Nine Mile Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here with a look at the stretch ahead. We’ve got a mixed bag coming, with some real clean windows but also some proper messy spells to dodge.

The main story is a solid pulse of long-period SW groundswell that’s going to push through at the start. Thursday morning sees the peak of it, with Nine Mile Reef pulling in a clean 5-foot of SW swell. That’s packing serious energy (1418), with a very long 18-second period that’ll make for some powerful, lined-up waves. The water’s sitting at 57°, which is a bit colder than normal for this time of year, so you’ll want that extra layer. The wind is a light offshore breeze from the NNE, so conditions will be glassy. That said, this one’s for the experienced crew only – it’s got some punch, and that long period means it’ll be a bit more suited to a reef or point setup than a straight beach.

As we move into Thursday afternoon, the swell drops a touch to 4-feet with a still-decent 16-second period, but the wind goes cross-offshore, losing a bit of that perfection. Friday stays smaller at 3-feet, but the morning has a clean offshore breeze, keeping things tidy. Saturday morning is the real sleeper – the swell is 3-feet from the SW, but we’ve got glassy conditions. That’s a goldilocks window for a longboard or a funboard, when the ocean goes silent and it’s just you and the lines.

Then things go pear-shaped. From Wednesday the 20th through the 21st, the wind swings onshore and gets nasty, blowing 15-28 mph from the SE. The swell is all over the place with short, weak periods (7 seconds) and rubbish quality. The combined energy drops right off (down to 347 on the 21st), and it’s proper choppy and messy. That’s a write-off for a paddle, but with that much cross-onshore wind and a beach setup, it’ll be a kite surfer’s dream.

Things start to look interesting again on Saturday the 22nd. We get another big burst of long-period SW groundswell – 5-feet with a 16-second period and massive energy (1543). But the catch is a cross-onshore breeze from the SE, which will put a bump on the face and make it lumpy. The Sunday and Monday after that are still plagued by onshore winds, so quality is a no-go.

Clear your calendar for Tuesday the 25th. The swell is small (2-feet), but we finally get a proper offshore breeze from the N at 15 mph. It’ll be clean, but you’ll be hunting for the little runners. The real payoff looks to be Thursday the 27th. Swell picks back up to 4-feet from the SW with a 13-second period, and a light offshore wind from the NNW will have it glassy. That late-August window looks promising if the forecast holds.

Overall, the standout is that Thursday morning session on the 13th if you've got the chops, and the glassy Saturday morning on the 15th for the cruisy crew. Everything past that week is a game of patience with the wind.

Rusty.

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