Northcott Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what Northcott's got cooking for us over the next couple of weeks. Straight up, it's a bit of a rough ride for the most part, but there's a tiny glimmer of hope if you're patient.

The water's sitting at a balmy 66°, which is a solid 5° warmer than usual for this time of year – that's pretty notable, so you might get away with a thinner suit.

We're starting off with a real dud. From Monday the 31st of August right through to the end of that first week, it's mostly onshore or cross-onshore winds, lumpy, choppy, and just messy. The swell is there, with some moderate energy (around 928 to 233 in the combined reading), but it's all blown out. The surf quality is just poor. You're looking at waist to chest high stuff, but it's not worth the paddle.

Then, hold onto your board. Saturday the 5th of September morning is the standout. We get a window of pure glass. The wind goes to 3 mph from the West, and it's dead calm. The swell drops a little to 4ft from the West, but the period stretches out to 11 seconds. That's a proper groundswell, bringing some real push and shape. The combined energy is a moderate 279, so it's not a world-beater, but with those clean, glassy conditions, it'll be the best session of the forecast. It's going to be clean, peel nicely, and for an intermediate spot, it'll be a joy. After that, the wind swings back onshore for the afternoon and the quality drops off.

The following week is pretty grim again. There's a small window on Tuesday the 8th of September morning with another glassy morning and 5ft of swell, but the period is a short 7 seconds, so the waves will be a bit weak and crumbly. Friday the 11th of September morning has some clean, cross-offshore conditions, but the swell is only 3ft – barely enough for a longboard.

Looking further out, the surf size picks up again. Monday the 14th of September sees a solid 8ft of West swell, but it's coming in with cross-onshore winds. That's big and powerful (combined energy of 955 and 1098!), but it'll be a messy, blown-out wall. That's expert-only territory due to the size and the chop, and honestly, it looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. Tuesday the 15th has similar energy but drops to 7ft, still with cross-shore winds making it marginal.

So, the one true standout is the glassy Saturday morning, the 5th of September. That's your best bet. The rest of the two weeks is either flat, blown out, or too big and messy. It's a long stretch of poor conditions, but that one clean session is worth holding out for.

Rusty.

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