Ditch Plains Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s coming down the line for Ditch Plains.

To be straight with you, this is a grim stretch. We’re looking at a 16-day forecast window, and for most of it, you’ll be better off doing something else. There’s a long, empty gap from the start all the way through to the morning of Friday the 11th of September. That’s over a week of nothing worth paddling out for. Small, weak energy, messy winds, and the odd bit of rain – not a good recipe.

The first real glimmer comes on Friday the 11th of September in the morning. It’s not a classic, but it’s the best we’ve got early on. A small southerly swell pushing in at 3 ft, period around 7 seconds, with a moderate offshore wind from the NW keeping things clean. The wave energy is still pretty weak (65), but for a reef break that’s fairly consistent, if you’re desperate for a few little walls, this is the window. The crowd situation at Ditch Plains can be a hassle, so for a sliver of waves this small, don’t expect any solitude.

It stays pretty poor through the next week – tiny swell, onshore and cross-shore winds, bumpy and choppy. Nothing to get excited about.

Then we get to the standouts. Mark your calendar for Thursday the 17th of September. The ocean wakes up. A solid 8 ft easterly swell rolls in, crashing through the morning. However, the wind is a strong ENE cross-onshore at 22 mph, making it lumpy. The combined energy is huge – 792 – but this is serious, powerful water. This is only for experienced surfers who know the reef and can handle a beating. The swell direction is straight out of the ENE, which isn’t the optimum SSE the reef loves, so it’ll be fat and powerful but a little raw. By the afternoon, it swings to a cross-shore NE wind, still messy. The size stays over 8 ft through to Friday the 18th of September, but it’s still bumpy and demanding. For most, this setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than a clean paddle session.

If you’re looking for a true standout, the best of the lot is actually the Friday morning, the 11th of September. It’s the only time in the first two weeks where we get a clean, offshore window with surf high enough to catch a few. After that, the big swell is for experts only and comes with ugly wind. Saturday the 19th of September offers a drop to 4 ft but the wind is back onshore, so not worth the hype.

Overall, a long, quiet first week and a gnarly, wind-whipped second week. Keep your eyes on the 11th for a few clean ones, and leave the 17th-18th for the chargers.

Rusty.

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