North Stradbroke - Pt Lookout Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here again. Let’s talk about what’s coming up for Point Lookout on North Stradbroke Island. This is a point break, exposed to the east, and it’s a fairly consistent setup, but this 16-day stretch has a long, frustrating wait before anything decent shows up.

The next week and a half is honestly a bust. From Monday the 14th right through to Wednesday the 23rd, we’re looking at small, weak, messy surf with onshore or cross-shore winds. Swell heights barely reach 3 ft, the period is a short 6 seconds, and the combined energy hardly breaks 51. Just poor conditions. On the 16th there’s a spike to 8 ft with a heavy 55 km/h cross-off wind, but the energy is still weak and the period is short—don’t be fooled, it’ll be a washing machine. Thursday the 17th has strong offshore winds, but 5 ft to 7 ft of short-period SE swell with 469 to 412 energy is just hard work for no reward.

Finally, on Friday the 18th of September, there’s a real glimmer. The morning shows a clean 7 ft SSE groundswell with 9 seconds and a solid 783 combined energy. Winds are moderate offshore from the south, keeping it clean. This is the standout of the entire outlook. The swell is 7 ft—getting chunky, not for beginners, but intermediate to expert surfers will feel the power. The direction is a good match to the optimum east. This is the only time in the first two weeks where the numbers come together.

After that, it drops right back. Saturday the 19th and Sunday the 20th are tiny and onshore again. Monday the 21st sees a brief jump to 8 ft, but it’s a short-period 6-second SSE windswell, with 455 energy and cross-on wind. That’s a sloppy, lumpy mess.

Tuesday the 22nd morning is worth a look for the brave—7 ft of SE swell at 7 seconds, with 516 energy and clean cross-off winds. It’s marginal, questionable tide conditions as per the data, but it’s the second-best looking window if you’re desperate. After that, the rest of the week and into the next is a mix of small surf and onshore winds, with a couple of glassy but tiny (2 ft to 3 ft) mornings on the 27th and 28th that are only “surfable but very ordinary.” The 29th is glassy again, 3 ft ENE swell at 8 seconds, 164 energy—enough for a longboard but nothing to write home about.

Water temp is about average for this time of year, nothing unusual.

If the wind had stayed offshore on the 18th, that would have been the one. As it stands, Friday morning the 18th of September is your best bet—clean, strong groundswell, good energy. Get in before lunch, because the afternoon drops off. The rest is pretty slim pickings. It’s not unusual for the area to see a long dry spell like this, so don’t lose hope—things can change in a forecast. But for now, it’s mostly watching and waiting.

Rusty.

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