Hennemans Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Mate, I’ve got to be straight with you – this 16-day window for Hennemans is a tough one. It’s a reef break that’s inconsistent, exposed to the swell, and usually needs a W direction to really fire. The Optimum Swell is from the West, but what we’re seeing is a long run of SW and W swells, with a lot of onshore and cross-onshore wind. The water is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, sitting at 72° with a 3° anomaly. That’s a notable little bump in temperature, but it’s not going to help the waves.

The forecast kicks off on Tuesday 8th September. There’s a small 3ft SSW swell with a 10-second period, and the combined energy is moderate (514). The morning has a cross-shore NW wind at 12 mph, making it a bit choppy, but the afternoon cleans up with a cross-offshore breeze. Still, the scores are low, and it’s described as marginal. Honestly, it’s a meagre start.

Wednesday 9th September drops to 2ft to 2ft SW swell, but the period jumps to 16 seconds – that’s a long-period groundswell, which can bring better shape and energy. The combined energy is still moderate (365-397). The morning has a light cross-onshore, and the afternoon is cross-shore with light winds. It’s still marginal, though. The swell is just too small to get excited about.

The pattern gets worse from Thursday 10th through to Sunday 14th September. The swell sits around 3ft to 4ft, mostly from the SW or W, with periods dropping from 16 seconds down to 8 seconds. The wind is onshore or cross-onshore, with moderate to gentle breezes. The combined energy ranges from 263 to 430, still moderate, but the conditions are poor. The surf is described as “poor surf conditions” with a score of 0. It’s a write-off. On Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th, the swell is 4ft to 4ft but with a short period of 8 to 9 seconds, and the wind is onshore. This is not a time to be in the water.

There’s a gap of several days with no real recommendations. From Tuesday 15th September through to the end of the forecast on Wednesday 23rd September, we see a similar story. The swell stays small, between 1ft and 3ft, mostly from the SW, with a few pulses of longer period (16-20 seconds). The combined energy is moderate, hitting 520 and 536 at times, which sounds promising, but the wind is consistently onshore or cross-onshore, and the surf is either marginal or poor. The best of the bunch might be Monday 21st September afternoon, with a 3ft SW swell, 16-second period, and a cross-shore NW wind at 9 mph. The combined energy is 530, and it gets a score of 2 out of 10, the highest of the whole run. It’s still just a marginal, small wave, but it’s the cleanest of a bad lot.

The standout? There isn’t one. This is a stretch where the swell direction is wrong, the wind is rarely clean, and the break is inconsistent. For a reef that needs a W swell and offshore NE winds, we’re getting the opposite. The water temp is a touch warmer than average, but that’s about it. If you’re a beginner, the swell is under 5ft, so it’s not too big, but the short period and chop make it uninviting. For experts, it’s barely worth a paddle. The long-period swells might offer better shape, but with the wind on it, they’ll be messy.

Keep an eye on the forecasts, but for now, I’d leave the board at home.

Rusty.

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