North Stradbroke - Pt Lookout Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here, and I’ve been digging into the charts for Point Lookout on North Stradbroke. Truth is, the next couple of weeks are looking pretty average for a proper surf. There are a few moments that might get your heart rate up, but mostly it’s a long, quiet stretch with a lot of ordinary conditions. The water temp is sitting at 69°F, right on the money for this time of year.

We start Wednesday the 19th and it’s already a no-go – 5ft of easterly swell but it’s messy, a moderate cross-off breeze is ruining it, and the combined wave energy is a weak 316. Not worth paddling out. That same story runs through Thursday the 20th; the swell bumps up to 6ft in the afternoon with a bit more energy (559), but the wind is still cross-off and the tide is questionable. It’s frustrating.

Friday the 21st is a total dud – tiny 3ft easterly slop with onshore breezes. Saturday and Sunday mornings offer a sliver of hope with clean, glassy conditions on the 23rd, but the swell is a pathetic 3ft and the energy is barely 97. That’s not even worth getting wet for. We then hit a real dead zone from Monday the 24th right through to Saturday the 29th of August – nine straight days of tiny, weak swell and poor winds. The energy readings hover in the 50s and 90s, just sad.

Now, there is one standout that catches my eye, but it’s a long way off and comes with a warning. On Sunday the 30th of August, a pulse of 7ft SSE swell hits in the morning. The energy jumps to 979 – moderate, almost strong – and the wind is a clean cross-off from the WSW at 31 mph. That’s a powerful, lined-up swell for the point, and with that offshore component, it’ll be clean. But let’s be real: that’s big, expert-only territory. Beginners, stay on the beach. The direction is SSE, which isn’t the optimum E, but it’s close enough to wrap in nicely at Pt Lookout. It’s the best on offer across the whole outlook, no question.

Monday the 31st is another big day – 5ft SSE groundswell with a long 14-second period, and a strong offshore breeze from the S at 28 mph. The energy is massive at 1031, but that wind is going to make paddling out a mission. The wave faces will be clean and steep, but you’ll be fighting a brutal offshore to get in. That’s a day for the experienced crew only.

After that, it drops right off again into the first week of September. Tuesday the 1st and Wednesday the 2nd are tiny and clean but barely surfable. Thursday the 3rd sees a bump of 4ft from the E, but the period is a short 6 seconds and the wind is a fresh cross-off – just messy.

So, the big takeaway: this is a bleak run. If you’ve got to get wet, your best bet is that Sunday the 30th of August for the 7ft SSE swell and clean cross-off wind. It’s the only real standout, but it’s for experts only. Everything else is a struggle. Keep an eye on the charts, though – it tends not to stay this poor for long.

Rusty

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