North Stradbroke - Pt Lookout Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at the 16-day outlook for Point Lookout on North Stradbroke.

Straight up, I’ll be honest with you – this is a tough one. We’ve got a long, dry stretch ahead. The first real chance of anything worth paddling out for doesn’t show up until late in the window. From now until early September, it’s mostly small, weak, and messy. We’re looking at a gap of nearly two weeks before anything clicks.

Wednesday, August 26th kicks things off, but don't get excited. It’s a cloudy morning with a westerly cross-breeze at 12 mph, and the swell is a tiny 3 ft from the ENE with a short, weak 7-second period. The combined energy is only 104 – that’s weak. The water temp is sitting at 70°, which is pretty much dead average for this time of year, so no surprises there. It’s a no-go.

The next few days are more of the same. Thursday the 27th has strong offshore SSE winds at 22 mph, which would normally have me stoked, but the swell is still a pathetic 3 ft. It’s clean, but there’s nothing to ride. By Friday the 28th, we get a morning of gentle S offshore winds and a 3 ft E swell, but the energy is still weak (110). It’s surfable, but only just. Don’t bother.

Saturday, August 29th sees some rain showers and a cross-offshore breeze, but the swell is still small and weak. Sunday the 30th brings a bit of a kick – a 5 ft SE swell, but the period is a shocking 6 seconds, so it’s just a lumpy mess. The combined energy climbs to 230 (moderate), but with a strong 25 mph SSE offshore, it’ll be hard to paddle into and the waves will be crumbly. Not worth it.

We then hit a flat spell. From Monday, August 31st right through to Tuesday, September 8th, it’s tiny – 1 ft to 2 ft – with poor surf conditions. A few mornings like Tuesday, September 1st have a 2 ft E swell with a 10-second period and clean conditions, but the energy is barely there. It’s frustrating.

Now, the only real standout in this whole 16-day slog is on Thursday, September 10th. We get a 4 ft N swell pushing in, with a 6-second period. The combined energy is 111 (weak to moderate), and the wind is a light ENE cross-breeze at 9 mph. It’s from the north, which is not the optimum E direction for Point Lookout, so it’s not going to be perfect. But it’s the biggest pulse of the entire outlook. The morning will be the cleaner session. It’s not a classic, but if you’re desperate, that’s your window. Don’t expect magic.

Overall? A long, lean period. The swell is too small and weak for most of it, and the few pulses of size are poorly directed or have crap period. Hang in there, or take up something else for a while.

Rusty.

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