Nine Mile Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s cut to the chase. The water's running a bit nippier than normal, about 3°F colder than the seasonal average, so keep that in mind.

The next few days are a bit of a mixed bag. Sunday the 16th and Monday the 17th have some surf – we’re looking at 3ft to 5ft from the southwest. The period is long, up around 15 seconds, so there’s some punch. Offshore winds in the morning keep it clean. It’s surfable, but nothing to get fired up about. Then the wind swings onshore from Tuesday the 18th through Thursday the 20th. The swell pushes up to 5ft to 6ft, but it’s ragged and blown out. The energy is high, but the quality is poor. Those are days for boat repairs.

Now, Friday the 21st is your first real window. The swell backs off to a clean 5ft from the SSW, and the morning is absolutely glassy – dead calm. That long period and no wind will have Nine Mile Reef looking like a sheet of glass. It’ll be clean and lined up. That’s the call for the week.

Saturday the 22nd holds up with a solid offshore breeze keeping the 5ft swell in check. Another good one. Sunday the 23rd turns ugly with the wind going onshore and the swell jumping to nearly 8ft in the afternoon. That’s a stormy, churning mess.

Monday the 24th is a beast. The models call for an 8ft SSW swell with a long 15-second period. The energy is massive. But the warning is clear: it’s too big for this reef. This is not a beginner day, and even for the skilled, it’s going to be heavy and potentially dangerous. The wind is light, but the size is the issue.

Keep your eyes on Wednesday the 26th. That’s the second gem. We’ve got a 6ft southwest swell riding a 16-second period, and the morning wind goes dead glassy again. The energy is strong. This is for experienced surfers – long period groundswell on the reef, powerful and clean. Get out early before the afternoon breeze messes with it.

After that, it’s a slow slide into a week of smaller, weaker southern hemi swells, mostly in the 3ft to 4ft range with a mix of cross-offshore winds. The energy drops off, and it looks a little lackluster.

Then, on Sunday the 30th, another big pulse shows up. Glassy morning with an 8ft SW swell at a long 16-second period. The energy is through the roof. But yet again, the call is that it’s just too big for Nine Mile Reef. It’s a warning for the casual surfer, and a hefty challenge for the experts.

So mark your board for Friday the 21st and Wednesday the 26th. The 21st is the cleaner, more manageable option. The 26th is for the big-wave crew. Both will be glassy, but they’re entirely different animals. Pick your poison.

Rusty.

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