Coogee Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ve got to be straight with you—this stretch for Coogee is a tough one to read. We’ve got a long, drawn-out period of small, weak, and messy conditions, with only a couple of brief windows where it might be worth paddling out. The first week is especially grim, with the only real glimmer of hope coming mid-next week, but even that comes with caveats.

Right now, from Thursday the 20th through to the end of the month, we’re dealing with tiny, short-period swell. Most mornings offer a bit of cleanish surface, but the waves are barely ankle-to-knee high, and the energy is just pathetic—combined swell energy values are mostly below 100, some barely scraping 200. There’s no power, no push. The wind is all over the shop: cross-onshore, cross-off, sometimes offshore, but it doesn’t matter when there’s nothing to ride. The only exception is Sunday morning, the 23rd, where we get a brief pulse of 3ft S swell with a 10-second period, and glassy conditions with a light WSW cross-off breeze. That’s the best of the early days, but even then, the wave quality is described as “surfable but very ordinary.” It’s not a standout.

The water temp is sitting at 62°, which is a full degree colder than average for this time of year—a bit colder than normal for a late August dip.

Now, hold onto your board for Wednesday the 26th. That morning we see a solid spike: 8ft S swell, 8-second period, with a SW cross-off breeze making it clean. The combined energy jumps to 933 (moderate wave energy) and the conditions are described as “marginal.” That’s a big step up in size, but at 8ft, this is for experts only—beginners should sit this one out. The afternoon is still solid at 7ft with fresh offshore WSW wind, keeping it clean. This is the standout of the entire outlook. Coogee (Coogee) is an exposed beach, reef, and point break, and it’s inconsistent, so when it does fire like this, it’s a rare treat. But it’s advanced-only territory. Crowds are sometimes an issue here, so expect company.

After that, the swell drops back quickly. Thursday the 27th is much smaller at 3ft, and by Friday it’s back to tiny knee-high slop. The following weekend (29th–30th) sees a return of moderate swell (5–6ft) but with strong winds—18–22 mph—and mixed directions. Saturday morning is clean with a 6ft NE windswell, but the period is only 6 seconds, so it’s going to be bumpy and sectiony. That’s more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

Moving into the second week, from the 31st onward, it’s a long dry spell. Monday the 31st has 2ft S swell with a 12-second period, but cross-shore winds chop it up. Combined energy sits at 244 (still weak). The best of this week is Tuesday the 1st of September—a glassy morning with 3ft ENE swell and an 8-second period, energy at 143. Clean, but tiny. Wednesday the 2nd offers another glassy morning with 3ft S swell, 7-second period. Still small.

After that, it’s back to small, weak, and onshore winds through the 3rd and 4th of September, with combined energy dropping below 100 again. The final day, Friday the 4th, has 1ft S swell with fresh offshore wind—clean but basically flat.

So, the one true standout is Wednesday the 26th—big, clean, expert-only surf at Coogee. Everything else is marginal or poor. If you’re patient, that’s your window. For the rest, it’s a quiet stretch, which isn’t unusual for this area when the consistency is this low.

Stay salty.
Rusty

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