Laundromats Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, it’s Rusty. Let’s be straight with you – the next 16 days at Laundromats are about as exciting as a flat tyre. We’ve only got one break in the frame, and honestly, it’s a tough watch. The overall pattern is small, weak, and messy. There’s a real gap right through from the start of September right up until the very end of the window, with hardly anything worth paddling out for. The water’s sitting at 81°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year – feels like a warm bath, but the surf just isn’t backing it up.

We kick off on Wednesday the 2nd of September. The afternoon sees a weak 3 ft swell from the ESE, period around 10 seconds – that’s a short-period groundswell that’s trying, but it’s got a light cross-onshore breeze on it and the combined energy is only 109 (moderate). The wave comment says it all: poor surf conditions. Not a score worth chasing.

Thursday the 3rd offers a little glimmer on the morning – a clean 2 ft from the ESE with a 9-second period, and a light offshore WSW wind blowing. The combined energy drops to 54 (weak), and the surf is described as “surfable but very ordinary.” That’s about as good as it gets, and it’s not saying much. The afternoon goes back to poor with a cross-shore breeze.

Friday the 4th morning brings a stronger offshore wind (WSW at 12 mph) but the swell is tiny – 1 ft, 8-second period, energy down to 32 (weak). It’s clean, but you’d be surfing ankle-biters. The rest of the first week is a write-off: tiny swells, cross-onshore winds, and chop. Saturday and Sunday are both poor, with the wind picking up and the swell barely registering.

The second week doesn’t get any better. From Monday the 7th through to the 16th, we see a few pulses of slightly bigger swell – like on the 7th morning, a 3 ft ENE swell with 8-second period and energy of 142 (moderate) – but the wind is cross-onshore and it’s choppy. The wave comment is consistently “poor surf conditions.” The combined energy stays in the weak-to-moderate range, never breaking into anything strong. The swell direction is mostly ESE or ENE, which isn’t ideal for Laundromats – it’s exposed to NE swell, so we’re getting the wrong angle.

The standout – if you can call it that – is the morning of Tuesday the 16th of September. Offshore wind from the west at just 3 mph, glassy clean conditions, and a 3 ft swell from the NE with a 5-second period – that’s a short, weak windswell, but the energy is 79 (weak). The wave comment calls it “surfable but very ordinary.” The afternoon gets a bit bigger at 4 ft from the ENE, but the wind flips onshore and it’s poor again. The 16th morning is the only real window where you might get a clean little wave, but it’s for beginners and intermediates at best – anything over 5 ft is too much for beginners, but this is small enough to be fun if you’re not fussy.

Honestly, though, there’s nothing here that screams “go.” The consistency is fair, but the quality is terrible. With such weak energy and poor conditions, this setup actually looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing – the consistent cross-onshore winds and small chop would suit a kite. For the rest of us, it’s a waiting game. Forecasts can change, so don’t write it off completely, but right now, I’d keep the board in the car.

Rusty.

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