Narrabeen-Alley Rights Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you – this outlook for Narrabeen-Alley Rights is a tough one. The next 16 days are looking pretty grim for a decent paddle. We’ve got a long stretch of nothing good on offer, with only a couple of very brief windows that might be worth a look for the dedicated local. The water’s sitting at 62°, which is a bit colder than what you’d expect for this time of year, so a good warm hood is on the cards.

Right from the start, it’s a dud. Friday 14 August through to Tuesday 18 August is a complete write-off. Small, weak waves with onshore or cross-onshore winds that are just making a mess of things. The swell energy is pathetic, sitting around 17 to 218 (weak to just moderate), and the period is a short, weak 7 to 10 seconds. Not worth getting wet.

We get a slight glimmer on Wednesday 19 August morning. The swell picks up to 4ft coming from the ESE, with a period of 7 seconds, but the kicker is the wind – it goes glassy, dead calm. The combined swell energy is a moderate 227. It’s a small, clean window but the waves won’t be anything special, just ordinary. Then it’s back to poor conditions by the afternoon.

Thursday 20 August morning is another quick chance. Same 4ft of ESE swell with glassy winds again (combined energy 176). It’s surfable, but you’re looking at lacklustre waves. Crowds are often at this spot, so expect some company for what little is on offer.

Friday 21 August has a small bump with the wind going offshore from the NW in the morning (4ft, E swell, period 7 seconds). It’s clean, but again, the waves are ordinary. The afternoon goes glassy but small.

Then from Saturday 22 August all the way through to the end of the 16-day window, it’s back to poor conditions, small or non-existent swell, and messy wind. There is some serious swell showing up on Friday 28 August with 10ft to 12ft of SSE swell hitting, but the wind is a strong, lumpy cross-onshore – that’s a kite-surfing setup, not a paddler’s dream. The energy is massive at 2893 (very strong), but the quality is shot.

The best of a bad lot: If you’re desperate, your only real window is Wednesday 19 August morning at Narrabeen-Alley Rights (Narrabeen). It’s a beach/sandbar, so the 4ft of ESE swell with glassy conditions will be the cleanest you’ll get. Just don’t expect any power – it’s a short period (7 seconds). The other nod goes to Thursday 20 August morning – same story, glassy, 4ft ESE, but still ordinary. For the week ahead, these are the only two moments that even approach a surf.

Other than that, the whole 16-day stretch is a gap of very little to no quality surf. It’s one of those runs where you’re better off checking the forecasts again in a few days.

Rusty.

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