Lyall Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Right, let’s have a look at what’s coming up for Lyall Bay. We’ve got a bit of a mixed bag over the next couple of weeks, with a few solid windows of clean surf, but plenty of gaps where it’s not worth paddling out.

It’s a slow start. Thursday 20 August is pretty ordinary – cloudy, a light cross-on breeze, and the swell’s just over 5ft but with a weak combined energy of 730, so not much punch. The water’s sitting at 54°, which is about average for this time of year, nothing unusual. Thursday afternoon goes glassy, but the swell period drops to 8 seconds – short and weak (467 energy). Not worth getting excited about.

Friday 21 August is where things pick up. Morning sees a clean 5ft south swell with a long 16-second period, and a light offshore NNE breeze. The combined energy hits 1086 – that’s moderate to strong, and it’s shaping up nicely. This is one of the better windows, with decent power and clean lines. The swell’s from the south, which is what Lyall Bay likes to see. The afternoon stays offshore but the wind picks up to 18 mph, making it a bit harder to manage.

Then we hit a dry spell. From Saturday 22 August right through to the end of the month, the wind howls from the northwest and west-northwest, often 25–31 mph. Swell drops to under 3ft, and the energy falls away to just 38–23. It’s blown out, messy, and not worth a look. That’s a solid week of nothing.

Monday 24 August brings a brief return – morning offshore with a 5ft SSW swell, 14-second period, and 957 energy. Clean, but the wind’s already up to 15 mph, so it’s a bit of a battle. The afternoon freshens off more. After that, it’s back to strong winds and poor surf until the very end of the month.

Sunday 30 August shows a glimmer: morning offshore with a 5ft SSW swell, 12-second period, and 624 energy. Gentle breeze, clean conditions. Solid, but not a standout.

Now, the real highlight – Monday 31 August. This is the one to circle. Morning: 7ft SSW swell, 14-second period, offshore N wind, with a massive 2907 combined energy. That’s strong, powerful groundswell. The afternoon is even better: 8ft, 15-second period, light offshore, 2447 energy. This is excellent surf for experienced surfers – clean, powerful, and well-shaped. The long period will make for some nice lines, but it might break a bit straight at the beach, so keep that in mind.

Tuesday 1 September keeps it going with an 8ft south swell, 12-second period, and 2117 energy, but the wind is a fresh 18 mph offshore, making it tricky to get in. Still, for the experienced crew, it’s worth a paddle.

From Wednesday 2 September, the swell jumps to 10ft with a strong offshore, but the energy is 3191 – that’s very powerful. This is expert-only territory, maxing out the break. After that, the swell settles back to 5–7ft through to Friday 4 September, with clean offshore winds and moderate energy, but nothing else that jumps out as a standout.

Overall, the best bet is Monday 31 August – clean, powerful, and well-directed. The Friday 21 August morning is a solid runner-up. The rest of the window is either blown out or too big for the average punter.

Rusty.

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