Clovelly Bombie Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let's get into it.

The start of this outlook is pretty bleak. You’ll see a long stretch with very little to get excited about. It's not until we hit Monday, September 14th, that things turn around, so we’ve got a real quiet run nearly two weeks long before things fire up.

Monday morning, August 31st, you could technically paddle out at Clovelly Bombie. There's a little 1.3ft swell coming from the SSE, but here's the rub: it has a period of 15 seconds. That’s a long period groundswell, which on a reef setup like this can offer some nice shape but also long lulls between sets. The wind is light and cross-offshore, so it’ll be clean, but the wave energy is weak at just 91. It’s surfable, but very ordinary. The water temp is about average for this time of year at 62.6°, nothing unusual there.

That first morning is as good as it gets for a long while. For the rest of the first week and into the second, we are looking at swell heights that rarely hit 1.6ft and often drop to 0.7ft or 1.0ft. The wind is mixed, sometimes decent offshore, but there’s just no grunt in the ocean. This break is inconsistent at the best of times, so it’s no surprise we’re seeing this blank stretch. The total combined energy levels for most of these days are in the teens or twenties – that’s a clear sign of a flat spell. You wouldn’t want to be relying on a wave and a prayer.

We finally get a pulse of energy on Wednesday, September 9th, and Thursday, September 10th, with a spike in swell height to 3.6ft and 4.9ft, and the energy readings jump into the 100s and 600s. Sounds good, right? Well, the wind is howling from the south at near gale force (34 to 37 mph) with heavy rain showers. The wave comment flat out says it’s poor. The swell direction is ENE and the period is a short 8 seconds. This setup looks way more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, to be honest. It would be a washing machine out there.

But hold on. After that wind and rain, we get a proper window on Monday morning, September 14th. This is your standout. The swell comes up to a clean 3.6ft from the SSE, period around 8 seconds, and the combined energy is a moderate 288. But the magic is in the wind: it’s glassy. Absolutely flat calm, just a slight air. At Clovelly Bombie (a reef break), glassy conditions mean the surface will be like a sheet of glass, with no surface chop to spoil the lines. The direction from the SSE is also playing to the break’s strength, as it’s an exposed spot that works well with that. This is the one to aim for. It’s not huge, but for a spot that’s been quiet for days, this is a gift.

Tuesday morning, September 15th, also offers a clean, glassy start with a 3.0ft SSE swell and an energy of 195. Surfable but very ordinary is the call, but if you missed Monday, a glassy 3.0ft on a reef is still good fun.

So, in summary: two long weeks of flat to messy conditions, broken only by the absolute show-stopper of a glassy morning on Monday, September 14th.

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