Nobbys Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Righto, let’s have a look at what’s on the table for Nobbys Reef over the next couple of weeks. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, with small windows of clean, workable waves, but a lot of ordinary stuff in between. The standout sessions are the ones where the wind gets its act together and the swell has a bit of length to it.

We kick things off on Tuesday 25th August. The morning shows a small 2ft swell coming from the ENE with a short 7 second period, but the wind is offshore from the NW at 9 mph, so it’s clean. Combined energy is weak at 97, so it’s small and not much punch. Still, you can get a few little runners if you’re patient. The afternoon goes glassy with light rain and a 2ft ENE swell – very ordinary conditions, but at least it’s glassy (90 energy). Not a standout by any means.

Wednesday 26th August morning has a 2ft ENE swell, 8 second period, with a cross-offshore WSW breeze at 6 mph – clean enough (73 energy). The afternoon turns ugly: a 4ft S swell but with the wind swinging onshore from the south at 19 mph, so it’s lumpy and poor.

Thursday 27th August sees a bump in size – 5ft from the south, period 8 seconds, but the wind is cross-onshore in the morning (311 energy), making it marginal. The afternoon lightens up a bit with an ESE offshore at 6 mph, but the conditions are still questionable (368 energy). Not great.

Friday 28th August morning is the first proper highlight. The swell drops to 3ft but it’s coming from the SSE with a 11 second period – that’s a nice groundswell with good shape. The wind is offshore from the NW at 6 mph, so it’s clean and glassy. Combined energy is moderate at 308, and the score is solid. This is a lovely session for a reef break – that long period will wrap in nicely. The afternoon? Don’t bother – onshore SE wind at 9 mph spoils it.

Saturday 29th August is a write-off: 6ft SSE swell with 9 second period (602 energy – moderate to strong), but the south wind is cross-onshore at 16 mph, making it choppy and poor. Bigger, but messy.

Sunday 30th August improves slightly: morning has a 3ft SE swell, 10 second period, but still cross-onshore from the S at 6 mph – only marginal (257 energy). Afternoon is similar, smaller and poor. Not worth getting wet for.

Monday 31st August morning – now we’re talking. A tiny 2ft swell from the SSE, but check this out: an 18 second period! That’s a very long period groundswell – clean lines with an offshore NE breeze at just 3 mph, practically glassy. Energy is moderate at 279. This is the kind of session where you get long waits between sets but the waves are beautifully shaped. For a reef like Nobbys, that long period makes for proper stand-up barrels. The afternoon has cross-shore wind and loses the plot.

Tuesday 1st September morning offers another clean session: 2ft from the south, 16 second period, NW offshore at 9 mph (234 energy). Clean and fun for the small stuff. Afternoon fades with cross-off wind.

From here, the forecast gets pretty uninspiring. Wednesday 2nd September morning is just surfable – 2ft S swell, 11 seconds, clean but weak (144 energy). Afternoon onshore. Thursday 3rd September is messy with cross-shore wind. Friday 4th September morning has offshore wind but only 2ft S swell at 10 seconds (131 energy) – not much to get excited about. The afternoon has a 5ft ENE swell with onshore SE wind, so it’s a poor, lumpy mess.

Saturday 5th September morning is clean again but tiny – 2ft ENE, 9 seconds (102 energy). Just a grovel. Sunday 6th September has a 5ft S swell at 9 seconds with a strong offshore WNW wind at 22 mph (330 energy), but the score says poor – that much wind makes it tricky and bumpy, even offshore. Monday 7th September is all cross-shore winds and lumpy.

But then Tuesday 8th September morning shines again. A 3ft S swell, 11 second period, with a light NW offshore at 6 mph – clean and glassy. Combined energy is moderate at 268. That’s a solid session for the reef, with good shape and easy paddling between sets. Another standout.

Wednesday 9th September morning rounds it out: a 2ft S swell, 10 second period, offshore NW wind at 12 mph (205 energy). Clean and rideable.

Overall, the real standouts are the Monday 31st August morning with that super long 18 second groundswell and glassy conditions, and the Friday 28th August morning with its clean 11 second SSE swell. Both are small but perfect for Nobbys Reef. The rest of the fortnight is mostly small, ordinary, or windy – a few sessions worth a paddle, but nothing epic.

Rusty.

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