Cottons Point Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. The next couple of weeks at Cottons Point are a bit of a mix, but there’s a proper window of quality coming. Most of the time, we’re getting south to south-west groundswell, but those westerly winds are blowing cross-onshore and making things choppy – not ideal. But stick with me.

The first mention is Monday August 31st, but it’s not much. A small 3ft south swell with a 12-second period, and that west wind at 9 mph cross-onshore is messing it up. Wave energy is moderate (402), but the surf is poor. That pattern holds for a few days. Tuesday morning September 1st cleans up a bit with an offshore wind from the WSW at 6 mph, but the swell is tiny at 2ft with a long 13-second period. Not enough to get excited about. The water is sitting at 77°F, which is a massive 9° warmer than normal – far warmer than usual for this time of year, so you’ll be in for a warm dip.

Wednesday morning the 2nd has a very long-period 16-second south-west groundswell at 2ft, but that’s just too small despite clean offshore winds. Wave energy is moderate (263). Things build slowly.

Now, the real standout. Sunday September 6th is looking good. The swell builds into the afternoon, hitting 6ft from the south at a 14-second period. That’s a solid groundswell with plenty of power – wave energy is high (1265). And the wind drops to dead calm – glassy conditions. This is prime for Cottons, a reef and point setup that will handle that long-period swell well. This is the best of the run. It’ll be clean and punchy, and over 5ft, it’s not one for beginners – but intermediate and above, this is your session.

Monday September 7th keeps the goods going. The morning brings 7ft south swell (13-second period) with a light cross-shore NW wind at 6 mph, a few bumps. But the afternoon is the pick – 6ft from the south, 12-second period, and the wind turns cross-offshore, giving clean, lined-up waves. Wave energy is strong (1226). These two days – Sunday arvo and Monday arvo – are the ones to circle.

After that, it fades fast. Tuesday the 8th gets messy with a 12 mph south wind and short-period 5ft swell, turning poor. The rest of the week into the second week is mostly small, weak swell (energy dropping under 500) with persistent cross-onshore winds. Between the 8th and the 15th, there’s a long stretch of nothing worth paddling for, with swell barely over 3ft and mostly choppy. By Monday September 14th, it’s down to 1ft – just a memory.

So, bottom line: skip the early days, but lock in Sunday September 6th and Monday September 7th. That’s your window. Cottons Point will be offering up proper south swell lines with clean conditions – don’t miss it.

Rusty.

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