Donkin Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty. Let’s get into it for Donkin Bay.

The outlook kicks off proper with a solid pulse arriving Tuesday morning, September 1. We’re looking at a 6 ft SW groundswell, period a nice 11 seconds, pushing through with a combined energy of 882 (moderate). The wind is a clean cross-off from the south at 9 mph, so the surface should be smooth. The water, though, is sitting at 54° – that’s a full 5° colder than normal for this time of year, so you’ll want a good thick steamer. This is the pick of the whole window. The morning is the standout session; the afternoon gets messy with a 19 mph cross-shore wind, lumpy, and the tide or something else just doesn’t line up.

Wednesday the 2nd holds a bigger 8 ft SW swell, very long 14-second period, and the energy jumps to 2161 (strong). But the wind is cross-shore, and the commentary says marginal conditions. It’s one for the experienced crew only – anything over 8 ft is expert territory, and this is close. The long period groundswell might make it wall up a bit straight at the beach, but it’s a reef and point set-up here, so that could actually work in its favour if the wind cleans up. Thursday the 3rd has a 10 ft SW swell (strong energy at 2555) but the wind is cross-shore and the report says it’s too big for this break. That’s a kite-surfing day if I’ve seen one.

After that, the swell drops hard. Friday the 4th offers a tiny 3 ft morning, but the afternoon has a 3 ft SSW swell with offshore ESE wind at 16 mph (clean, moderate energy 285). It’s a small window but the wind is good. The rest of the first week and into the second week is small and mostly poor. Saturday the 5th, Sunday the 6th, and Monday the 7th all have small swells under 4 ft with strong or gusty winds – not worth paddling out for.

There’s a gap of several days with no real recommendation. The only flicker comes Sunday the 6th afternoon with a 4 ft SW swell, 15-second period, and offshore SE wind at 16 mph (moderate energy 512). That’s clean but still small. Then Thursday the 10th afternoon shows a 6 ft WSW swell, 14-second period, and a gentle cross-shore wind (strong energy 1301). The comment says marginal, but it’s the only size in the second week. And Friday the 11th morning has a 6 ft WSW swell (moderate energy 1026) but cross-shore wind again.

The real standout is Tuesday morning, September 1. Good size, clean wind, solid energy. The water is unusually cold, but that’s just part of the package. After that, it’s a waiting game until the next pulse, but it’s not looking crisp.

Rusty.

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