Forster Beach (Nambucca) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’m not gonna sugarcoat it – for the next week and a half, Forster Beach (Nambucca) is in a bit of a flat spell. The first proper surf worth paddling out for doesn’t show up until Monday morning, the 14th of August, and even then, it’s going to be a short window of quality. Before that, we’ve got really small, weak waves and a lot of crummy onshore wind. The water temp is sitting at 67°F, which is basically bang on average for this time of year, so the wetsuit choice is standard.

The best of the lot is the Saturday morning, the 15th of August. That’s the standout. The swell jumps to a solid 8 ft from the south, with a 12-second period, which is proper groundswell from the south. The combined energy is a beastly 3018, so there’s heaps of power. The wind is a gentle offshore from the south, making it glassy clean. That’s a serious session, but keep in mind that at 8 ft, it’s only for experienced surfers – the size and power will be too much for beginners. The long period also means the sets will be a bit more spaced out, and it’ll be a fast peak, so it’s better suited to the points and reefs if you can find one, but at Forster Beach it might stand up a bit straight.

Before that big day, on Monday the 14th, the morning is also a cracker. We’ve got a 7 ft south swell, 10-second period, and a clean offshore wind from the southwest. The energy is 1416, so it’s strong, and the wind is gentle offshore, so the face will be perfect. That’s a great session for experienced surfers again, but the afternoon gets messy with a cross-shore wind.

The week before that, from the 3rd of August through to the 13th, the surf is either tiny, weak, or blown out. Monday morning the 3rd had a brief moment of 5 ft SE swell with glassy conditions and a combined energy of 528, but it’s all gone by the afternoon. The rest of the week is mostly knee-to-waist high dribble, with the odd glassy morning, like the 5th and 6th, but the swell is too small (2 ft, 1 ft) to really get going. The 12th of August morning has a clean 3 ft ENE swell with 218 energy, but it’s still pretty small.

For the second week, the 17th and 18th of August have some clean waves, but nothing that matches the 14th and 15th. The 17th morning has a 5 ft SSE swell with 645 energy and clean cross-off wind – that’s a solid, fun size, but it’s not the classic big day. The 18th tapers off to 4 ft.

Crowds at Forster Beach can be a factor sometimes, especially on those good days, so you might want to have a plan B for a quieter corner. The break is fairly consistent for the area, so while this run has a lot of flat days, it’s not usually this quiet for so long.

Alright, stick with the dawn patrols on the 14th and 15th for the best waves. Until then, it’s a waiting game.

Rusty.

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