Inchydoney Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ve gotta be straight with you – the next sixteen days around Inchydoney are a tough watch. We’re looking at a real quiet spell, especially for a river mouth that needs a specific push from the SW. The first proper surf I can see is a tiny little pulse on Saturday the 5th of September, but it’s barely a ripple. Most of the window is filled with onshore wind and junk, so you’re going to be waiting a long time between any real turns.

Let’s start with what’s on offer. The first bit of action is Saturday the 5th. We’ve got a tiny 1ft SSW swell rolling in, but it’s coming from the SSW with a solid 14-second period, which is a long-period groundswell. The combined energy is weak, only 120, and honestly, the wind is on it, making it a messy, poor surf situation. It’s not going to be worth paddling out for.

Sunday the 6th picks up a bit, with swell hitting 5ft on the Sunday morning and 6ft in the afternoon, but it’s all short-period windswell at 6 seconds, coming from a messy S/SSW direction. The wind is howling at 22 mph, onshore and cross-onshore, so it’s a lumpy, blown-out mess. The combined energy climbs to 226 and 245, but it’s just not rideable. The water temperature is about average for this time of year, nothing unusual to report.

The biggest push of the entire forecast comes in on Monday the 7th of September. The swell hits 6ft, from the WSW, with a 12-second period that’s a solid groundswell. The combined energy rockets up to 1101, which is strong wave energy, but the wind is a fresh 22 mph cross-onshore and then cross-shore, making it a lumpy, poor surf. The Monday afternoon sees the energy drop to 821, but it’s still cross-shore and lumpy. For a sheltered river mouth, that’s just frustrating.

After that, it’s a long, drawn-out decline. Tuesday the 8th has clean-ish conditions in the afternoon with a cross-offshore wind, but the swell is already down to 5ft and dropping. The rest of the week is a mix of tiny 0.7ft to 2ft swell with cross-shore winds, weak energy (often under 100), and no real quality. The best-looking window for a clean wave is actually on the 13th and 14th of September, with a light NNE and ENE wind going cross-offshore, but the swell is only 0.7ft with a 12-13 second period – that’s a long-period groundswell that’s just too small to do anything at a river break.

The only standout, if you can call it that, is the last day of the forecast, Sunday the 20th of September. We get a 3ft SSW swell, a 4-second period, and a light N wind at 6 mph blowing offshore. Combined energy is still only 63, and the period is short, so it’s a weak, windswell. But for a river mouth, offshore wind is the key. It’ll be clean, but tiny. It’s the only day in the whole 16 days that looks even half-decent, but it’s so far out that it’s promising but less certain.

So, the best on offer? The Sunday the 20th of September at Inchydoney. It’s a 3ft SSW groundswell, clean under a light offshore wind from the north. It’s not going to be big, but it’ll be the most rideable moment of the whole outlook. The crowds are “sometimes” here, so you might have a few friends out, but it’s a quiet spot. For everything else, the wind is just too strong and onshore. If you’re a kite surfer, the 6ft day on Monday the 7th with that strong cross-shore wind might be more interesting, but for a paddle surfer, it’s a blank run.

Rusty.

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