Lighthouse Beach Port Macquarie Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's shaping up for Lighthouse Beach Port Macquarie over the next couple of weeks. It's a mixed bag, so we gotta pick our windows carefully.

Right off the bat, things are looking pretty ordinary. For the first few days, the swell is there but the wind is just wrecking it. Thursday the 10th is a write-off with a solid 10ft southerly swell and strong cross-onshore winds, making for a real messy lineup. That's a lot of power in the water (combined energy of 3851), but not a wave you'd want to be on.

We see some size drop through Friday the 11th, but it's still bumpy with cross-shore breezes and a 6ft to 6ft SSE swell. The combined energy is still moderate (732 and 620), but the quality is marginal at best. Saturday the 12th morning has a drop to 4ft and an onshore wind, but the energy is still there (433). The rest of that weekend and into the start of the next week is all pretty small and weak, with wave heights dropping below 3ft and combined energy falling into the low hundreds. We're in a lull.

Now, the good news starts on Thursday the 17th of September. We get a small but super clean morning. The swell is 4ft from the SSE, but the wind goes glassy – dead calm. The water temp is average for this time of year, so no surprises there. This is your window for a clean, cruisy session on a longboard or a fish. The waves will be small, but the conditions will be perfect.

The real standout, the one to circle on the calendar, is Sunday the 20th of September. Both the morning and afternoon are looking excellent. We're talking a 6ft to 4ft SSE swell with a long 11-second period, and light offshore to cross-off northerly winds. The combined energy is solid (638 and 513) and the description says "expect very good surf conditions." This is your pick of the fortnight – solid, clean, and fun waves for intermediate surfers. The optimum swell direction is ESE, and this SSE swell is close enough to be working well, especially on the more exposed sections.

There is a late pulse on Thursday the 24th of September, with an 8ft SSE swell, but the period is a short 8 seconds and the winds are offshore. That's a lot of power (combined energy over 1000) but with that short period it will be a bit lumpy and weaker in the face. It's more for the experienced crew, as it's big and will be a handful.

To be honest, the first week is a bit of a struggle. There's a long gap from the 10th to the 17th where you're just working with small, or blown-out surf. The 17th is a clean but tiny reprieve, then the standout is definitely Sunday the 20th. Get on it.

Rusty.

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