North Stradbroke - Pt Lookout Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you about the next couple of weeks. We’ve got a long stretch of pretty ordinary conditions ahead, with only one real window that’s worth getting excited about. Don’t hold your breath for the first week, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

The bulk of the coming days are looking small and messy. From Wednesday the 5th right through to the 12th, we’re dealing with weak, short-period east swell, mostly under 3 feet, and the wind just can’t seem to get out of the way. Mornings are often cleaner, but the energy is so weak that it’s barely worth paddling out. The combined energy is mostly in the low to mid hundreds, sometimes dipping below 100, which tells you how anemic it is. There’s a brief pickup on Saturday afternoon the 8th with 3ft of east swell and energy jumping to 171, but it’s still only marginal and the wind is cross-off at best. Then Monday the 10th brings a fresh cross-onshore breeze that chops everything up. It’s a grind, plain and simple.

Now, the one standout. Thursday morning, the 13th of August. That’s the day. We finally get a pulse of proper swell – 5ft of east-southeast energy, with a period of 7 seconds, which is a bit short, so it’s not going to be a classic, but it’s something. The combined energy jumps to 375, which is moderate, and the wind is a gentle offshore from the south. That’s about as good as it gets in this run. Point Lookout (North Stradbroke) is the spot. It’s a consistent point break, and that offshore wind will have it clean. The swell direction is east-southeast, which is close to the optimum east direction for this setup, so it should line up alright. It’s not huge, but it’s the best on offer. The water’s sitting at 69°, which is about average for this time of year, so nothing weird there.

After that, things fade back out pretty quickly. The rest of that week and into the next just drops off again – small, weak, and often messy. There is a bit of a bump on Monday the 17th afternoon with 4ft of east-southeast swell and energy at 272, but the wind is a moderate cross-off, and it’s still just a marginal call. Then again on Thursday the 20th, there’s 5ft of short-period southeast swell, but the wind is cross-off and the energy is only 193. It’s not going to be worth the effort.

So, look, it’s a lean couple of weeks. If you’re chasing waves, mark Thursday the 13th in the diary. Everything else is a skunk. The swell is too small, the periods are too short, and the wind keeps messing it around. It’s one of those stretches where you’d be better off checking the kitesurfing spots if the wind’s up, because the paddle surfing is going to be tough. But that one morning – that’s your window. Don’t sleep on it.

Rusty.

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