Kelso (Happy Wanderers) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, mate, Rusty here. Let’s break down what’s heading our way for the next couple of weeks.

Overall, it’s a mixed run with a solid start, a quiet stretch, and a big, uncertain pulse right at the end. The first few days are your best bet, then it goes flat, with a possible late return.

The first real action is at Kelso (Happy Wanderers) . This is a point break that’s fairly consistent and gets a decent SSW swell. The water temp is about average for this time of year, nothing special. We’ve got a solid pulse of swell coming in on the 10th, with a big groundswell from the SSW. Friday morning has 10-foot surf with a 15-second period, which is a very long-period groundswell. That’s a ton of energy (3337), but it’s marked as marginal and the wind is a light cross-shore, so it might be a bit messy. Friday afternoon eases to 8 feet, and the wind turns to a cross-off, cleaning it up. The real standout is Saturday the 11th. Morning has 7 feet at 13 seconds with a light cross-off breeze, making for clean, lined-up waves. The afternoon picks up a bit more energy (1443) with 7 feet from the S, still clean. That’s your best window – solid, clean, and just right for intermediate surfers. It’s a bit big for beginners over 5 feet, but not into expert-only territory.

Sunday the 12th drops off, with 6 feet in the morning and a moderate breeze, so still clean but weaker. After that, the wave energy drops steadily. Monday the 13th morning is a different kind of highlight – glassy conditions with 6 feet, but the period crashes to 8 seconds, so it’s weak windswell (574). It’ll be clean and fun for a longboard, but not the same power.

Tuesday the 14th and Wednesday the 15th mornings see a return to cleaner conditions with 6 feet and 7 feet again, and Wednesday morning is glassy with a 10-second period – that’s a nice, clean session (813). After that, the swell fades fast. From Friday the 17th through to Monday the 21st, it’s a long gap of small, weak, or messy surf. The energy drops into the low hundreds and even double digits, with poor conditions and onshore winds. Not worth paddling out.

Then, out of nowhere, on Tuesday the 21st morning, there’s a spike of 6 feet from the NE with a short 6-second period (391). It’s clean with a light cross-off, but that period is so short it’ll be choppy and weak. By the 25th, the last day of the forecast, we get a massive pulse of 7 feet from the SSW with a 17-second period (2504). That’s a very long period groundswell and *huge* energy. But the wind is a moderate cross-onshore, making it choppy and poor. It’s a tease for the end of the window, but you’d need a lucky wind change to make it work.

So, for the best surf, get out on Saturday the 11th. Morning or afternoon, it’s clean, solid, and consistent. It’s a point break, so that long-period groundswell will wrap in nicely. After that, the pickings are slim until the end of the month, which is too far out to bank on.

Rusty.

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