Noorderstrand Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's be straight – this 16-day stretch for Noorderstrand is a rough one. The ocean's basically asleep for a good while, and when it does wake up, it's got a bad attitude. We're looking at a long gap of flat and messy, weak stuff before we get anything worth paddling out for. I'd say we're talking over a week of just... nothing. No push, no shape, just ankle-biters with bad wind.

Right at the start, it's dead. Monday the 3rd and Tuesday the 4th have barely a ripple, nothing over 1 ft and the odd short-period wobble. We're talking about combined energy figures as low as 8 and 19 – that's not surf, that's a pond with a breeze. The wind is mostly cross or on, so even the tiny bumps are choppy. Not worth the effort.

We get a little bump mid-week, Wednesday the 5th into Thursday the 6th, with the swell trying to push up to 5 ft, but it's all short-period windswell – 5 to 6 seconds – and the energy jumps to a moderate 173. Problem is, it's messy. The wind is fresh and cross-shore, making it lumpy and cross-chop. It's not clean surf; it's just angry water. Then it drops back down to nothing for the weekend and the following week.

Seriously, from the 7th right through to the 14th, it's a write-off. Swell heights mostly under 2 ft, with long gaps of practically nothing – the combined energy numbers just crater, some down to single digits. There's a bit of a glassy morning on Saturday the 8th, but with only 1-2 ft of swell and a 7-second period, that's still a lake. Brutal stretch of flatness.

Now, if you're desperate for a paddle, there are one or two moments that look slightly less miserable. The mornings of the 17th and 18th are the only real standouts in this whole sorry mess. On the 17th, we've got light cross-offshore SW winds, which will tidy things up – the report says “clean” – with about 2-3 ft of swell. It's small, but clean. Then on the 18th, we see our best bet: about 3-4 ft of swell from the NW with that same lovely light cross-offshore breeze from the ENE. It's the only time the surf report even mentions “surfable” instead of just “poor.” Energy is only moderate at 55, but for this stretch, that's a gift.

These two mornings are your window. It's not big, but it's clean. For a beginner, 3-4 ft is fine. For everyone else, it's a grovel on a longboard. This break is exposed to the NW, which is what's coming, so it might pick up a bit of that.

Honestly, the rest of the week and into the second week is a chalk outline. If there's any swell over 5 ft, it's all onshore slop. There's maybe a moment on the 15th/16th with around 3-4 ft, but the wind is cross-onshore, making it choppy – not good. With that short period stuff and the onshore wind, this beach setup could honestly be more interesting for the kite crew than us paddle surfers.

Let's be real: the water temp is about average for this time of year, and that's the only thing that's normal. If you're not keen on a flat spell, this is the kind of run that makes you want to take up golf. But the models can change, and the last morning looks like the one to keep an eye on.

Stay patient.

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