Happys Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s happening at Happys over the next 16 days.

Honestly, I’ve got to call it straight – there’s not a single standout session in the whole 16-day window. Every single time slot is marked as "poor surf conditions," so we’re looking at a frustrating run. The first real gap is from the start right through to the end. There’s nothing to get excited about.

The first day we can talk about, Tuesday the 1st of September, is flat and weak. We’ve got a tiny 2 ft easterly swell, but the wind is onshore at 6 mph, messing up any chance of a clean wave. The combined wave energy is a paltry 85, so it’s not even worth paddling out for.

The water temperature at Happys is sitting at 68°, which is a bit colder than usual for this time of year – about 2° off the norm. Not a freezing shock, but you’ll feel it.

Moving through the week, Wednesday morning the 2nd shows a glimmer of hope with glassy conditions and a light NNW breeze, but the swell is still only 2 ft at 10 seconds from the east. The energy is weak at 63. It’s clean, but there’s just no push behind it. The afternoon turns choppy again with a cross-on wind.

Thursday morning the 3rd has a clean cross-off breeze, but the swell drops to 1 ft. The energy is even lower at 48. Friday morning the 4th is glassy and calm, but again, 1 ft of east swell with 48 energy – it’s a lake out there.

The weekend of the 5th and 6th sees a shift in swell direction to the north-northeast, with a very short period of 5 seconds. That’s windswell, not groundswell, so the waves will be lumpy and weak. Saturday afternoon the 5th has the biggest swell of the whole period at 4 ft, but the wind is a fresh cross-shore at 19 mph, making it choppy and messy. The energy hits 90, which is still weak.

The second week is more of the same. Monday the 7th has a glassy morning, but the swell is only 2 ft. The 14th of September looks interesting on paper – Monday afternoon shows a 4 ft swell from the north-northeast, and the energy jumps to 158, which is moderate. But the wind is a cross-on at 9 mph, and the period is only 5 seconds. It’s still going to be a messy, short-period windswell. Not one for the logs.

The 15th of September has a clean, cross-off morning, but the swell is back to 2 ft. The 16th is the same story.

So, overall, there’s nothing here that’s worth a special trip. The surf is tiny, the periods are short, and the wind is rarely working in our favour. The only time the swell gets over 5 ft, the wind ruins it. For beginners, the swell never gets above 5 ft, so that’s not a concern, but the quality is poor. For experts, there’s nothing over 8 ft, so it’s not dangerous, just boring.

If you’re desperate for a paddle, the glassy mornings on the 2nd, 4th, 7th, 13th, and 14th might offer a clean, flat surface, but don’t expect to catch much. The setup at Happys is a sheltered point, so it needs a good swell direction to work, and the optimum is northeast. The swell we get is mostly east or north-northeast, so it’s not terrible direction-wise, but the size and energy just aren’t there.

Rusty out.

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