Nobbys Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, it’s a bit of a mixed bag on the horizon for Nobbys Reef (Australia). Water temp’s sitting right around the long-term average at 64°, so nothing weird going on there. The good news is there’s a decent run of cleaner conditions coming through, especially early on and again later in the first week. The bad news: it’s a reef break that’s inconsistent, so you gotta pick your moments, and it only really works with that SE swell direction.

We kick off on Friday morning, 28 August. It’s looking solid right out of the gate – a clean 6 ft SSE swell with a moderate 11-second period, and light offshore NW breeze. Combined wave energy is moderate at 752, and it’s glassing up nicely. That’s the standout of the whole outlook for me. Friday afternoon, though, the wind swings onshore SE and it gets messy – skip it.

Saturday, 29 August, is a write-off. Onshore and choppy, no good. Sunday morning, 30 August, is a little glassy window with a small 3 ft SE swell – fun for a paddle on a log, but it’s weak. Monday morning, 31 August, is another glassy one with that SW wind, 4 ft S swell – clean but nothing to write home about. Tuesday, 1 September, stays clean through the day with cross-off winds and consistent 3 ft S swell.

From Wednesday, 2 September, into Thursday, the swell drops away hard – we’re talking 1.0 ft to 2 ft – and the energy is weak (as low as 41). It’s a gap of dud days until Saturday morning, 5 September, where a little 2 ft S groundswell (12 seconds) pops up and stays clean. Not exciting.

Then there’s a serious gap of poor surf until Monday morning, 7 September, when a big 12 ft SSE swell rolls in – but that’s way oversize for this break, only for experts, and it’s cross-on wind. Energy is very strong at 2233, but the setup is too much. Now, the true second standout is Tuesday morning, 8 September: a solid 8 ft SSE groundswell (12 seconds) with glassy conditions and calm wind. That’s a serious session for the experienced crew – energy is very strong at 2107. After that, conditions start to clean up again with offshore winds into Wednesday and Thursday morning, 9-10 September, but the swell fades fast down to 1 ft.

The rest of the second week, from 11 September onward, is pretty flat and poor – small S swells, onshore or cross wind, and very little energy. Not worth the drive.

Overall, your best bets are Friday morning, 28 August, for the cleanest combo of size and wind, and Tuesday morning, 8 September, for the bigger groundswell if you’ve got the skills. Be aware, Nobbys can get crowded sometimes, and it’s an inconsistent spot, so it pays to be ready.

Rusty.

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