Higgins Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Let’s get into it. Right now, the surf around here is pretty much flat-out gutless. We’re looking at Higgins Beach, and honestly, the first week is gonna be a real struggle for anyone chasing waves.

We’ve got a long stretch – from the 16th right through to the 23rd – where the swell is tiny, mostly around 0.2m to 0.9m, and the conditions are pretty ordinary. Sure, there are a few windows of clean, glassy conditions, like the Thursday afternoon the 17th, and there’s a bit of offshore wind on the 18th, but there just isn’t any push. The combined energy is weak, reading 20 to 49 in the early days, which tells you the ocean’s got nothing behind it. It’s more of a longboard and paddling workout than a surf session.

Then on Sunday the 20th, we get a bump – 1.6m or so – but the period is short at 6 seconds and it’s messy. It’s surfable, but you wouldn’t be bragging about it. And that’s about as good as it gets for a while. The energy picks up a little, with the combined swell energy reading 187 on that Sunday afternoon, but still, it’s nothing special.

After that, it drops right back down to ankle-biters for the next few days. We’re looking at a real dry spell until about the 24th.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. On the 24th, Thursday, the swell jumps up to 2.5m from the SE with a period around 7-8 seconds, and the combined energy spikes way up to 698. That’s some serious power, but here’s the catch – it’s too big for Higgins. That’s a warning sign. This spot is exposed and tends to close out or just get messy when it’s that big. The wind is favorable, even glassy in the afternoon, but the swell is just too much. We’re talking expert-only, and even then, it’s likely to be a washing machine. Not the day for the average crew.

The standout, and I mean the real highlight of the whole 16-day run, is the Friday morning on the 25th. The swell drops back to a much more manageable 1.3m from the SE, still with an 8-second period, and the combined energy is at 232 – that’s solid, pushy surf. And the wind? Clean offshore from the WSW. It’s going to be clean, with some shape to it. That’s the pick of the period without a doubt.

After that, it fades back out again. Saturday the 26th and Sunday the 27th drop to 0.4m to 0.6m, with NW offshore winds on Saturday keeping it clean, but the lack of size will be the problem. And then from the 28th onward, we’re back to tiny, grovelly surf right through to the 1st of October.

On the 1st of October, there’s a bit of a pulse – 1.7m on the Thursday afternoon, with clean conditions and a cross-offshore wind from the NNW. But the period is short, 6 seconds, and it’s going to be a bit bumpy. The energy reads 302, which is decent, but it’s not going to be the clean, lined-up swell we saw on the 25th.

So, here’s the bottom line: the next couple of weeks are mostly about patience. There’s one clear winner – the morning of Friday the 25th of September at Higgins. That’s the one you want to clear your schedule for. Everything else is either too small, too messy, or too big for this spot. If it stays like this, honestly, on the 24th they might be better off tacking a kite on than trying to paddle out.

Stay keen, and pick your moments.

Rusty.

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