Hideaway Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s get into it.

We’ve got one spot on the radar for this whole 16-day stretch, and it’s a tricky one: Hideaway, a reef break that’s for advanced surfers only and rarely breaks. The water’s sitting at 77°F, which is pretty much average for this time of year, nothing wild there.

The forecast kicks off with a solid pulse of swell on Sunday the 13th of September, but it’s not clean. You’re looking at a 10 ft SSW groundswell with a long 17-second period – that’s a lot of energy (4499). The problem is the wind is cross from the SE at 16 mph, so it’s gonna be chopped up. Not the day to get excited. Monday the 14th is more of the same, with 8 ft to 8 ft SSW swell (3669 to 4437 energy), but still cross winds around 12-16 mph. This is big, heavy stuff for experts only, but the conditions aren’t doing it any favours.

Tuesday morning, the 15th, might be the best of the early week. The swell holds at 8 ft from the SSW (3920 energy), and the wind turns cross-offshore from the east at 12 mph, cleaning it up nicely. This is the standout window. That long-period groundswell (17 seconds) will be rifling down the reef, but with that period, it can get a bit straight at times – still, for the crew that knows Hideaway, this is the call. Afternoon sees the wind go cross again, so morning is the move.

The swell starts to back off Wednesday the 16th, dropping to 5 ft (1301 energy), with the period still a solid 15 seconds. Winds stay cross from the ESE at 9-12 mph, so it’s a bit lumpy but still rideable for the skilled. Thursday the 17th sees the swell fade further to 4 ft (798 energy), and while the morning has a clean cross-off wind, the size is getting marginal.

Then we hit a rough patch. From Friday the 18th onward, the swell tanks. Friday morning has tiny 3 ft (419 energy), and even though Friday afternoon goes glassy with 2 ft (339 energy), it’s barely breaking at a spot that rarely breaks anyway. Saturday the 19th is a write-off – onshore winds, rain, poor conditions. Sunday the 20th sees a big spike back up to 10 ft (3826 energy), but it’s cross-onshore and choppy, so that’s a mess. Monday the 21st is 5 ft (2178 energy) with cross winds, not great.

There’s another pulse on Tuesday the 22nd, 8 ft (2741 energy) from the SSW, but winds are cross at 12-16 mph – marginal at best. Wednesday the 23rd drops off, and by Thursday the 24th there’s a 8 ft swell (2100 energy) with clean cross-off winds in the morning, which could be another decent window for the experts. The period is only 12 seconds though, so less grunt than the earlier swells.

The last week sees a few more pulses, like 8 ft on Friday the 25th (4349 energy), but always with cross winds that chop things up. Saturday the 26th and Sunday the 27th are smaller and messy. By Monday the 28th, it’s down to 2 ft (370 energy) and barely worth a look.

So the honest word is this: Hideaway is a fickle wave, and this forecast is full of marginal conditions. The one true standout is Tuesday morning, September 15th – that 8 ft SSW groundswell with a clean cross-off breeze is where you want to be. After that, keep an eye on Thursday morning, September 24th for a smaller but cleaner window. Everything else is either too big with bad wind, or too small to bother.

This spot is for the brave. If you’re not an expert, sit this one out. For the rest of us, pick your window, and don’t expect much.

Rusty.

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