Hullets Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Wednesday morning (16th) starts with that big groundswell – a 3.0m southwest swell with a 14-second interval. The water's sitting at 18°, which is about average for this time of year, no big drama there. But the 30 km/h SSW wind is blasting straight offshore, which sounds good, but it's creating that strong offshore and clean look – maybe a bit too much wind. Combined energy is a massive 3410. It’s still rideable for the experienced crew on the reef, but it's not user-friendly. The afternoon drops to 2.5m but the wind shifts to a cross-off, cleaning it up a little, but it's still a tough one.

Thursday (17th) is where it starts to fall apart a bit. The swell is still solid at 2.3m, but that 30 km/h ESE cross-shore wind is chopping it all up. It's a couple of notches down in quality, a “lumpy cross-chop” is the name of the game. Not a hero-maker. The energy is still up there at 2527, but the onshore wind really wrecks the surface.

Friday (18th) is a wash-out. The swell period drops to 12 seconds, but the wind swings to a strong cross-onshore at 40 km/h, making the 1.8m swell a complete mess. The combined energy has dropped to 1427, but you’d never know it with that chop. This is one to skip.

Saturday (19th) sees the swell size bump back up to 2.5m, but the period is a junkie 8 seconds straight out of the east. That, plus that strong cross-onshore, means it’s just a windblown mess out there. The 1599 energy reading is irrelevant with that kind of wind.

Sunday (20th) has a similar story. Medium period southwest swell (2.2m at 14s) but the 45 km/h SE cross-shore is just relentless. The energy is all over the place, but with that much wind, it’s just a mess.

Then we get a tiny reprieve on Monday (21st). The swell drops to 1.5m, but the wind eases to a light cross-off, which actually cleans it up. It’s a real step down in size, but it’s the best wave quality we’ve seen in days. The energy is down to 1338, but it's the first sign of something organized.

The following few days (22nd to 24th) are pretty terrible. We’re dropping down to 1.8m and then a big pulse of 3-3.5m southwest swell arrives on the 23rd and 24th, but again, the wind is just howling cross-onshore from the east. It's a total blustery, messy situation. A lot of water moving, but no shape.

Now, the big one. Friday the 25th is the standout. A solid 4.0m southwest groundswell at 16 seconds, pushing in a huge 7750 combined energy. The morning’s offshore wind from the west cleans it up, but it’s going to be massive. The afternoon does drop a bit to 3.5m but the wind is still offshore but stronger. This is a serious, expert-only size on the reef. The 16-second period is about as long as it gets, so this is some proper groundswell – and that raw power is going to be everywhere.

Saturday (26th) is still solid, with 2.4m of swell and a strong offshore wind. The period is 13 seconds. It’s clean but it’s still under that strong offshore pressure, which makes it hard to get into. Not a day to be learning.

And then, the magic moment. Sunday morning (27th) the wind dies completely – it goes glassy with a 1.9m SSW groundswell on a 13-second period. That’s the cleanest, most user-friendly wave of the whole period. It’s still got some energy, but it’s not a crazy size. The lighter morning is the window. The afternoon goes cross-on and choppy again, killing it.

After that, the energy just falls off a cliff. We’re looking at 1.9m on Monday (28th) but the wind is back cross-onshore, then it drops to nothing – 0.8m and then down to 0.5m by Tuesday (29th) and Wednesday (30th). The energy levels drop to three figures and then to double digits. By the 1st of October, it’s pretty flat. There might be a knee-high ripple but that’s it. This is a real lull.

So, bottom line: you’ve got a difficult start full of messy, awful conditions. Then the big pulse on Friday the 25th for experts. But if you want the cleanest, most user-friendly surf that’s actually rideable, your one shot is early Sunday morning the 27th when it turns glassy and clean. It’s better than it looks, but it looks like a struggle for most of the window.

Rusty

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