8th Street Jetty Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here. Look, I've scanned the charts for 8th Street Jetty over the next couple of weeks, and I'll be straight with you—it's a tough stretch. This is a beach and jetty setup, and for the vast majority of the forecast, we're looking at tiny, weak swell with onshore or cross winds messing things up. Don't get your hopes up for a proper surf session until we're well into the second week.

The first two weeks are a write-off, honestly. From now right through to the 22nd of September, it's all flukey little dribbles of swell. We're talking 1 ft to 3 ft, mostly from the SE or E, with periods that are all over the shop—some real short, gutless 3-second stuff, and a few longer period pulses that just don't have any size behind them. The wind is a constant headache, blowing onshore or cross-shore most days. There's a brief window on the 13th of September, Sunday morning and afternoon, with offshore NW and WNW winds around 6 mph cleaning things up, but the swell is still a tiny 1 ft to 2 ft. The combined wave energy is weak, sitting between 18 and 42—hardly enough to get you wet. It's not worth paddling out for that.

We then hit a dry spell with no recommendations at all until we get a sniff of something bigger. That bloke of a swell finally shows up on the 22nd of September, Tuesday morning, with 5 ft from the E at 8 seconds. It's still got poor surf conditions noted, but the combined energy jumps to 265 (moderate), so there's at least some push. By the 23rd of September, Wednesday afternoon, it's building to 7 ft from the ESE at 8 seconds, with a cross-offshore NNE wind at 16 mph keeping things reasonably clean. The energy is strong now, at 512. That's when it gets a bit more interesting.

Now, if you're an experienced surfer and you're patient, there's one standout window that could be worth a look. The morning of the 24th of September, Thursday, is the pick. We've got 8 ft of E swell rolling in, with a period of 8 seconds. The wind is a glassy 3 mph from the W, and the word on the data is "glassy." That’s rare gold for a spot like this. The combined energy is a solid 561 (strong), so there's plenty of power. However, at over 8 ft on the afternoon, it's pushing into expert-only territory, but that morning window is prime for anyone who knows what they're doing. The water temperature is a toasty 78°, which is a massive 7° warmer than normal for this time of year—very unusual, so you can leave the booties at home. Expect crowds to be possible, as it's often busy here.

After that high point, the conditions get messy again. The 25th of September, Friday, sees a bigger 10 ft swell from the E at 10 seconds, but a 9 mph cross-onshore wind and "fairly choppy" conditions mean you'll be fighting for a clean face. That's expert-only size at 10 ft, and the quality isn't matching the height. The 26th of September, Saturday, backs off a bit to 7 ft from the ESE, but cross winds and poor conditions linger.

So, the honest truth: this forecast is a long, flat, frustrating wait until that last week. The only real standout is that Thursday morning, 24th of September, at 8th Street Jetty. If you can hold out for that day, with glassy conditions and a solid 8 ft swell, it could be a few fun waves. For anything before that, save your energy.

Rusty.

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