Dunes Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cookin’ for the Dunes.

The whole sixteen-day stretch is a bit of a mixed bag, honestly. We’ve got a real long run of marginal days at the start, but there are a couple of windows that’ll make it worth paddling out. The first real sign of life doesn’t show until the end of August, so for the first couple of days you’re looking at small, clean but average waves.

The standout session that’s got my heart pumping is the Sunday morning of the 30th of August. The Dunes (reef) will be seeing a clean, glassy 3 ft swell rolling in from the southwest. The wind is dead calm, glassy as it gets, and while the waves won’t be huge, that super-long period of 17 seconds will give them a real push. The energy is moderate (545), but with those conditions, it’s going to be an absolute dream for a longboard or a funboard. You won’t have to share it much either, as crowds are only sometimes an issue. Keep in mind that long period swell like this can be a bit straight at a beach break, but on a reef like Dunes, it’ll groove.

Then, come Monday morning the 31st of August, we get another belter. The swell comes up a touch to 4 ft from the southwest, still with that lovely long 16-second pulse. The wind is light and cross-offshore, which means the faces will be clean as a whistle. The wave energy is cranking into the strong range (1216), so for a more experienced surfer, this is where it’s at. It’s not too big for a good paddle, but it’s got some grunt behind it. The water temp is about usual for the time of year, so no nasty surprises.

The first half of September is pretty quiet, with the swell dropping right back to around 3 ft for days. We then get a bit of a swell bump around the 10th of September, with the Thursday morning seeing a 6 ft southwest swell. That’s a proper size, and with a 16-second period, the energy is strong (1989). I’d call this one for experts only, as it’s over the 8 ft threshold for comfort. The winds are cross-offshore, so it’ll be clean, but it’s a heavy one. That Friday morning, the 11th of September, is similar at 6 ft (1611) and also clean, so another one for the crew with the big boards and guts.

Outside of those mornings, there’s a fair bit of chop and cross-shore wind in the afternoons, especially when the wind swings westerly. The second week is pretty unremarkable—some small, clean mornings that size up around 3 ft to 5 ft, but nothing that’ll get the heart racing. The very last day, Saturday the 12th of September, gives us a fresh offshore wind but only 4 ft of swell, so a clean but small finish.

To wrap it up: Sunday the 30th of August morning is the absolute winner for all-round fun, and Monday the 31st of August morning is the one for the rippers. Don’t sleep on that glassy Sunday.

Rusty.

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