Rat Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, it's Rusty here, and I've gotta be straight with you — this outlook for our patch is a bit of a tough one. We're looking at a real flat spell for most of the next two weeks, with very little to get excited about.

Straight up, there are no standout sessions on the horizon. For the first week and beyond, the wave heights are tiny, and the conditions just aren't coming together. There's a long gap from the start right through until the end of the first week and into the second with no real surf to recommend. The only break we've got to look at is Rat Beach (reef), and it's an inconsistent spot that rarely sees good surf, so this run of poor conditions isn't a huge surprise.

Let's walk through it. Thursday the 27th of August kicks off with a tiny 1ft swell from the SW, but a cross-on wind and a combined energy of only 145 means it's messy and weak. That sets the tone. Friday and Saturday are similar with tiny 2ft to 2ft swell, and even though some mornings are clean, there's just no power. The water is sitting at a very unusual 72°, which is 6° warmer than average for this time of year, which feels weird.

We finally see a tiny pulse on Sunday the 30th of August morning. We get a 3ft swell from the west with a 7-second period. The morning is clean with a light cross-offshore breeze, and the combined energy gets up to a moderate 91. It's described as "surfable waves but very ordinary conditions". It's small and weak, but it's the closest thing to a wave all week for a beginner on a foamy. It's not something to rush out for.

After that, it's back to tiny, weak, and generally choppy conditions for the next week. Monday the 31st through to Saturday the 6th of September is a write-off with heights bouncing between 0.7ft and 3ft and poor wind.

There's a brief flicker of something different on Monday the 7th of September. We get a 1.0ft swell, but with a very long period of 19 seconds from the SW. That's a long-period groundswell, and it shows up with a moderate combined energy of 118. The morning is clean with an offshore wind. Again, it's surfable but very ordinary. The swell direction is from the SW, which is not ideal for the optimum NW direction for this break.

Then look at Tuesday the 8th of September morning. The wind goes glassy with a 2ft SW swell and an 18-second period. The combined energy jumps to a strong 182, which is the highest we'll see. It's clean and glassy on a moderate rain day. For a reef break, that long period could mean some better-shaped lines, but the size is still tiny. Wednesday the 9th morning is clean again with a 1ft SW swell (16-second period, 118 energy), so those mornings in early September offer the only sniff of shape, but they are still small and only worth a look if you're desperate.

Thursday the 10th of September afternoon sees a spike in energy with a 3ft swell from the SW and a 16-second period, giving a combined energy of 346 (strong). However, the wind is a choppy cross-onshore 25 km/h, so that energy turns into a messy, blown-out, low-quality surf. Not good.

And that's it, really. The end of the outlook from the 11th of September is more of the same tiny, weak waves. The best advice I can give is to wait. The forecasts can change, but right now, this is a classic case of "no surf." Keep the board waxed and check back in a few days.

Rusty.

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