North Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here, and I gotta be straight with you—this 16-day stretch for North Beach is a tough one. We're looking at a pretty barren run, with only a few windows that might get you wet, but none of them are anything to write home about. The forecast is mostly filled with choppy, onshore winds and weak swell, so you'll be waiting a long time for anything decent.

Right now, starting from Saturday the 15th of August, we've got a classic NE wind pattern and a chest-high (5 ft) east swell, but the 10-second period and cross-onshore winds are making a mess of it—surf quality is poor, and the energy is a moderate 482. Sunday the 16th is more of the same, maybe a touch bigger at 5 ft but with even stronger NE winds at 15 mph. Monday the 17th sees a bit more energy (1125) as the swell jumps to 6 ft from the ENE, but it's still cross-onshore and messy. The water temp is about average for this time of year.

Now, we do have a few days from Tuesday the 18th into Thursday the 20th where things get a bit cleaner. Tuesday morning, the wind swings to a SSW cross-offshore breeze at 12 mph, giving us clean surf, but the swell is tiny—only 4 ft with a short 9-second period. The energy is weak (214). It's a similar story on Thursday the 20th, with a glassy morning on a 2 ft, 13-second south swell, which is rare for the area—clean but very small. The energy is a weak 192.

The only real standout in this whole forecast is the morning of Monday the 24th of August. We've got a solid 7 ft south swell with a 14-second period, and the wind is a clean offshore SSW breeze at 15 mph. The energy is a strong 1784 and the waves should be clean and powerful. However, this is a beach break, and with a long-period swell like that, the sets might be a bit too straight and dumpy, making it a challenge. It's still the best option, but it's more for the experienced crew.

We then run into a real dry spell. From Tuesday the 25th through to the end of the month, it's all onshore winds and poor surf. The wind is relentless from the NE, often 15-19 mph, and the swell is a mix of short-period junk. There's a brief moment on Friday the 28th afternoon with a bit of a bigger east-northeast swell (7 ft) and lighter winds, but the quality is still marginal. The morning of Saturday the 29th has clean conditions from a strong SSW wind, but it's a junky 6 ft from the south with a short period.

So, bottom line, the best bet is the morning of Monday the 24th of August for a clean, powerful south swell, but it's a tricky one. For the rest of the time, the setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, especially with those strong, consistent NE winds. Hang in there.

Rusty.

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