Narrow Neck Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here, and I’ve gotta be straight with you – this outlook for the next 16 days is a tough one. We’re looking at Narrow Neck, and it’s mostly a flat spell with a lot of poor conditions. The water temp is sitting about average for the time of year, so nothing wild there, but you’ll need a thick wetsuit for the lack of action.

The surf kicks off on Monday, 31 August, with tiny 1ft swell from the east, but a cross-on SSE breeze at 12 mph makes it choppy and messy – not worth paddling out. That sets the tone for the first week: small waves, weak energy (44), and poor surf conditions dominate. Tuesday morning, 1 September, sees a bit more energy (112) with 2ft from the east, but an onshore ESE breeze at 6 mph ruins it. Wednesday and Thursday, 2-3 September, clean up with cross-off winds from the NW and N, but the swell drops to 1ft-2ft, and it’s just too small to get excited about. The energy is weak (38-66). Friday, 4 September, is the first sniff of something – a 1ft east swell with clean conditions from a light N wind, rated as surfable but very ordinary. Still, energy is only 47, so it’s a flat day for a longboard or a paddle.

The first weekend and into the second week, 5-8 September, stays small, with 1.0ft-2ft swells mostly from the east to north-northeast. The winds are cross-off or cross, keeping conditions clean, but the wave heights are tiny, and energy barely cracks 100. There’s a gap of a few days where nothing is really working – it’s a waiting game.

Then, on Wednesday, 9 September, we see a shift: an afternoon swell jumps to 7ft from the southeast, with a 10-second period and strong energy (823). The wind is light east at 3 mph, cross-on, but it’s marginal – questionable tide conditions and a score that suggests it’s not clean. Thursday, 10 September, brings even more size: 8ft in the morning from the southeast, with very strong energy (1370), but onshore winds from the east-southeast at 16 mph make it a mess. This is too big for beginners and only for experts, but with onshore winds, it’s more of a wind swell mess than quality surf. The period is 10 seconds, so it’s not a proper groundswell, and the cross-on conditions will be choppy. Friday, 11 September, sticks with 8ft from the southeast, fresh onshore winds at 19 mph, and energy at 881 – still poor, with a cross-on setup that’s lumpy. This stretch from 9-13 September has solid energy (502-1370), but the wind direction kills it, and the swell is too short-period for real power. It’s worth noting that the optimum swell direction is NE, but we’re getting SE, so it’s not hitting the break right.

The last few days, 14-15 September, tail off into 3ft-4ft waves from the east, with onshore or cross-on winds, and energy drops to 140-276. The surf stays poor and unsurfable.

The only standout? If you’re desperate, Friday, 4 September morning, gives you clean 1ft east swell on a longboard, but it’s a whisper. And for the experts, the 8ft swell on Thursday, 10 September, is big but ruined by onshore wind – it’s more of a bodyboarding or kite-surfing session than a clean paddle. Given the consistent poor ratings, this is a blank run for the area, but it’s normal for Narrow Neck to go quiet.

Rusty.

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