Little Austi and Main Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ll be straight with you – the next couple of weeks at Little Austi and Main Beach are mostly a write-off. This exposed beach and reef setup is staring down a long run of small, weak energy and unfriendly winds. The combined energy readings for the first week are barely scraping double digits (between 8 and 73), which is about as weak as it gets. You’re looking at a gap of about nine days before anything worth paddling out for shows up. That first real sniff of action isn’t until Saturday the 12th of September.

Let’s break it down. Water temp is sitting around 64°, which is bang on average for this time of year – nothing weird there. This Thursday the 3rd, we’ve got a tiny 1 ft swell from the ENE at a short 10 seconds, with a cross-off WSW breeze at 12 mph. It’s clean, but there’s no push. Friday the 4th is cleaner with a glassy morning and a light offshore from the NW at 3 mph, but that 1 ft bump is still pathetic. Saturday the 5th gets worse – 0.7 ft to 3 ft – and even with an offshore NW wind on the arvo, a 6-second period from the NE is all wobble, no drive. Sunday and Monday are flat or near-flat with onshore slop. Tuesday the 8th is a write-off with cross-onshore E winds. Wednesday the 9th sees a slight lift to 3 ft – 4 ft from the SSE, but the wind is howling S at 16 mph, cross-onshore and choppy as. That's not surfing, that’s a washing machine.

Thursday the 10th morning brings the first bit of size – 7 ft from the SSE – but the wind is cross-onshore from the S at 9 mph, making it a messy, lumpy wall. Combined energy hits 490, which is moderate, but the quality is cooked. That afternoon it drops to 0.3 ft, so it’s a one-session wonder. Honestly, at that size and with that chop, this beach and reef setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

Now, the standout. Mark your calendar for Saturday the 12th of September. The morning session is the only real winner in the whole outlook. You’ve got a 4 ft SSE groundswell with a long 12-second period, producing a combined energy of 504 – finally some proper push. The wind is a clean cross-off from the N at 9 mph. That makes for clean, lined-up waves. Keep an eye on the direction – the optimum here is ENE, and this is coming from SSE, so it’s not a perfect match for the sand banks, but the longer period (over 11 seconds) will favour this reef setup over the beach. It’s not massive – intermediate-friendly – and because it’s a long period groundswell, expect longer lulls between sets, making paddling out easier. Crowds are sometimes an issue here, so you might have some company. The afternoon goes to shit as the wind swings NE and picks up to 16 mph, turning it into a cross-chop mess. So get it early.

Sunday the 13th is a step back with 2 ft, and a cross-off NNW breeze – clean but tiny. Monday the 14th offers some cross-off WSW wind and a 1 ft bump, but it’s weak. The rest of the second week is mostly flat or near-flat with occasional glassy mornings (like Thursday the 17th with 0.7 ft from the ENE and a 13-second period) but no power. Friday the 18th is a dead calm zero swell day.

So the long and short of it: one decent morning on Saturday the 12th, and that’s your lot. The rest is a pup. Keep an eye on the charts – things can change, but right now, don’t hold your breath.

Rusty.

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