Crescent Head Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ll be straight with you – the next couple of weeks at our one and only break, Crescent Head, is a tough watch. We’ve got a long stretch of pretty ordinary conditions ahead, and honestly, there’s no day you’d rush out the door for. The swell sticks around, but the wind is almost always against us, and the sea is chopped up. The pattern is a grind, with a few fleeting moments of calm that might give you a glimpse of a wave, but nothing that’s going to have you calling in sick.

Kicking off Sunday the 30th, the water’s sitting at 69°F, right on the money for this time of year. But the wave energy is weak (358) with a 4ft swell out of the SSE. That cross-on wind from the SSE at 9 mph has it messy and choppy. Monday the 31st eases back to 3ft, but it’s still cross-shore and just barely surfable. Tuesday and Wednesday of the first week are even smaller, with the swell dropping below 3ft. Thursday the 3rd and Friday the 4th are the real standouts in a bad bunch – Thursday morning sees clean conditions with a light NW cross-off breeze at 9 mph on a tiny 1ft SSE swell, and Friday morning is glassy with a 2ft S swell. It’s not going to win any awards, but it’s the cleanest we get all week. The wave energy is low (73 and 91), so you’re really just hoping for a little reform on the point.

The second week is more of the same, but with a few short, sharp pulses. Monday the 8th starts with a flat calm morning – glassy, no wind – and a 3ft swell out of the NNE. But the period is only 6 seconds, so it’s steep and weak (141). By the afternoon, the swell jumps to 6ft from the same NNE direction, but it’s cross-onshore and a mess (326 energy). Tuesday the 9th and Wednesday the 10th both have glassy mornings again – Tuesday with 4ft and Wednesday with 3ft – and that’s your best chance all week. But the swell direction is all over the place (NNE to NE), and the period is short.

The real shift comes at the end of the forecast. Friday the 12th sees a 7ft south-southeast swell with an 11-second period and a combined energy of 826 – that’s a solid, moderate energy. But it’s onshore from the east at 6 mph and the conditions are marginal. For a point break like Crescent Head, a long-period south swell can be beautiful, but the onshore wind ruins the window. It’s going to be big enough for experienced surfers only (over 8ft in the face), and the wind will chop it up. The following morning on Saturday the 13th, the swell drops back to 5ft with a 7-second period from the south, but it’s glassy with a light SSE breeze – this is the pick of the bunch if you want a cleaner, smaller wave, but the period is too short for real power.

Overall, there’s no day where everything lines up. The glassy mornings in the second week (Monday 8th, Tuesday 9th, Wednesday 10th) are the only times you’ll find clean conditions, but the swell is tiny, weak, and short-period. The bigger pulse on Friday the 12th has power but the wind ruins it. If you’re a beginner, the small days are fine, but anything over 5ft becomes a paddle battle. For experts, the Friday pulse is the only one with size, but it’s not clean.

A few things to note: Crescent Head is a point break that usually works best on a south swell, and the optimum direction here is ESE, which we see a bit of, but the wind is always messing it up. It’s fairly consistent, so it’s not a blank run like some places, but this forecast is a dud. No standout days, just a long, disappointing grind.

Rusty.

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