Kelso (Happy Wanderers) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right. Rusty here, taking a hard look at the Kelso region's surf outlook for the next couple of weeks, and mates, we’ve got our work cut out for us.

Right off the bat, Happy Wanderers is the only show in town. This is a fairly consistent point break that likes a south swell. The thing is, it’s going to be a battle to find a clean window. The water temp is sitting at a pretty standard 71° for this time of year, so don’t expect any surprises there. But the surf? It’s a long, painful wait.

The first day with any kind of swell worth paddling for doesn't show up until the morning of Friday the 4th. But don't get too excited – that's a 10ft south swell with a short, nasty 8-second period and wind screaming out of the SSW at 28 mph making it a raw, blown-out mess with massive wave energy (1176). That's expert-only, and even then, it's not fun. It’s the afternoon of the 4th that might catch your eye, with a 12ft south swell (9 secs, 1854 energy), but it’s just a lumpy, windy wall. The setup is better suited for kites than paddles.

Saturday the 5th drops to a 8ft SSE swell in the morning, but we’re dealing with a fresh onshore breeze, so the surface will be rubbish. Then we get a stretch of nothing but small, messy and onshore slop from Saturday afternoon right through Monday the 7th. Monday morning sees a massive 8ft south swell with a very long 17-second period (4442 energy), but it’s accompanied by a cross-onshore NNE breeze – the waves will be powerful but too lined up and blown out to surf well at this spot.

After Monday, the surf dies again. There’s a complete dry spell with hardly a ripple from Tuesday the 8th all the way through the weekend and into Monday the 14th. Loads of days with wave energy barely breaking 100, if that.

Now, keep your eye on Tuesday the 15th. That’s the one. The morning brings a 5ft SSW groundswell with a lovely 14-second period and good energy (1290). But the real kicker? The wind is a gentle 9 mph breeze from the south, which puts it cross-offshore. Expect clean, lined-up waves with good shape. Conditions are looking prime. This is the standout.

After that, the wind gets ugly again on Wednesday the 16th with a 5ft south swell (12 seconds) spoilt by a howling NE. Thursday the 17th has the same size swell but a fresh cross-off shore, lukewarm at best.

The only other glimmer is on Friday the 18th. It’s a smaller day, with a 3ft SSE swell but a solid 13-second period. The wind goes offshore from the WSW at 12 mph. The wave energy is moderate (402), but that offshore breeze would make for some clean, fun little waves.

So, to sum it up: the first week and a half is pretty grim with only big, windy walls for experts. The one session to set an alarm for is Tuesday the 15th in the morning. That offshore flow with a solid groundswell should be clean and have some punch. Friday the 18th is a distant second, a smaller but clean option.

Stay patient, mates.
Rusty.

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