Cox Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s happening at Cox Bay over the next couple weeks. The water temp is sitting at about 59°, which is right on average for this time of year, nothing unusual there.

We’re starting slow. The first real chance to get wet is Tuesday morning, September 15. There’s only about 1ft of swell coming from the southwest, but the period is a solid 17 seconds – that’s real groundswell. The wind is glassy out of the southwest at 3 mph, so it’ll be smooth as glass. The combined energy is moderate at 243. It’s not big, but it’ll be a fun morning on a longboard.

Wednesday and Thursday are average at best. The swell picks up to around 3ft to 5ft, but it’s short-period windswell, and the wind is cross or cross-onshore, so it’ll be choppy. Not worth getting too worked up about.

Friday the 18th is where it gets good again. The morning brings a clean cross-offshore breeze from the SSE. The swell drops back to 1ft from the southwest, but the period is a long 21 seconds. The combined energy is moderate at 398. Then Friday afternoon goes glassy with 2ft from the south-southwest and a 16-second period. These are the little windows of perfection – small but clean and full of glide.

Then we hit a rough stretch from Saturday the 19th through Monday the 21st. The swell builds, but the wind turns onshore and gets strong. By Monday afternoon, we’re looking at 8ft from the west-northwest, but it’s onshore at 19 mph. The combined energy is very strong at 1858, making it a frothy, messy mess. Good for kiteboarding, not for paddle surfing.

Tuesday the 22nd the wind calms down, but the swell drops to 5ft and the period is short. Still a bit rough.

Now for the real highlight: Wednesday morning, September 23. The swell is a solid 5ft from the west with a 10-second period, and the wind is glassy out of the WSW. The combined energy is strong at 849. That is going to be a gorgeous morning – clean, punchy waves, and enough size for some good turns. Intermediate surfers will love it.

Thursday the 24th the swell jumps to 10ft and then 12ft in the afternoon, but the period is short and the wind is cross-onshore. That’s expert-only, and even then, it’ll be ugly.

Friday morning the 25th is another solid session: 6ft from the west, 9-second period, and glassy winds out of the northwest. Combined energy is strong at 732. Another good day for it.

The last week of September is a mix of small, clean days and some ordinary ones. The swell hangs between 1ft and 4ft, but the wind is often light. The best in that stretch is Monday morning, September 28: 1ft from the southwest with a 16-second period, glassy wind out of the WSW, and combined energy of 205. Tiny but clean and long-lined.

To sum it up: the standout is Wednesday morning, September 23 (5ft, glassy, west swell). The sneaky good session is Friday, September 18 (small but clean with long period). The rest is either average or messy until the end of the month.

Rusty.

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