Narrabeen-Alley Rights Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here, and I’ve got a look at what’s coming up for Narrabeen-Alley Rights. The next 16 days are a real mixed bag, with a few windows of clean, quality surf, but also some long flat spells and a big, messy pulse to be wary of.

The first real action kicks off on Sunday, 2 August. Morning is the standout for the whole outlook. We’ve got a solid 5ft swell from the SSE, with a 13-second period – that’s a proper groundswell with some grunt. The wind is a light 5 km/h from the north, making it a clean cross-off. The combined energy is a solid 999 (moderate), and conditions are looking clean. This is the best on offer, no doubt. For a break like this, being pretty consistent, that morning session is one to circle. The water is about average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

That afternoon the wind swings to the NE at 20 km/h, turning it cross and messy, with the swell dropping slightly to 6ft but the energy wasting. Not worth it.

Monday, 3 August, has some potential in the morning. Swell drops to 3ft from the SE, 11-second period, with a light offshore from the NNW at 15 km/h. The energy is weak (236), but it’s clean. The afternoon sees a smaller 3ft swell with a light offshore wind from the WNW, but the energy is even lower (146). Surfable, but ordinary.

Then we hit a dry patch. From Tuesday, 4 August, through to Friday, 7 August, the swell is tiny – 0.7ft to 1ft – with periods all over the shop and very low energy (9 to 44). The wind is mostly cross-off or cross, but there’s just no wave to work with. A real gap of poor conditions.

Saturday, 8 August, brings a new pulse: 6ft from the SSE, but it’s a short-period 8-9 second swell with onshore and cross-shore wind. The energy picks up to 452 on Saturday morning, but it’s messy and marginal. The afternoon is worse.

Sunday, 9 August, morning is interesting. The swell drops to 4ft from the SE, period only 8 seconds, but the wind goes dead calm – glassy. The energy is 178 (weak). It’s surfable, but the short period means the waves won’t have much shape. The afternoon is blown out with a 25 km/h NE wind.

Another quiet spell from Monday, 10 August, morning shows a 5ft NE swell, but the period is a meager 7 seconds, and the wind is cross-off from the north at 20 km/h. The energy is 241 (weak). Not great.

Now, here’s the next real standout. Tuesday, 11 August, through to Wednesday, 12 August, mornings. The swell is a consistent 4ft from the ESE, with a solid 11-second period. The wind is offshore from the NW at 15 km/h (and going calm on the Tuesday afternoon). The energy is 416 (moderate) and conditions are clean. This is a solid window of good surf, with little crowd likely. The period is long enough to give some proper shape, and the offshore wind will keep it clean. The Tuesday afternoon is also looking good with a 5 km/h offshore – very clean.

Thursday, 13 August, goes sour with a strong S wind at 30-35 km/h, cross-on and lumpy. The swell is 4-5ft from the ESE, but the wind ruins it.

Then we get a big warning. Friday, 14 August, a massive 12ft swell from the SSE hits, but with a 25 km/h S cross-on wind. The energy is huge – 2798 to 4235 (very strong). This is not for beginners; it’s expert-only territory, and even then, the wind makes it a mess. The setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

The swell drops to 7ft on Saturday, 15 August, still from the SSE, period 10 seconds, with a cross-on wind. The energy is 955 (strong), but it’s only marginal.

Things settle down towards the end. Sunday, 16 August, has a 5ft SSE swell, period 10 seconds, with a light cross wind, and Monday, 17 August, fades to 3ft from the SSE, 9-second period, with a light cross-off wind. Just small, ordinary waves.

So, to wrap it up: the best windows are Sunday morning, 2 August, and Tuesday/Wednesday mornings, 11-12 August. The rest is either flat, too small, or blown out. The big swell on 14 August is for experts only and will be messy.

Rusty.

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