Dairy Beach (New Pier) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Righto, grab a coffee and settle in. It’s Rusty here, and I’ve been staring at the charts for our stretch of coast. The long-range picture is a bit of a mixed bag, but there’s a couple of bright spots if you’re patient. Let’s run through it.

The next few days are a write-off. We’re looking at weak, onshore slop from Monday the 31st of August through Thursday the 3rd of September. The combined energy is weak to moderate (235 to 207), with winds blowing straight onshore or cross-off, but the swell is tiny and short-period. It’s just not worth the paddle. You’ll get a long gap of nothing until things start to stir.

The first real action kicks off on Friday the 4th of September. An early morning pulse arrives at Dairy Beach (New Pier) with an 8-foot south swell, but it’s a bit raw. By Friday afternoon, the swell jumps to a massive 13-foot from the SSE at 10 seconds, and the combined energy rockets up to 3542. That’s proper strong, but for Dairy Beach, it’s just too big. The wind is a cross-off, but the size is only for the brave and experienced. The water temp is sitting at 69°, which is about average for this time of year, so nothing unusual there.

Now, the true standout. Saturday the 5th of September is the one to circle. The morning session is looking excellent for experienced surfers. We’ve got a solid 10-foot swell from the SE, with a 9-second period, and the combined energy is a hefty 2950. The wind is a light, cross-off breeze from the SSW, which will keep the faces clean. The break is consistent and fairly exposed to the east, which is the optimum direction for this swell. This is the best on offer, no doubt. Crowds are likely here, but with conditions like this, it’s worth sharing the lineup.

Saturday afternoon drops a notch to 8 feet, with a light cross-on wind, but it’s still surfable.

Sunday the 6th of September has a similar 8-foot swell, but the wind is a bit messy. The morning is onshore, but the afternoon cleans up with a light cross-off from the south, making for another decent session for experienced surfers. The energy is still strong at 1861.

Monday the 7th of September brings a tricky one. We’ve got an 8-foot swell from the south with a very long 15-second period. That’s proper groundswell energy, and the combined energy is 2815. However, the wind is howling from the ESE at 22 mph, creating lumpy cross-chop. For a beach/pier setup like Dairy Beach, that long period groundswell might break a bit too straight and be tricky to handle. It’s only for the dedicated.

From Tuesday the 8th of September onwards, the window slams shut again. The wind goes straight onshore from the NE, and the swell drops away into the poor category. The combined energy drops to moderate levels (680-1010), but the wind is just brutal. We’re looking at a long stretch of nothing until the 11th of September, but even then, the swell is tiny (3 feet or less) with weak energy (141-172). It’s surfable but very ordinary.

The 15th of September shows a weird spike – a 2-foot swell from the south with a 15-second period, but the energy is only 346 and the wind is onshore, so it’s another miss.

So, to wrap it up: the first week is mostly a bust. The absolute standout is Saturday morning, the 5th of September. Get up early, paddle out at Dairy Beach, and you’ll be rewarded with a solid, clean south-east swell. Sunday afternoon is a decent backup. After that, it’s back to waiting.

Rusty.

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