Mooloolaba Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here, and I’ve got to be straight with you – the next couple of weeks at Mooloolaba are looking like a bit of a bust. We’ve got a long, quiet stretch ahead, and I mean *quiet*. For a place that’s a beach and reef setup, fairly exposed to the swell but needing that NE direction to really work, it’s just not lining up.

The water’s sitting at about 68°, which is a touch colder than we’d expect for this time of year – just that one degree colder anomaly, so you’ll want a decent spring suit if you’re stubborn enough to get in.

Right now, and for the next several days, we’re staring down the barrel of tiny, weak swells. The combined wave energy is barely reaching double digits (38) on Sunday the 30th, and it’s mostly just 2ft to 2ft of E wind swell with a short 9-second period. The wind is cross-off or onshore, so the surface is clean but there’s just nothing to ride. This limp pattern rolls right through the first week.

There’s a flicker of hope on Tuesday the 1st of September morning – we get a little bump of 3ft from the ESE with a 10-second period, and the energy jumps up to a moderate 176. Winds are light and cross-off, so it’ll look clean as a whistle. But be warned, Mooloolaba is inconsistent at the best of times, and this is just a tiny, surfable wave with very ordinary conditions. It’s not the day to call in sick for.

Then we fall back into the doldrums right through until the middle of the second week. Day after day of 1ft to 3ft crap, onshore winds, and scores of zero. Honestly, the setup looks more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer during this stretch – especially around the 5th and 6th of September when the short-period NNE wind swell picks up to 4ft but with onshore slop. No thank you.

The one standout, and I mean the *only* one that gets me talking, is Thursday the 11th of September. The afternoon brings a testy 6ft SE swell, but here’s the thing – that’s a 6-second period wind swell, and it’s coming with a moderate cross-shore chop. The combined energy hits a strong 324, so there’s power, but Mooloolaba doesn’t love short-period groundswell from the SE. It’ll be messy and require a bit of local knowledge. For the experts only, and even then, it’s a gamble.

After that, we fade back to tiny stuff for the rest of the run. A few clean mornings on the 12th and 13th with 4ft and 2ft E swell, but it’s just not enough to get excited about.

So here’s the deal: if you’re surfing Mooloolaba, you’re going to have to wait. The first real chance is a tiny window on Tuesday morning the 1st, and the only proper pulse of size is that stormy SE swell on the 11th. It’s a dry spell, but it won’t stay this poor forever – forecasts can change, and I’ve seen this place light up out of nowhere.

Rusty.

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