Church Cove Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get stuck into the outlook for Church Cove.

Church Cove is a fairly exposed spot, needing a decent swell from the southwest to really fire. The water temp is about average for the time of year, nothing too unusual there. The thing is, for the first week and a half, it’s pretty grim. We’ve got a solid run of poor surf conditions from Tuesday the 1st right through to Wednesday the 10th of September. Wind is mostly onshore or cross-onshore, and the swell is either short-period junk or just too messy. The combined energy of the swells is weak to moderate, reaching up to 459 (moderate) on the Friday the 4th, but the wind is all wrong, so it’s not worth paddling out. There’s a bit of a tease on the 1st and 2nd, with 3ft to 4ft swell, but the onshore wind just kills it. On the 8th, the swell jumps to 8ft, but the combined energy hits 1021 (strong), and it’s onshore again – that’s a mess for paddle surfing, might be more interesting for kite surfing.

Now, the first real standout is Friday the 11th of September. Get excited. Morning brings a clean 7ft west swell with glassy conditions. The wind is dead calm, light air from the north, and the combined energy is a solid 773 (strong). That’s going to be clean, powerful, and well-shaped. The period is 9 seconds, so it’s a decent swell, but not overly long. This is not for beginners, though – 7ft is solid, and it’s likely to be a bit much for the inexperienced. The crowd factor is listed as “sometimes,” so you might have a few mates out, but it’s not a zoo. This is the best on offer in the whole window.

Moving to the second week, there’s a gap of a few days with weaker, smaller surf. Then, on Monday the 14th, we get a 4ft west swell with a very long period of 12 seconds, coming with clean, cross-off wind. The combined energy is 431 (moderate). That’s a long-period groundswell, which will wrap nicely into the cove and give some nice, slow, powerful lines. It’s a small wave, but with that period, it’ll have some push.

The final highlight is Tuesday the 15th. A 4ft west-southwest swell with a 12-second period, and the wind is gentle offshore from the east-northeast in the morning. The combined energy is 382 (moderate). The morning will be clean, gentle offshore, and the wave will be punchy for its size. The afternoon goes glassy, with a 3ft swell, but the energy drops to 254. It’s a nice, small, clean day for the longboard.

So, the standout is hands-down Friday the 11th of September. Saturday the 12th and Tuesday the 15th are solid, smaller options for the longboard crew. The rest of the fortnight is a write-off, with a lot of onshore wind and poor conditions. Don’t hold your breath for the first week.

Rusty.

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