Merewether - Ladies Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here, and I’ve got the lowdown on the upcoming surf for Merewether - Ladies. It’s a reef break that’s exposed to the swell and picks up a lot of energy, but the next week and a half is looking pretty average for the most part. There’s a big gap of nothing special before a real standout pops up way down the line.

We’re kicking off on Sunday morning, 30 August, with a small, clean start. The swell is a modest 3 ft from the SSE, with a period of 9 seconds, and the water is about average for this time of year. The wind is virtually glassy, dead calm from the NW at 3 mph, so the waves will be smooth and clean. Combined wave energy is moderate at 220, and it's a nice little session to get wet, but it's not going to blow your mind.

Sunday afternoon turns ugly fast. The wind swings to the east at 9 mph, making it a cross-onshore, and the surf gets choppy and messy. Not worth a paddle.

Monday morning, 31 August, is a glass-off again, with the wind dropping to 0 mph from the NNE. The swell holds at 3 ft from the south, with a period of 9 seconds, and the energy is moderate at 297. It’s clean, but small. It’s a reasonable session if you’re desperate.

From Tuesday morning, 1 September, through to about Saturday, 12 September, it’s a long stretch of mediocrity. The swell bounces between 1.0 ft and 3 ft, mostly from the south, with periods from 8 to 11 seconds. The winds are variable: we get some clean offshore mornings from the NW and WNW, but the wave heights are tiny, and the combined energy is weak to moderate (between 67 and 216). The afternoons are often ruined by cross-onshore or cross-shore winds. There’s a lot of “surfable but ordinary” days, and honestly, nothing here is worth a special trip. The best of this run is probably Wednesday morning, 2 September, with a 2 ft swell and a moderate offshore wind from the NW at 16 mph, keeping it clean, but it’s still just small.

The standout of the entire outlook is the early session on Thursday morning, 10 September. This is a proper pulse of energy. The swell jumps to 8 ft from the south, with a period of 11 seconds, and the combined energy is a massive 1238. That’s strong wave energy. The wind is a light offshore from the NNW at 6 mph, keeping the faces clean and lined up. This is a solid, punchy south swell, but at 8 ft, it’s pushing into expert territory. The size and the reef break setup mean it’s for experienced surfers only. The morning will be exceptional, but the afternoon sees the wind swing to a cross-shore from the ENE at 16 mph, turning it into a chop-fest. So, get in early on the 10th.

After that, the swell drops back down to 5 ft and smaller for the rest of the run, with poor onshore winds taking over through Friday, 11 September, and into the weekend. The last few days, from Sunday, 13 September, to Monday, 14 September, are tiny, with a 2 ft or less swell and very weak energy. The last morning on the 14th is glassy, but the swell is a pathetic 2 ft from the ENE with a short 7-second period, giving only 34 in combined energy. Not worth getting out of bed for.

So, the real standout is Thursday morning, 10 September—big, clean, and powerful, but for experts only. The rest of the window is mostly small and average, with a few clean windows but nothing to get excited about. The crowds at Merewether - Ladies can be there sometimes, but with this forecast, it’ll be quiet.

Rusty.

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