Dongara-Port Denison Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, I'm Rusty. Let's have a look at what's coming up for the Dongara-Port Denison stretch. We've got a solid run of swell on the cards, but honestly, for the next week or so, it's going to be a bit of a battle with the wind. The real standout is shaping up to be next Tuesday, the 15th of September, and then there's another one a little further out, on the 20th.

First up, this Saturday the 12th is pretty average. We're looking at a 7ft to 8ft swell from the WSW/SW with a long 16 second period, giving it some serious grunt – the combined energy is up there at 2149. But it's coming with a 9 mph cross-onshore from the SSW and a bit of rain, so the surface is going to be choppy and messy. Not worth getting excited about, honestly.

Sunday the 13th isn't much better. The swell hangs around 7ft to 7ft from the SW, with a period dropping to 14 seconds. The wind swings cross-shore in the afternoon and picks up to 12 mph, creating that annoying cross-chop. It's a bit of a write-off.

Monday morning, the 14th, is the first time things start to look a little better. We've got a 8ft SW groundswell (15 second period – moderate energy of 2295) and a clean, cross-offshore breeze from the SE at 12 mph. The surface will be clean, but the conditions are still rated as marginal. It's a step in the right direction, but the afternoon falls apart with a fresh 19 mph SSW cross-shore.

Now for the standout – Tuesday morning, the 15th. This is the one to circle. We've got a solid 8ft SW swell with a 14-second period, and the wind is a beautiful offshore from the ENE at just 9 mph (2326 combined energy). That's gentle offshore and clean, perfect conditions for a reef break like this one. The wave comment says "excellent surf conditions for experienced surfers" and that's no joke – that 8ft is solid, pushing into the size where you'll want your wits about you. The optimum direction for this spot is W, so that SW swell is coming from a good angle to hit it.

After that, the wind gets messy again. Wednesday the 16th sees the swell drop to 6ft with a cross-offshore, but the energy drops to 1163. It's okay, but not a standout. Then we hit a rough patch from Thursday the 17th through to Saturday the 19th. The swell is all over the place, the wind is onshore or cross-onshore, and the energy values are dropping to 633 and then 1863 with onshore winds. Saturday the 19th sees a big jump in size to 10ft from the SW, but it's accompanied by a 12 mph cross-onshore and heavy chop, making it a real handful.

Then we get another promising morning. Sunday morning, the 20th. The swell has dropped a bit to a more manageable 7ft from the SW with a shorter 13-second period (energy of 1619), but the wind is a clean cross-offshore from the ENE at 9 mph. The wave comment again says "excellent surf conditions for experienced surfers." It's a little less raw energy than the 15th, but still a great window for a session.

From the 21st to the 23rd, it's a mixed bag of good-sized SW swell (7ft to 10ft) but constantly spoiled by cross-shore winds. The morning of Tuesday the 22nd has a massive 10ft SW swell with a 16-second period and a light 6 mph cross-shore, so it's nearly clean, but that's a lot of water moving for a reef.

Looking into the second week, the pattern continues. Thursday the 24th and Friday the 25th have a long-period SW groundswell (17-18 seconds) pushing through at 8ft to 8ft, but the wind is a strong cross-shore or cross-offshore. The last real hope on the horizon is Saturday the 26th morning, with a 6ft SW swell and a light cross-shore, but the energy is only middling at 1771. That big 10ft blowout later that afternoon is just going to be a mess. The final morning on the 27th has another 10ft pulse, but again, cross-shore winds.

So, to sum it up: the Tuesday the 15th morning is the absolute best call of the whole run – clean offshore winds, solid SW groundswell, and a reef that will handle it. The Sunday the 20th morning is your second-best option for a clean, quality wave. Everything else is a fight with the wind, or for experts only when it gets over 8ft. Get on it when you can and don't sleep on that Tuesday morning.

Rusty.

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