Doheney Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get into it. It’s Rusty here, looking at the stretch ahead. To be honest, it’s not looking like a classic week or two for us. We’ve got a lot of small, jumbled-up surf and a ton of onshore or cross-shore wind. The first couple of days are a real write-off. Friday and Saturday are just hopeless – dribbly little waves, under 3ft, with a cross-onshore wind chopping everything up. The energy is weak too, at 421 and 363. You'd be fighting a losing battle. The swell’s out of the SW, but it's just not organised.

Sunday stays poor, but the wind drops a little. Still, it’s onshore and the swell is weak, only 4ft, with a short 7-second period. It’s just messy. Monday is more of the same, with that short-period bump and onshore wind. Not worth the drive.

The middle of the week, from Wednesday the 16th, we start to see a slight lift in the energy levels, but the surf quality labels are still “poor” or “marginal”. The swell is still small, 2-3ft, but the period stretches out a bit more, into the 16-17 second range. That’s a proper groundswell, but it’s just running into a lot of wind. On Wednesday the 17th, the energy jumps up to 518, and we see the first glimmer of something. The wind shifts a little more cross-shore, which helps.

Thursday the 17th and Friday the 18th are still not firing, but the energy is building. It’s there. The surf is still under 3ft, but that long period is in the water. We're just waiting for the wind to play ball. The first real hope comes on Saturday the 19th of September. The wind drops to a slight air, and it's a light cross-onshore. The surf is still small, 3ft, but with an 18-second period, there could be some clean, lined-up little waves at Doheney Beach.

Then we get to Sunday the 20th. This is the standout. The morning looks the best on offer. The wind is light and onshore, but the swell is 3ft from the SW, with a strong 18-second period. The energy reading is the highest we see at 705. It’s still not big, but it’s gonna be clean, it’s gonna be consistent, and that long period will bring some real push. It’s a reef, so that long-period swell will wrap in nicely. Keep your expectations in check, but this is the session to aim for.

Monday the 21st holds similar potential, with the energy still high at 660 and 646. The wind is light again in the morning, though it picks up in the afternoon. That could be a good window too.

After that, the week of the 22nd to the 26th gets a bit more hit-and-miss. The energy drops off a bit, and the wind stays mostly cross-shore. The period backs off a little too. Tuesday the 22nd has a brief clean window in the afternoon with a cross-offshore wind, but the energy is down to 447. The rest is back to small, marginal surf. The final days are just dribbling out, with weak energy and onshore winds. The 18-second swell shows up again on Saturday the 26th, but it’s small and the wind is onshore, so it’s another wash-out.

So, to wrap up: if you’ve got to get wet, aim for the 20th and 21st of September. That’s your best window for clean, lined-up, albeit small, waves. Before that, it’s pretty grim. The surf is small for sure, but that long period is there, so it’s got more going for it than the forecast lets on. Keep your eyes on that wind forecast, and don't get too excited. For a beginner, the 3ft is fine, but the power from that 18-second period might be a bit much for the very first time.

Rusty.

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