Narrabeen-North Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Bit of a tough stretch ahead, to be honest. We’re looking at a long, drawn-out run of tiny, weak surf for Narrabeen-North, with only a brief window of something worth paddling out for. The water temp is sitting at 65°, which is about normal for this time of year.

The first week is pretty grim. From Wednesday the 29th of July right through to Friday the 1st of August, the waves are barely a ripple – we're talking 0.3ft to 0.7ft junk. The wind is mostly cross-off or cross, but with that little energy, it doesn’t matter. The combined swell energy is in the single digits (1, 9, 7, 4, etc.) – that’s properly weak. Not worth getting wet.

Things start to show a pulse on Saturday the 1st of August. The morning brings a 2ft SSE swell with a 14-second period and a light cross-off breeze from the WSW. The combined energy climbs to 180 (moderate), and conditions are clean. It’s surfable, but ordinary. The afternoon bumps up to 5ft from the SSE at 10 seconds, energy jumps to 847 – that’s strong – but the wind swings cross from the ENE and the commentary calls it marginal. Still, it’s the first sign of life.

The standout window is Sunday the 2nd of August. The morning session is the pick of the whole 16 days. We’ve got a 6ft SSE swell with a 12-second period, combined energy of 857 (strong), and a clean offshore breeze from the north. It’s the only “expect very good surf conditions” call we get. That 6ft is solid for the beach, not too big for intermediates, but with the long period, this SSE groundswell will be lining up best if you work the banks. Crowds are often at Narrabeen-North, so expect company. The afternoon gets messy as the wind picks up to 25 km/h from the NE, turning it cross and choppy.

Monday the 3rd holds some clean 3ft waves from the SE in the morning, with offshore wind, but the energy drops to 219 (moderate). Good surf, but not a standout. After that, from Tuesday the 4th onwards, it’s back to tiny, low-energy dribble. We get a few glassy mornings on the 6th, 8th, and 9th, but the swell is 0.7ft to 2ft, energy in the teens or under 100. One morning on the 8th shows a glassy 1ft SSE swell with a 13-second period and 61 combined energy – pretty but unsurfable.

Even into the second week, the 11th and 12th of August show a 4ft and 2ft spike, but the period is short (6-7 seconds) and the quality is ordinary. Not worth the drive. The 13th has 2ft waves with 12-second period and fresh offshore wind, but the energy is still only 138-155 and the commentary says poor.

So to wrap it up: Sunday the 2nd of August, early morning, is your one real chance. Clean, solid 6ft SSE groundswell under a light offshore. Everything else is a scrap for scraps. Forecasts can change, so keep an eye on it, but right now, it’s mostly a waiting game.

Rusty.

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