Freshwater Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let me tell you straight up: it’s been a tough stretch. Looking at the whole 16-day window, there’s really no standout day worth loading up the boards for. The first real chance of anything rideable doesn’t even show up until Saturday the 12th of September, and even then it’s pretty grim.

We kick off on Saturday morning (12th September) at Freshwater Bay. Swell is a tiny 2 ft from the west with a short period of 8 seconds – combined energy is weak at 49, so there’s barely any push. The wind is cross from the WSW at 15 mph, and the water is sitting at 67°F, which is much warmer than normal, but the conditions are just poor. The afternoon stays pretty average: swell bumps up to 4 ft but the period drops to 5 seconds and the wind stays cross, so it’s lumpy and messy.

Sunday the 13th and Monday the 14th are more of the same – small, weak swells (0.7 ft to 4 ft), cross winds, mostly poor surf conditions. Sunday afternoon actually goes flat, and the following days through to the 15th and 16th offer nothing worth paddling for, with tiny waves and inconsistent energy.

Wednesday the 16th morning we get a brief flicker of hope: the wind switches to offshore from the NNW at 12 mph, and we’ve got a small 2 ft west swell, period 8 seconds. The combined energy is still low at 30, and while it’s clean-looking, it’s barely surfable for a log. The afternoon flattens out again.

The rest of that week (17th to 19th September) is mostly flat or tiny, with cross winds and the occasional clean window but no wave power. Saturday the 20th afternoon sees a jump in swell height to 7 ft from the WSW, period just 6 seconds – combined energy bumps to 295 (moderate energy) – but the wind is cross from the WSW at 15 mph, so it’ll be chop city. That’s expert territory size but with bad wind, so the reef and point setup at Freshwater Bay could be interesting for kites, not so much for a clean paddle session.

The final few days (21st to 27th September) just peter out with tiny swells (0.3 ft to 3 ft), only a few clean windows but nothing with any real energy. By the 25th we get a tiny bump from the ESE at 3 ft but it’s onshore and messy.

Honestly, there’s not one session I’d call a true standout in this whole window. The best bet might be a very early morning glass-off on Wednesday the 16th with that offshore wind and the 2 ft west swell – perfect for a longboard, if you’re desperate. Everything else is poor surf conditions. A blank run like this is normal for the area, but forecasts can change, so keep an eye on it.

Rusty.

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