Inch Reefs Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Righto, let’s have a look at what’s cookin’ for Inch Reefs. Honestly, mate, it’s a bit of a flat spell with hardly a pulse to get excited about. The water’s sitting at 64°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year – a nice little bonus if you’re having a dip, but the surf ain’t givin’ us much to work with.

We kick off on Thursday, August 20th, with a tiny 0.7ft to 1ft SSW swell. It’s there, but barely. There’s a fresh breeze from the north blowing cross-off, so it’s clean on the face, but the combined swell energy is a weak 21 – that’s just not enough to push a surfboard. The whole first week is a real struggle. Friday and Saturday see a bit of a micro-swell, nothing above 2ft, and while Saturday morning (22nd) turns offshore from the NE with a light breeze, it’s still only 1ft. Glassy conditions on Sunday morning (23rd) with the wind from the SE at just 3 mph, but again, 1ft just doesn’t cut it. We’re stuck in a pattern of “surfable but very ordinary” – it’s a long way to paddle for nothing.

There’s a three-day stretch there from Thursday to Saturday where you’re honestly better off doin’ something else. The energy is all two-digit numbers – 26, 63, 69 – weak as dishwater.

Things finally show a pulse on Tuesday, August 25th. We get a 3ft WSW swell rolling in, with a combined energy of 137 – that’s moderate, finally something with a bit of push. The breeze is light from the ESE, cross-off, so it’ll be clean. It’s not a classic day, but it’s the best we’ve seen so far.

Then it gets a bit bigger from Wednesday, August 26th, through to Thursday, August 27th, with swell heights hitting 5ft to 6ft from the W and WNW. That’s more size, but the wind gets messy – cross-onshore and onshore, with a moderate breeze making it choppy. The energy jumps into the 400–640 range, which is strong, but the quality is poor. The longer period (9-10 seconds) means there’s some shape in there, but with those winds, it’s more of a battle than a cruise. For a point break like Inch Reefs, that size with onshore wind just turns it into a washing machine. Honestly, if the wind was offshore, we’d be talking, but it ain’t.

After that, we back off into tiny waves again, with a long flat run into the first week of September. There’s a brief flash on Wednesday, September 2nd, with a 1ft SW swell and a light offshore from the NE, but the energy is only 46. Late in the afternoon, a 1ft SW swell with a 16-second period pops up, energy at 111, clean from a light N breeze – that’s a tease of a nice long-period groundswell, but it’s just too small.

Look, there’s one standout in this whole 16-day window, and it’s not a dream session. Inch Reefs on Tuesday, August 25th is your best bet. That 3ft WSW swell with light ESE cross-off wind will give you the cleanest, most rideable waves of the period. It’s only 3ft, so it’s fine for most abilities, and the combined energy of 137 means there’s actual push. That’s the one to pencil in. Everything else in the second week is tiny, windy, or flat. It’s a lean run, but that’s how it goes sometimes.

Rusty.

Read more