Hennemans Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, grab a coffee and listen up. Rusty here, and I’ve had a proper look at the charts for Hennemans. Things are... well, they're a bit grim for a while, but there’s a tiny glimmer if you’re patient.

First up, the water is cooking. We're talking 75°, which is a whopping 6.7° warmer than normal for this time of year. It feels like a bath out there, so you can leave the rubber at home.

Now for the bad news: We’ve got a solid run of poor conditions ahead. The swell is on the small side, mostly 2.6 ft to 3.3 ft from the SSW or SW, and while the period is decent (13-18 seconds), the wind is just ruining it. It’s coming from the WNW and WSW most days, hitting as a cross-onshore breeze that chops everything up. Even though the combined swell energy is moderate to strong (around 414 to 768), the quality just isn’t there for a good paddle. For the first few days, from Wednesday the 2nd right through to Saturday the 5th, it’s mostly poor or marginal surf. You’d be fighting the wind more than the wave.

There’s a real gap in the quality until we get to Sunday the 6th. On the Sunday morning, the swell bumps up to 5.6 ft from the SSW (period 14s) with energy hitting a strong 1037, but the wind is still a cross-on light breeze. However, Sunday afternoon is the only real standout in the whole run. The wind drops to nothing – absolute glass, calm as can be. The swell is still a solid 5.6 ft from the SSW and the energy is still high at 966. It’s going to be clean, but keep in mind, that’s 5.6 ft. It’s getting chunky for beginners; that’s more of an intermediate-to-expert zone. The period is 13 seconds, so it’s a decent groundswell but a bit shorter, meaning the sets won’t be as walled-up as a longer period. There’s still that cross-onshore component on the charts for the days around that, so grab that Sunday afternoon window if you can.

After that, from Monday the 7th onward it slides back into the same story. The swell hangs around 4.6 ft to 5.2 ft and the combined energy stays moderate (899 down to 556), but the wind goes back to being cross or cross-onshore and fairly choppy. The period drops to 11 seconds mid-week, so the waves will be a bit weaker and more crumbly. By the end of the first week and into the second, from the 10th to the 17th of September, it's just poor surf. Swell drops to 2.0 ft to 3.0 ft, and while there are some light onshore winds with long period swells up to 21 seconds, the energy is weak (191 to 435) and the cross-onshore breeze keeps things messy. It’s a long, flat run with no real highlights.

Bottom line: Hennemans is an exposed reef that needs the right combo. If you’re keen, the only window that looks even half decent is Sunday afternoon, the 6th of September. Get there when the wind drops to glass, because that’s as good as it gets.

Stay thirsty.

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