But for the week ahead, there’s a standout morning that’s going to deliver the goods.

For a beginner-friendly point break, this spot is pretty consistent, but the early part of the week is a write-off. Wednesday afternoon (5th) is small, weak and cross, with a combined swell energy of just 72 – not worth paddling for. Thursday and Friday are blown-out by strong winds, with only a brief glance of clean conditions on Friday morning, but it’s still marginal and the swell’s short-period and weak. Saturday (8th) stays clean but the wind’s howling and the surf’s still poor. Then things get serious.

Sunday morning (9th) is a big one. We’ve got a solid 10ft groundswell from the SSW, with a combined energy roaring to 2520 – that’s strong. The wind is a clean cross-offshore breeze, making for clean faces. But you need to know your limits – this is expert territory only. That’s way too big for beginners or even most intermediates. The water temperature is sitting at 51°F, which is about 4°F warmer than usual for this time of year, so that’s a bit of a bonus – a notably warmer than normal winter dip.

Monday (10th) and Tuesday (11th) stay big with solid swell energy – over 1200 and 1300 – but the wind is cross or cross-on, making for lumpy, messy conditions. Tuesday morning actually has light winds and the swell’s 7ft from the SSE with a long 12-second period, but the wind is cross so it’s not as clean as you’d hope.

Now here’s the standout: Wednesday morning (12th) . That’s the one to circle. Offshore wind – a clean NW breeze – with a solid 5ft swell from the SSE at 10 seconds. The combined energy is a moderate 522, and the report says “expect very good surf conditions”. For a beginner-friendly point, this is the pick of the week. The afternoon goes glassy with light SW winds, keeping it clean and fun. That’s your session.

Thursday (13th) still has clean 4ft surf in the morning but it’s a bit smaller. Things trail off from Friday (14th) through the weekend with onshore winds and messy cross-chop. A gap of a few quiet days follows, with weak, small surf and poor conditions. Sunday afternoon (16th) has a little clean 4ft ENE swell with light offshore winds, but nothing to get excited over.

Looking into the second week, there’s a hint of something bigger. Tuesday morning (18th) shows 7ft from the ESE with a 10-second period and clean offshore NW wind – 1090 combined energy says it’s good and strong, but it’s also noted as “too big for this break”. That’s expert territory again at over 8ft. Wednesday (19th) is marginal with big chunky swell. After that, the wind swings back onshore and we’re back to lumpy junk.

So, the standout is Wednesday morning the 12th: offshore wind, 5ft of clean SSE swell, perfect for the beginner-friendly lineup at Chapadmalal. The Sunday (9th) and Tuesday (18th) mornings are for the big-wave chargers only. Keep an eye on the forecast, because when it’s good here, it’s worth the wait.

Rusty.

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