Inch Reefs Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right then, let’s have a look at what’s on the table for the next couple of weeks at Inch Reefs.

Honestly, the outlook for Inch Reefs is a bit of a tough one. There’s swell around, no doubt about it, but the wind is just not playing ball for most of the period. It’s one of those frustrating runs where the ocean has some grunt, but the surface is going to be chopped up and lumpy more often than not. The water’s sitting at 63°F, which is a touch warmer than we’d expect for this time of year, but you’ll be in a wetsuit anyway.

For the first week, the story is pretty much the same. We’ve got swell rolling in from Wednesday afternoon, the 2nd of September, with a 6ft southwest swell, but it’s onshore at 12 mph straight out of the southwest. The combined swell energy is sitting at 418 (moderate), but the wind is just ruining it – poor surf conditions. Thursday the 3rd will kick off with a 7ft swell from the WSW, but again, that onshore wind from the southwest is messing it up. The energy picks up to 628, then 703 in the afternoon, but it’s still onshore and poor. Friday the 4th drops off to almost nothing – 1ft of long period 14-second swell, but the energy is tiny at 53 and the wind is cross-onshore. That’s pretty flat and messy. The weekend into Monday the 7th and Tuesday the 8th sees a real spike in size, but with terrible wind. Saturday the 5th is small and cross-shore, Sunday the 6th brings 7ft to 7ft of swell (energy hitting 635 and then 947), but it’s cross-onshore and choppy. Then Monday the 7th is the biggest pulse of the run – an 12ft to 13ft swell from the west, with a huge combined energy of 1827 and then 2626. That’s a lot of water moving, but the wind is onshore or strong cross-onshore, up to 25 mph. That’s expert-only territory in the whitewash, and honestly, it looks un-surfable. It’s more likely a kite surfer’s dream than a paddle surfer’s. Tuesday the 8th drops right off into the doldrums, with almost no swell.

After a quiet spell, there’s a slight chance of a cleaner window on Thursday the 10th of September. The morning offers an 8ft swell from the west, energy at 1122, with the wind from the west at 9 mph – that’s cross-onshore, but only a light breeze. It’s marginal, but it’s the best of a bad bunch. The afternoon stays messy with a cross-shore wind. Friday the 11th has a small 4ft swell with light cross-onshore wind, but it’s not great. Then we get a window of clean conditions from Sunday the 13th through Monday the 14th of September. The swell is tiny – only 0.3ft to 4ft – but the wind goes cross-offshore, coming from the north and northwest. The combined energy is very low (7 to 352), so it’s small and clean. For a longboard or a log, that Sunday afternoon with a 3 mph northwesterly and 0.3ft of swell is about the cleanest you’ll see, but you’ll be scratching for a ride.

The real standout, if you can call it that, has to be the morning of Thursday the 10th. That 8ft swell from the west, with a period of 10 seconds, has some proper grunt (1122 energy), and the wind is only a light breeze. It’s still cross-onshore, but it’s the most size and the least wind-ruined option across the whole 16 days. It’s for advanced surfers only at that size, especially on a point break. Keep in mind, Inch Reefs can get crowded sometimes, which makes a clean, bigger day even more of a mission.

The second week is mostly a write-off. From the 15th of September onwards, it’s small and onshore or windy again, with a brief flicker of clean but tiny surf on the 16th in a near gale cross-offshore wind (31 mph!). That’s risky. The 17th has a 6ft west-northwest swell, but it’s messy with a strong cross-onshore wind. It’s a hard pass.

In short, there are no perfect days, but Thursday the 10th morning is your best bet if you’re an experienced surfer looking for some power. Everything else is either too small, too windy, or too big with bad wind.

Rusty

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