La Barra Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. We’ve got a solid run of surf on the cards for La Barra, and it’s one of those setups that’s going to really reward the early birds. The whole window is packed with potential, but there are a couple of absolute gems.

The overall pattern is a sustained, consistent SSW swell, with a lot of those early mornings coming in glassy. The water’s sitting at 88°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year – you’ll be leaving the wetsuit at home.

The standouts are the mornings of Saturday 29 August and Sunday 30 August. The swell bumps up to 4 ft to 4 ft from the SSW, with a period of 15 to 17 seconds – that’s proper groundswell, with heaps of energy. The combined energy readings are 748 and 797, which is strong wave energy. And the wind? Glassy. Zero. It doesn’t get any cleaner. Because it’s a river/jetty setup, that long-period SSW energy is going to wrap in beautifully, offering well-shaped, lined-up waves. The crowd factor is ‘sometimes’ here, so on a Saturday and Sunday morning with conditions like this, you’d expect a few others to have the same idea, but it’s far from a circus.

Let’s walk through the fortnight.

Tuesday 18 August kicks off with a glassy 3 ft SSW swell (14s period) in the morning – that’s a nice, clean 417 energy reading. The afternoon goes cross-on and choppy, so the morning is the only window.

Wednesday 19 August is another cracker of a morning – dead calm, 3 ft of SSW swell, period 15s, energy 452. The afternoon gets messy with a cross-on 12 mph breeze.

Thursday 20 August – glassy morning again, 3 ft of S swell (14s), energy 416. The afternoon turns choppy with a cross-on breeze and the swell period drops to 8s, so it gets short and messy.

Friday 21 August – calm morning, 4 ft from the S (11s), energy 421. Good solid waves. Afternoon cross-on again.

Saturday 22 August – lovely start, glassy, 3 ft S swell (11s), energy 451. Afternoon cross-on ruins it.

Sunday 23 August – glassy morning, though the swell drops to 2 ft from the SSW (14s), energy 434. Still clean but smaller. The afternoon goes cross-shore and marginal.

Monday 24 August – small but glassy, 2 ft (18s period!), energy 399. That long period makes it look better than the height suggests, but it’s a small day.

Tuesday 25 August – glassy morning, 2 ft SSW (16s), energy 353. Clean but small.

Wednesday 26 August – another glassy start, 2 ft (15s), energy 218. Getting smaller.

Thursday 27 August – no good windows here. Both morning and afternoon are cross-on and choppy, with swell down to 1 ft.

Friday 28 August – morning is marginal with a risk of thunderstorms and cross-on wind. Swell is 3 ft (16s), energy 410, but the wind is a problem.

Saturday 29 August – standout morning. Glassy, 4 ft of SSW groundswell at 17s, energy 748. This is the real deal. Waves are going to be clean, powerful, and well-shaped. The afternoon goes cross-on, so make the most of the morning.

Sunday 30 August – standout morning. Dead calm, 4 ft from the SSW (15s), energy 797. That’s the biggest, cleanest swell of the run. The period is just a touch shorter than the day before, but the size and glassy conditions are unbeatable.

Monday 31 August – glassy morning, 4 ft SSW (14s), energy 858. That’s the highest energy reading of the lot. The afternoon goes onshore, but the morning is another top-tier session.

Tuesday 1 September – calm morning, 4 ft SSW (13s), energy 576. Clean and solid. Afternoon goes cross-on and choppy.

Wednesday 2 September – glassy morning, 2 ft from the SSW (18s period – very long!), energy 626. That’s a super long-period groundswell; it’ll be a bit more selective at the river mouth, but the shape should be excellent.

There’s no real gap in the action here – maybe a couple of afternoons that are write-offs, but the mornings are consistent. From the start, almost every morning offers something rideable, and the last few days of August and first of September are the clear highlights.

This is a spot that breaks fairly consistently, so the whole run has a good feel to it. Just remember, the river mouth can handle that long-period swell really well, so don’t write off the days with 15-second-plus periods – they’ll be the ones with the best shape.

Get amongst it. Rusty.

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