Duds Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here with a look at what’s heading our way over the next couple of weeks. Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you – it’s a tough one. The first couple of weeks are looking pretty average with those onshore cross-shore breezes making a mess of things.

We’ve got Duds Reef on the menu. Over the next week and a half, we’re looking at mostly small 1 ft to 4 ft swell, mostly from the SW. The problem is that persistent ENE wind. It’s cross-shore, but it’s gonna be choppy, so you’re going to be fighting it. Raw numbers show moderate energy creeping up there (around 356 to 921 units), but it’s all on the wrong side of the wind. Rarely does the quality pop. There are glimmers on Sunday 13th afternoon late with a clean cross-off wind on a tiny 1 ft SSW swell, and again on the 24th and 25th of September when the wind goes glassy in the afternoon. Those late-September afternoons will see a clean 2 ft to 3 ft SW groundswell (14-16 second period). That period is nice and long, a proper groundswell, but at this size, it’s just a clean little knee-to-waist high wave for the intermediate crowd. The energy is still moderate at best (around 626-697 units).

Look, if you’re an absolute beginner, this stretch will be tough. Most of the swell is below 5 ft, so you won't get washed away, but the constant chop is no fun. There’s an uptick in size around the 17th and 20th of September with some 6 ft to 6 ft E swell, but those are on 8-second windswell with howling 19-22 mph cross-shore winds. That’s lumpy, messy, and definitely one for the experts only if you're feeling masochistic. For the rest of us, it’s a waiting game for that glass-off in the last week. The water temperature is about average for the time of year, a little cooler in the mornings but nothing crazy.

I can't point to a true stand-out banger in this window. The best of a bad bunch is that Thursday 24th and Friday 25th of September with the glassy afternoons and long-period SW swell. That’s your call. If you’ve got a log and a prayer, that’s your window. Otherwise, it’s time to wax the kite – that strong cross-shore chop from the 16th to the 21st looks way more interesting for flying a kite than trying to paddle out.

Stay patient, gang. Rusty out.

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