Embleton Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ve got to be straight with you—this stretch is a real tough one. We’ve got a 16-day window from Monday the 31st of August all the way through to Tuesday the 15th of September, and to be honest, there isn’t a single day I’d call a proper surf. It’s a long, lean run with hardly any energy in the water, so if you’re dead-set on paddling out, you’re going to be chasing scraps.

We start Monday the 31st with a tiny little 2 ft north swell, but the period is a short 7 seconds and the energy is weak at 59. The wind is howling 12 mph out of the WNW, making it cross-off which only messes with what little shape there is. That trend keeps up through Tuesday and Wednesday—by Wednesday the 2nd, the swell drops to a pathetic 0.7 ft and the winds go glassy from the east at just 3 mph, but there’s only 6 of energy. It’s flat, mate, not worth a look.

Thursday the 3rd shows a tiny pulse from the north at 2 ft with a 10-second period, pushing the energy up to 80. Winds are offshore from the WSW at 12 mph, which is clean, but the waves are just too small and weak to get excited about. The water temp is average for the time of year, nothing special. At Embleton, that’s all we’ve got to look at, and it’s a beginner-friendly beach break, fairly exposed to the north-east. Crowds are sometimes here, but honestly, there won’t be anyone out for this.

Friday the 4th and Saturday the 5th are blown out by strong offshore winds hitting 25 mph, which makes paddling a nightmare. Swell stays tiny, under 2 ft. By Sunday the 6th, we get a bit of a pulse from the north again at 2 ft and 7 seconds, but the energy is only 40. It’s clean enough with a moderate offshore wind, but it’s just not doing anything.

The only faint glimmer is Monday the 7th of September. We get a funky 3 ft swell from the south-east with a short 5-second period, energy at 96, and a moderate offshore wind from the SW at 12 mph. It’s surfable, but the period is short so the waves are lumpy and weak. Tuesday afternoon the 7th sees the swell jump to 6 ft from the south-east with 6-second period, and the energy rockets to 238—that’s moderate energy—but the winds turn cross-off and the conditions are labelled poor. That kind of size, 6 ft, on a short period with messy wind, is more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer at Embleton’s beach setup. A long period groundswell this is not.

From the 8th onwards, it’s a slow death. Swells keep coming from the north and east, but they’re all under 3 ft, periods are short to moderate, and the wind is either cross-off or too strong. Thursday the 10th gets a 0.7 ft north swell with a 12-second period from the north, which should be a nice groundswell shape, but there’s only 15 of energy and the wind is a fresh cross-shore creating lumpy chop. Friday the 11th is the same story, with a little more energy (34) but still tiny and messy.

Sunday the 13th has a 2 ft north swell with an 11-second period and 78 of energy, and the wind is light and cross-off from the SSW at just 3 mph in the morning—clean but tiny. That’s as close as we get to a decent window, but it’s just not enough wave to paddle for.

Bottom line: there’s no standout here. The whole 16 days is a flat spell with only brief, weak pulses that never break 3 ft with any quality. A blank run like this is normal for this area when the north-east swell window goes quiet and the wind stays strong. The forecast might change, but for now, leave the board at home.

Rusty.

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