Lyall Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’m not gonna sugarcoat it—the next two weeks at Lyall Bay are a real mixed bag, with more dud days than diamonds, but there are a couple of windows where it’ll all line up if you're keen to paddle out.

The overall pattern is dominated by frequent strong winds, which will mess up a lot of the incoming swell. We’ve got a whole lot of days where the energy is there, but the wind just wrecks it. For most of the first week, you’ll be watching from the car park.

The first real highlight doesn’t hit until Monday morning, the 24th of August. This is the standout of the whole outlook. The swell jumps to 8 ft from the SSW, with a long 12-second period, packing a hefty combined energy of 1683 — that’s strong wave energy, no question. The wind swings offshore from the NNW at 16 mph, which will clean it right up. This is excellent surf, but at that size, it’s really only for experienced surfers. Beginners, give this one a miss. Crowds are possible at Lyall Bay.

Later that same day, Monday afternoon, the swell drops to 6 ft but the wind picks up to a fresh 22 mph offshore from the north. It’s rideable but the wind will make it tricky.

The next real standout is Thursday morning, the 27th of August. Swell is 6 ft from the SSW with a very long 18-second period — that’s proper groundswell, and it’ll have heaps of punch (combined energy 2058). Light offshore wind from the north at 9 mph should keep it glassy. Again, this is for the experienced crew.

Towards the end of the first week, Monday morning, the 31st of August, brings another solid pulse: 6 ft from the SSW, 10-second period, combined energy of 774. Offshore NNW wind at 12 mph, so the conditions should be pretty clean. Expect very good surf.

After that, it gets messy again until Wednesday morning, the 2nd of September. That morning we’ve got 5 ft from the SSW, 14-second period, combined energy 934, with a light breeze from the NE — clean enough, and it’s marked as very good conditions.

Then finally, Thursday afternoon, the 3rd of September, a small window: 5 ft from the S, 9-second period, combined energy 477, with almost no wind from the NNE. It’ll be clean and should offer some fun waves for those who don’t need a huge swell.

Water temp is sitting at 52°F, which is about 1°F cooler than average for this time of year — nothing too wild, just a typical winter chill.

Honestly, if you’re after the best waves this fortnight, set your alarm for Monday the 24th and Thursday the 27th. The rest is mostly wind-blown or too small to get excited about. Keep an eye on those forecasts, though — things can change quick.

Rusty.

Read more