Fourth Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ve got to be straight with you—right now, the surf story at Fourth Beach is a bit of a mixed bag, with some real promise buried in there if you’re willing to wait and pick your moments. The forecast is showing some serious pulse of energy coming through, but the wind is going to be a persistent headache for a lot of it. The water temp is sitting at about 62°F, which is pretty much what you’d expect for this time of year, no real surprises there.

We’ve got a pretty solid start Wednesday morning the 16th with a clean 6ft swell from the SSW, with a nice long 14-second period. The wind is cross-off from the NE at 16 mph, so it’ll be clean and lined up. That’s a moderate energy pulse, around 1455. It’s not huge, but it’s a good, surfable size for a lot of people. The afternoon drops off a touch to 5ft, still clean, so you can get a session in if you’re keen. That’s likely your pick for the first few days.

Thursday the 17th is looking smaller and wind-affected. Morning has a fresh offshore from the north at 19 mph, but the swell is down to 4ft—still, it’s clean and offshore, so if you’ve got a log, it could be fun. Energy is weak, around 537. Afternoon gets a bit more manageable with a moderate offshore, but don’t expect much push.

Friday the 18th is a write-off. The morning is small and cross-off, but by the afternoon the wind swings cross-on from the SW, and it’s just messy. Same for Saturday the 19th—the morning has a 4ft SW swell but with a 22 mph cross-off that’s going to create lumpy conditions, and the afternoon is worse with strong cross-shore winds and a 6ft swell, energy jumping to 2797, but it’s just choppy junk.

Sunday the 20th is no good either. Gentle to moderate cross-onshore winds, 5ft to 6ft swell, but it’s bumpy and messy. A bit of a dead run.

Now, Monday the 21st is where things get interesting. The morning has a solid 10ft SSW groundswell with a 15-second period—that’s proper energy, rated at 4076. The wind is cross-off from the NE at 12 mph, so it’s clean. But look, that’s over 8ft, so it’s expert territory only. This is a strong, powerful swell with a very long period that will make the waves stand up, but at a beach break like Fourth Beach, it could close out or be hard to paddle into. If you’re a charger, it’s your window. The afternoon gets blown out with a fresh cross-shore, so aim for the morning.

Tuesday the 22nd drops to 7ft but the wind is cross and then onshore, so it’s not a good option. The rest of that week into the weekend (23rd to 28th) is a real mixed bag—mostly cross-onshore or onshore winds, with swell hanging around 6ft to 7ft. The wind is just not cooperating for clean surf. There’s a small window on Thursday morning the 24th with 4ft of SSW swell and a light offshore from the NNE, giving you clean little waves. Energy is low at 624, but for a log or a fun board, it’s a nice, uncrowded session.

Then we hit a big pulse from around Friday the 25th. The morning sees a massive 12ft SSW groundswell with a 20-second period—that’s extreme energy at 8686. The afternoon is the same size, and the wind is favourable for tide, but it’s simply too big for this break. That’s a warning: the swell is predicted to be too big for Fourth Beach. The following days through to the 1st of October are plagued by strong cross-onshore winds or onshores, with swell hanging around 7ft to 10ft. It’s messy and not worth paddling out.

If you look at the very end of the forecast, Thursday morning the 1st of October has a 8ft groundswell with a 17-second period and a gentle cross-onshore—still not clean, but it’s a smaller pulse. Not a standout.

Overall, your best bet is Wednesday morning the 16th for a clean, fun session, or Monday morning the 21st if you’re an expert and can handle big, powerful, clean surf. The rest of the forecast is mostly wind-affected or too big, so pick your days.

Rusty.

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