Nine Mile Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at the next couple of weeks at Nine Mile Reef.

We’re gonna have a bit of a wait, honestly. For the first week, the surf just isn’t happening for a decent paddle. The wind’s mostly junk—cross-onshore and blowing anything from a moderate to a strong breeze—which is chopping everything up. The swell energy’s all over the place, but the quality’s just not there for a good session. Things do turn a corner late in the game, though.

The water temp is sitting at 59°F, which is about average for this time of year, so no shock to the system there.

For this Saturday morning, the 14th of September, you’ve got a small 3ft SSW swell, but a 19 mph cross-offshore wind is just going to make it a clean but tiny mess. Not worth suiting up.

Really, you have to look a full week ahead to Sunday the 21st for something half decent. There’s a hint of a window on Sunday morning, the 19th of September, with glassy conditions and a 4ft SW swell (period 14 seconds). The energy’s moderate at 738, and it’s blowing glass. That’s your first real chance for a glassy morning surf.

Then, the real standout is on Thursday the 25th of September. That morning, we’re looking at a solid 8ft south swell rolling in, period of 16 seconds—a proper groundswell with very long period. The combined energy is strong at 3943. The wind is a light cross-offshore breeze, cleaning it right up. Now, for the caveat: this is a reef break, so it should handle that long period well, but at 8ft it’s getting into expert territory. If you’re not on your game, it’ll be a handful. The Friday afternoon looks similar, with a 8ft south swell, cross-offshore 12 mph wind, and energy at 4620. It’s the same story—big, long-period, and clean, but for experienced surfers only. The swell direction is SSW, which for Nine Mile Reef is a good match for the optimum SSE swell direction, just a little south of ideal.

If the big stuff is too much for you, the Saturday the 26th looks a bit more manageable with a 5ft SSW swell, clean wind, and lower energy. No real standout, but a step down in size.

So, to sum it up: the first week is a write-off. Glassy conditions on the 19th gives you a small window, but the peak of the window is the 25th and 26th of September with that big, clean south swell. For experts, that’s the one to circle on the calendar. The rest is either too windy, or just flat.

Rusty.

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