North Stradbroke - Pt Lookout Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you. Looking at the next couple of weeks for Point Lookout on North Stradbroke, and honestly, it’s a pretty tough stretch. The forecast is mostly a whole lot of nothing, with a couple of moments that might get the heart rate up, but you’ll need to be patient.

The pattern starts off flat and poor. We’ve got a few days of small, junky windswell with onshore winds making everything a lumpy mess. Sunday the 6th is a write-off with that fresh cross-onshore breeze. It stays pretty grim through Monday and Tuesday, with tiny waves and strong winds. We finally see a bit of a bump on Wednesday the 9th, with around 3ft of south-east swell and a gentle offshore wind early. It’s surfable but nothing to write home about, and the afternoon turns choppy again.

The real interest, if you can call it that, arrives on Thursday the 10th. The wind goes howling offshore from the south-south-east, near gale strength in the morning, but the swell jumps up. By the afternoon we’re looking at around 8ft of short-period south-east windswell. The energy reading is strong, so there’s plenty of push, but that period is only 8 seconds, so it’s going to be a lumpy, powerful, hard-to-handle mess. This is expert-only territory, and honestly, it’s more of a wrestling match than a surf. Friday the 11th is still sizeable, around 6-7ft, with a better 9-second period and that fresh offshore wind, which will clean it up. There will be some proper, heaving peaks down the point, but it’s going to be challenging. This is the standout, the one window for the crew who want some size and power.

After that, it drops back down. Saturday afternoon shows a glimmer with around 6ft, but the period is a terrible 6 seconds, so it'll be soft and crumbly. Then we go into a long, flat, and frustrating stretch. From Sunday the 13th through to the end of the window on the 21st, we’re looking at tiny, mostly knee-to-waist high dribble. There’s a lot of long-period south-east swell in the water around the 13th, but it’s only about 1ft, so it’s just a hint of energy with no size. The winds are mostly okay, with some clean mornings, but there’s nothing to push. It’s a long gap of several days with no real surf on offer. There is one moment of total glass on the morning of Thursday the 17th, but the swell is only around 2ft. It will be pretty as a picture, but you’ll be on a foamie just to get a couple of grovelly ones.

The water temp is sitting around 71°, which is about average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

So, to sum it up: the only real show in town is Thursday the 10th and Friday the 11th. Both days have size and power, but it’s raw, short-period windswell. If you’re a competent surfer who likes a challenge, Friday morning looks the pick of the two with the better period and a clean offshore wind. But for the rest of the window, save your energy. It’s a bleak run, but these stretches never last forever. Keep an eye on it.

Read more