La Barra Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let's get into what we've got for the next couple weeks.

Alright, so the honest truth for this region is that we are staring down a real tough run. The forecast shows a lot of wind and chop working against us right from the start, and it looks like it's going to keep things messy for a good while.

There’s some swell showing up, no doubt about it. As we head into Friday morning, August 28th, we’re looking at a 5ft swell, but it’s coming straight from the NNE with a short period of just 6 seconds. That’s windswell, and with a 16 mph cross-shore wind, the water is going to be a mess of cross-chop. The energy is moderate at best (206), but with those conditions, it’s just not worth paddling out for.

This same story plays out through the weekend and into the following week. We get a little bump in size on Sunday morning, August 30th, with a 6ft swell, but the period stays short and the wind turns cross-onshore, making it choppy and bumpy. The combined energy pushes up a bit (336), but the score of 0 from the local data tells you everything you need to know: poor surf conditions.

Things don't really turn around. There's a bit of a pulse around Wednesday, September 2nd, with swell hitting over 7ft (7ft in the morning, 7ft in the afternoon) and a little more period (8 seconds). That's actually some solid wave energy, with the combined hit reading 588 and 705, but it's still all coming from the NNE with a stiff 16-19 mph cross-onshore wind. That's fresh and lumpy, not clean surf.

We finally see a shift in the wind around Friday, September 4th, turning offshore from the NW and NNW. That's the first real glimmer of hope. The swell is still there at 5ft to 6ft from the N, but the period is still a short 8 seconds. With that offshore wind, the waves *might* clean up a bit, making for some workable but not great waves. It’s still a poor surf condition call though, so don’t get your hopes up too high.

The second week is a slow fade. Heights drop into the 1ft to 4ft range through to the 10th of September, with energy dropping down to the low double digits (62 and 66). That's weak. About the only thing worth noting way out there is towards the end of the run, on Friday, September 11th and into Saturday, September 12th. We see a bit of a lift again, with swell hitting 5ft and 6ft and the combined energy reading back up into the 400 to 500 range. But that annoying NNE windswell pattern looks set to return with a cross-onshore wind, so it’s going to be more messy chop than anything clean.

Because there are no standout periods where the wind and swell actually line up, I can't point you to any single "best" day. The whole run is plagued by either short-period windswell or a strong, unfavourable wind direction. For La Barra, a beach and reef set-up, that NNE wind is doing us no favours. It’s going to be a frustrating stretch for a paddle surfer. If the wind keeps up, it might start looking more interesting for the kite crew than anyone with a shortboard.

Stay patient, keep an eye on the forecasts, it won’t be like this forever.

Rusty

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