North Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here, looking at North Beach for the next couple of weeks. It's a bit of a mixed bag, and to be honest, we're looking at a long stretch of pretty average to poor conditions before anything really gets going. The water's sitting at about 70°, which is pretty much normal for this time of year.

We start off this Saturday morning, the 22nd of August, with a tiny 1ft swell from the SSW, but it's messy with a cross-onshore breeze, so don't get your hopes up. The energy is weak (173). Saturday afternoon gets a bit of a bump in size to 3ft from the S, but with a near-gale cross-offshore wind, it's gonna be a handful and not really surfable. Sunday morning the 23rd sees a jump to 7ft from the S (energy 925), but with a strong cross-offshore wind, it's fast and tricky. Sunday afternoon drops to 6ft from the S, but it's a bit lumpy.

Monday the 24th and Tuesday the 25th are pretty much a write-off with small, choppy, onshore slop. There's a hint of something on Wednesday morning the 26th – a 5ft swell from the S with a 17-second period, giving it that long, groundswell feel. The energy is strong (1319), and the wind is almost glassy, just a light cross-shore. The problem is, the forecast is calling it "marginal" with questionable tide, so it's a gamble. Wednesday afternoon jumps to 7ft from the S, but it goes onshore, losing the quality.

Then things go downhill fast. From Thursday the 27th right through to the end of the first week and into the second, we're hammered by strong, cross-onshore winds from the NE, with swells bouncing between 5ft and a whopping 10ft. The energy is moderate to strong (up to 1571), but the wind is just blowing it all to bits. The periods are short, under 9 seconds, so it's just wind-slop. For a beach break like North Beach, this setup is more interesting for the kite surfers than paddle surfers – it's not going to be a fun paddle.

That run of poor conditions stretches for a full week, from the 27th of August to the 3rd of September.

Thursday morning, the 3rd of September, offers a glimmer. An 8ft swell from the NE, but with a short 8-second period. The wind is a light cross-onshore, so it's a bit cleaner. This is a big, powerful wave (energy 1567) but it's only for the experts at that size. The rest of that week is a mix of onshore winds and chop, with a few days like the 5th of September showing a 7ft swell from the S with a 12-second period, which is promising, but again the wind is on it.

Honestly, there's no standout perfect session here. The window around Wednesday the 26th of August, with the 5ft, long-period S swell and near-calm wind, is the best of a bad bunch. It's rare to get that kind of glassy window, but with the "marginal" tag, you'd want to be checking the tide. The 3rd of September's 8ft NE swell is a big, raw wave for the brave, but it's a short period wind swell, so it won't have the push of a groundswell. For the rest of it, you're better off waiting for the next forecast.

Rusty.

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