Narrabeen-Alley Rights Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty.

Let’s be straight with it – this 16-day window for Narrabeen-Alley Rights is a bit of a slow burn, but it does have a couple of moments that’ll get the heart rate up, especially if you’re patient. The first week is mostly small and ordinary, with a few glassy windows that’ll give you a fun little slide if you’re desperate, but nothing special. The real payoff looks likely on Thursday the 27th and Friday the 28th, when a better swell pushes through with clean conditions.

Alright, let’s start with Wednesday morning the 19th. It’s glassy, with a light NE breeze at 3 mph, and a small 2ft ESE swell creeping in with a 10-second period. The combined energy is moderate at 196 – it’s surfable, but very ordinary. That afternoon, the wind picks up to 12 mph from the NE, turning it cross-shore and choppy, making it pretty poor.

Thursday the 20th and Friday the 21st offer small, clean windows with light offshore or cross-off breezes, but the swell is tiny – 2ft to 3ft from the ESE and ENE, and the period is short at 6 seconds. The energy is weak, below 100. You can get a slide, but it’s a long paddle for not much reward. Saturday the 22nd through to Tuesday the 25th is mostly flat and poor, with swell barely pushing 1ft to 2ft. There’s a brief glassy window Monday afternoon the 24th with a 2ft ENE swell and a 9-second period, but the energy is only 61 – it’s a knee-high dribbler.

Now, keep your eyes on Thursday the 27th morning. The wind swings offshore from the NNW at 9 mph, and a 3ft ESE swell with a solid 8-second period rolls in. The combined energy jumps to a moderate 209, and the conditions are clean. That afternoon gets even better: the wind is light from the N at 6 mph, cross-off, and the swell bumps up to 5ft from the SE with an 8-second period, energy hitting 313. This is the best on offer for the period – expect good surf, clean, with some proper push. It’s an exposed beach/sandbar setup, and it gets crowded often, so be prepared to share the peak. The swell direction is from the SE, which is off the optimum ENE direction, but the quality and size still make it a standout.

Friday the 28th morning holds a 3ft SE swell, 9-second period, with a light W cross-off breeze, and energy at 162 – still surfable and clean. But that afternoon the wind howls from the SSW at 22 mph, turning it lumpy and poor.

From Saturday the 29th onward, things turn ugly. A massive 12ft SSE swell hits on Saturday with strong onshore winds at 28 mph, energy through the roof at 1994 – but it’s a washing machine. This is only for top-level experts, and even then, the wind is terrible. Sunday the 30th sees a 7ft SE swell with 25 mph onshore winds, still messy. The rest of the period into the first week of September is a write-off – small, onshore, and poor, with most days scoring zero.

So, to sum it up: the standout is Thursday the 27th, with that 5ft SE swell and clean cross-off wind in the afternoon. If you’ve got the patience, that’s your best shot. The surf is inconsistent here, but when it lines up, it’s worth the wait.

Stay frothy,
Rusty

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