North Stradbroke - Pt Lookout Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s cut straight to it. We’ve got a pretty underwhelming stretch of surf on the cards for the next couple of weeks, with a few small windows of hope if you’re patient. The good water temps are sitting around 69°, which is about average for this time of year, so you won’t need the thickest wetsuit just yet.

The first real highlight doesn't show up until next week. The week ahead is pretty grim, with wave heights struggling to get past the 3ft mark. Tuesday through to the following Monday are all small and messy, with onshore winds kicking up chop in the afternoons. You’ll see the odd clean morning, but nothing worth paddling out for, honestly. There are a few days where the swell energy is below 100 (weak), and you can feel it in the water. Tuesday the 4th has a tiny 2ft ESE swell at 9 seconds, but it’s pretty much flat and messy.

Now, for the standout. It’s not until Saturday the 15th that things finally come together. The morning of Saturday the 15th is the pick of the entire run. We’re looking at a 4ft SE swell with a moderate offshore S wind, and the forecast is calling it good surf. The combined energy gets up to 270 (moderate) and it’s clean, proper clean. This is your window. The swell direction is from the SE, which is dead on the optimum for North Stradbroke - Pt Lookout (Point Lookout). It’s a point break, so it handles the longer period swell of 9 seconds well. This is the one to make plans for.

The other slightly promising window is the morning of Tuesday the 19th. The swell is a bit bigger at 5ft from the SE, but the wind is lighter, and it’s also forecast as good. The combined energy is strong too, at 489. The problem is the afternoon turns into a cross-shore mess, so you’d have to get out early. This is promising, but a week and a half out, so treat it as a “maybe”.

There’s a big pulse of swell around the 13th and 14th, with heights getting up over 7ft, but it’s accompanied by strong offshore winds that make it hard to paddle into. It’s more of a battle than a pleasure, and the forecast calls it marginal. Could be good for the experts, but for most of us, it’s a no-go. If you’re thinking of kites, maybe, but for paddle surfing, nah.

So, to sum it up: this week is a write-off. Next weekend, specifically the morning of Saturday the 15th, is your best bet. Keep an eye on that Tuesday the 19th morning as a backup, but don’t book your leave for it just yet. It tends not to stay this flat for long, so keep the faith.

Rusty.

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