Lighthouse Right Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s just look at this one spot – Lighthouse Right (Noumea-Pass). It’s a reef setup, fairly consistent, and actually likes the swell coming from WSW, which is a good start.

Right off the bat, the first few days are a write-off. Tuesday and Wednesday are small and chopped up by that trade wind. We’re talking about a messy 2ft of short-period junk. The combined energy is barely registering (25 on Tuesday). Not worth paddling out.

We get a weak pulse on Friday the 4th, but it’s still cross and messy. The first real sign of life comes on Saturday the 5th with a 3ft swell out of the SSW, period jumping up to 16 seconds. The energy jumps to 423 (moderate), which is promising, but the wind is still a fresh cross-shore, so it’s going to be lumpy. Not clean enough to be a standout.

Sunday the 6th – that morning window looks like our first proper chance. You’ve got a clean 4ft SSW groundswell with a 14-second period and *very* light wind (SSE at 5 km/h). The energy is strong at 1106. It’s officially “marginal”, but that light wind and solid groundswell make it the best looking session in the first week. Keep in mind the length of the wait – we’re looking at a 5-day gap of poor conditions to get here.

After that, the onshore winds return Monday and we get another gap of messy conditions right through to Thursday the 10th.

Now, for the true standout – look at Saturday the 12th of September. The finder is rating this a real winner. The morning has an 8ft SW swell – that’s big. The energy is off the charts at 4399. But that is too big for a reef pass unless you are a confident expert. The afternoon on the 12th is the real sweet spot: a 7ft SSW swell at 15 seconds, combined with glassy conditions (0 km/h wind from SSE). That’s as good as it gets. The energy is still massive at 2451. That long period groundswell will wrap in beautifully around the reef. Because it’s a reef break, the 15-second period is an advantage – it focuses that energy and creates proper, grinding peaks. Water temp is about 72°, which is spot on average for this time of year. No surprises there.

Sunday the 13th is still excellent – a clean 7ft swell with a light offshore WNW wind (15 km/h). Great, but glassy is always king, so the Saturday afternoon edges it out.

By Monday the 14th, the swell drops a touch to 4ft, but it’s a long 19-second period. The wind is light, so it will still be workable.

The best of the best: Saturday 12th September afternoon – glassy, solid 7ft SSW groundswell. That’s a session you mark in the diary. Sunday the 13th morning is a very close second. Everything else in this 16-day window is either too small, too windy, or too far away.

Be patient. The sea is saving the good stuff for that second weekend.

- Rusty

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