Norman Bay (Wilsons Promontory) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty, and I’ve got the surf skinny for Norman Bay (Wilsons Promontory) for the next couple of weeks. Let’s have a look.

First up, the overall pattern: it’s a slow start with a bit of a wait for anything decent. The first proper surfable window doesn’t arrive until Tuesday afternoon on the 25th of August. Before that, Monday afternoon the 24th is only marginal with some small 3ft swell from the SW – not enough to get excited about. So there’s a quiet couple of days to kick things off.

Tuesday morning the 25th brings 3ft SW swell with 13-second period and a gentle offshore breeze from the east – that’ll be clean but small, and the combined energy is only moderate at 236 (moderate energy), so nothing to write home about. Then Tuesday afternoon the 25th is where we get our first real highlight: 3ft SW swell, same 13-second period, but with glassy conditions (light SE wind, 3 mph). That’s a beauty for a small-wave session, and the combined energy picks up to 337 (moderate energy). Surfable and clean.

Wednesday the 26th turns ugly: cross-onshore SW winds blowing 12–16 mph on 4ft to 4ft SW swell. That’s choppy and poor – definitely a skip day. Thursday the 27th and Friday the 28th follow suit with poor surf, though Friday afternoon the 28th bumps up to 5ft SW swell at a long 17 seconds with a cross-on breeze making it messy. The combined energy hits 1335 (strong energy) but the wind spoils it.

Saturday the 29th and Sunday the 30th are all onshore wind and fading swell – poor conditions across the board. Monday the 31st sees the swell bump back up to 4ft–4ft SW with 17–18 second periods, but it’s cross-on or onshore, so only marginal at best.

Now, into September, there’s a gem hiding. Wednesday morning the 2nd of September delivers a clean session: 3ft SW swell, 14 seconds, light offshore easterly wind at 9 mph, and combined energy of 347 (moderate energy). That’s a nice little morning for beginners at this mellow break, and it’s fairly consistent here. The water temp is around 56° – that’s only 2° warmer than average, so pretty normal for late winter.

But the real standouts come on the 5th and 6th of September. Saturday the 5th is sweet: 4ft SW swell with a long 17-second period, light offshore or cross-off east wind at 6 mph, and combined energy of 872 (moderate-to-strong). Expect very good surf conditions – clean, groomed lines. Sunday the 6th keeps the run going: morning has 5ft WSW swell at 14 seconds with an offshore east breeze at 12 mph and combined energy of 903 (strong energy). That’s excellent for experienced surfers, maybe a bit punchy for beginners at over 5ft. Monday the 7th afternoon bumps up to 8ft WSW swell with a shortish 10-second period and cross-off winds – combined energy 1422 (strong), and that’s for experts only.

The biggest pulse is Tuesday the 8th of September: 8ft WSW swell in the morning with a very long 16-second period and a combined energy of 3594 (very strong energy). That’s a proper groundswell. Offshore ESE winds at 9 mph make it glassy. Then Tuesday afternoon drops to 7ft SW swell, 15 seconds, offshore breeze, and combined energy of 2146 (very strong). The report calls it excellent for experienced surfers – and I’d agree. That long-period swell will be best at the point and reef setups here, but at a beach break it might reel a bit too straight. Still, for a crew that knows what they’re doing, that afternoon is the pick of the whole forecast.

All in all, Norman Bay is mostly small and clean for beginners mid-week, but the 5th to 8th of September bring the real grunt for the experienced crew. Crowds? It says “sometimes,” so expect a few locals out on the good days.

Stay safe, keep an eye on the tides, and I’ll catch ya in the water.

Rusty

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