La Barra Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ll be straight with you – the next couple of weeks at La Barra are gonna be a tough watch for surfers. This beach and reef setup is exposed to the swell, and the wind just won’t play ball. The swell direction is mostly from the north to north-northeast, which isn’t ideal – this spot really wants it from the west-northwest. We’ve got a solid gap of days where you can pretty much leave the boards in the car.

For Sunday the 13th, the swell’s around 6 ft from the north, but that northerly wind at 9 mph is blowing cross-onshore, making it choppy and ugly. The combined energy is moderate (378), but the surf quality is poor. Monday the 14th is a bit smaller, 4 ft from the north-northeast, and the wind drops to a light 3 mph from the west, but it’s still cross-onshore with small wind ripples – marginal at best. Tuesday the 15th, the swell drops right off to 2 ft, and it’s still poor. This pattern of cross-onshore winds and poor surf conditions just keeps rolling on through to the end of the week. Thursday the 17th and Friday the 18th see the swell pick back up to 5–7 ft from the north-northeast, but with moderate breezes of 16 mph from the north and north-northwest, it’s gonna be choppy and messy. The combined energy gets up to a strong 747 on Friday morning, but with those winds, it’s more of a kite-surfing scenario than a paddle-surfing one.

We finally get a bit of a shift around Monday the 21st. The swell is from the northwest, which is a much better direction for La Barra, and the period is a very long 16 seconds – that’s proper groundswell energy. The swell height is only 3 ft in the morning, rising to 4 ft in the afternoon, and the wind is light, cross-onshore from the north-northwest. The combined energy is strong (553–744), and this is the most promising window in the whole outlook. But it’s only marginal, so don’t get too excited. Tuesday the 22nd keeps that northwest swell, 4–4 ft with a long 13-second period, but the wind picks up to 9 mph from the north, still cross-onshore. After that, it fades back into small, poor surf for the rest of the month.

Honestly, the best bet in this 16-day run is the 21st and 22nd of September. The northwest swell is the standout direction, and the long period will give the waves some shape, especially as it’s a beach and reef setup – those long-period swells can be a bit straight at beach breaks, but the reef might help. The water temperature is about average for the time of year. Crowds are likely here, and with the inconsistency of quality, it’ll be a busy lineup if there’s anything rideable. It’s not a classic, but it’s the closest we’ll get.

Rusty.

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