Freshwater and Harbord Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here, lookin’ at the surf for the next couple of weeks. Gotta be straight with ya—this stretch is gonna test your patience. We’ve got a long, dry spell of nothing worthwhile on the cards before things finally start to move, but even then, it’s gonna be messy and mostly for the crew who don’t mind getting knocked around.

First up, the immediate window is dead. From Tuesday the 15th right through to the morning of Wednesday the 23rd, we’re looking at barely a ripple. Wave heights are mostly below 1m, with the odd day seeing nothing at all. The energy is almost non-existent—combined swell energy sits in the single digits most days, like 3, 5, or 7. Weak, weak stuff. The wind is all over the place, mostly cross or cross-on, and even when it goes offshore for a few hours on Friday the 18th or Sunday the 20th, there’s just no swell to work with. Paddling out would be an act of pure hope, not logic.

Then we hit Wednesday the 23rd. The ocean finally wakes up, but it’s not friendly. The morning sees a jump in swell to 1.7m out of the SSE with a period of 10 seconds, and the combined energy shoots up to 680—moderate to strong. But it comes with rain showers and a cross-shore wind that’s gonna chop it all up. The afternoon drops off to 1.0m, so that window is short and messy. Thursday the 24th has a cleaner morning with a cross-off breeze and 1.1m from the ENE, but the energy is still moderate at 85, and the period is short at 6 seconds. It’s not great—short period means weak, crumbly waves, not the kind of push you want. By the afternoon, it’s already jumping to 1.8m and 237 energy, but the wind is fresh and cross, so it’s lumpy chaos.

The standouts, if you can call them that, are the mornings of Friday the 25th and Saturday the 26th. On the 25th, we get 1.3m from the NE with 251 energy, but again—6-second period means it’s all chop and no glide. The wind is moderate and cross, so it’s not clean. Saturday the 26th is the pick of the two. We’ve got 1.8m from the NE in the morning, energy up at 634—that’s strong—and the period extends a touch to 8 seconds. The wind is light, only 10 km/h, but it’s cross, so there’s some texture. It’s marginal at best. The afternoon holds similar size at 1.9m and 709 energy, but light rain moves in. This is the most powerful the swell gets all run, but with the short period and cross-shore wind, it’s going to be lumpy and hard to read. Not for beginners—well over 1.5m and closing in on 2m.

After that, Sunday the 27th and Monday the 28th see the swell hang around but the wind turns onshore and fresh. Sunday has 2-1.6m but with 30 km/h winds and rain, it’s blown out. Monday the 28th pushes to 1.9m in the morning with 631 energy, but again, fresh cross-onshore winds and rain—this is more of a washing machine than a surf. By Tuesday the 29th, it’s dropping back to 1.0-1.1m, and the energy drops too, but the wind stays strong and messy.

So honestly, there’s no day I’d be rushing out the door for. The best on offer is probably Saturday the 26th morning at Freshwater and Harbord—bigger, powerful, but only for experienced surfers who can handle a lumpy, short-period closeout. The water temp is sitting at 17°, which is about what you’d expect for this time of year—nothing weird there.

One more note—with the combo of decent size, short periods, and strong onshore winds later in the run, especially Sunday and Monday, the beach is gonna be a mess. If you’re not keen on paddling, that stretch looks a lot more interesting for a kite surfer than a surfer.

Hang tight, keep the board in the car for a quick dawny on the 26th if you’re keen, and otherwise, this is a waiting game. Forecasts change, so don’t write the whole fortnight off just yet.

Rusty.

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