Little Austi and Main Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, let’s talk about what’s happening at our local break, Little Austi and Main Beach. It’s a beach and reef setup, fairly consistent, exposed to ENE swell, and it likes wind from the NW to keep things clean. The water’s sitting at about 63°F, which is pretty much average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

Honestly, the first week is a bit of a struggle. From Thursday the 13th right through to the end of the following week, the surf is mostly small, weak, and messy. We’ve got a lot of poor surf conditions with combined swell energy barely cracking triple digits most days – think readings like 35, 55, 19 – so the ocean’s just not got any punch. Winds are often onshore or cross-onshore, adding chop and ripples. There’s a glassy moment on Friday morning the 14th but the swell is only 1 ft and the energy is a paltry 31, so it’s not worth paddling out for.

Sunday the 16th sees a jump in height to 5 ft from the SSE, and the energy hits 212 (moderate), but the period is a short 6 seconds and the wind is onshore, so it’s lumpy and junky. That’s more of a kite-surfing setup than anything you’d want to paddle into. The rest of that week stays in the poor-to-ordinary range, with small swell and cross-shore winds.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. The real standout comes on Saturday the 22nd and Sunday the 23rd – that’s over a week away, so keep an eye on the forecasts. Saturday morning sees clean conditions with a moderate offshore NW breeze, 4 ft ENE swell at a period of 9 seconds, and energy of 203 (moderate). But it’s Saturday afternoon that’s the pick: 5 ft from the ENE, period 9 seconds, a light WNW offshore breeze making it clean, and the combined energy jumps to 563 – that’s strong energy, real push. That’s going to produce some proper, rippable waves at Little Austi and Main Beach. Sunday morning holds similar quality with 4 ft and clean offshore wind, though the energy drops a bit to 273. Still very good.

The swell direction matches the optimum (ENE), the winds are offshore, the period is decent (9 seconds – solid short-period groundswell, not too straight-breaking for this beach-and-reef setup), and the energy is strong. This is the window to clear your schedule for. Crowds can be an issue here sometimes, so expect company if the forecast holds.

After that, Monday the 24th gets blown out by strong SSW winds and the surf fades quickly into tiny, choppy junk through to the end of the outlook.

So, bottom line: the first week and a half is pretty flat and messy – a proper dry spell. Don’t bother until the 22nd. That Saturday afternoon through Sunday morning is your best shot by far. Keep your fingers crossed.

Rusty.

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