Long Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Righto folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's cookin' at Long Reef over this stretch.

To be straight with you, this is a lean fortnight. The first week is pretty much a write-off for any sort of decent session. We've got a lot of days with small, weak surf and poor conditions. There's a real gap from Wednesday the 19th through until around Friday the 28th where you'd be scratching for anything worthwhile. Most of that time it's poor surf with onshore or messy winds.

But hold on, because Friday the 28th of August morning actually shows a little spark. We get a 3ft southeast swell rolling in, and the wind goes offshore from the west at just 6 mph, keeping it clean. The combined energy is moderate at 207, and while the break is fairly consistent, it's an advanced reef setup, so it's not one for the grommets. This Friday morning is the standout window in the whole run, but don't get too excited – it's a small window.

After that, things get a bit wild. Saturday the 29th and Sunday the 30th see a big jump in swell size – we're talking 12ft from the southeast on Saturday – but the wind is howling onshore with a strong breeze up to 28 mph. That's messy, dangerous, and really only for the most experienced crew or more interesting for the kite surfers. The energy reads a massive 1999 on Saturday morning, which is strong, but you wouldn't want to paddle into that mess.

Later on, around Monday the 31st of August and into September, we get some long-period groundswell from the south (15-16 seconds), but the wind stays cross-onshore and the waves are small, around 2-3ft. That long period at a beach-and-reef setup like this tends to make things close out, so it's not a great bet.

Water temp is about average for this time of year, nothing to write home about.

Best bet: If you're keen and experienced, pencil in the Friday the 28th of August morning. For everything else, you're better off waiting for the next system.

Rusty.

Read more