Rat Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here. Look, I've had a good look at the local setup, and to be honest, it's a pretty bleak stretch coming up. We're looking at a solid 16-day window, but there's barely a ripple to get excited about. The only spot on the radar is Rat Beach, a reef break that's inconsistent and best left for the beginners when it does work. Let's run through it.

The water's sitting at a very unusual 70°F, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year, so that's a bit of a novelty.

Right from the start, on Tuesday the 18th, we've got small 2ft swell from the west with a short 6-second period. The combined energy is weak (38). The morning has a slight cross-off breeze, so it's clean, but the wave comment sums it up: "poor surf conditions." The afternoons are a write-off with a moderate cross-onshore breeze making it choppy.

This grim pattern just keeps rolling. Wednesday the 19th, Thursday the 20th, Friday the 21st, and Saturday the 22nd all offer the same story: tiny 1ft to 2ft swell, short period, and weak energy. The mornings are clean, but the swell is just too small and weak to do anything with. The surf is rated as "poor surf conditions" or "surfable waves but very ordinary conditions" at best.

Sunday the 23rd and Monday the 24th see the combined energy climb into the moderate range (127 to 142), but the swell is still a pathetic 1ft from the southwest with a short period. The wind is cross-on, and the waves are just messy. There's nothing to paddle for.

The following week, from Tuesday the 25th through to Monday the 1st of September, the combined energy gets a bit stronger (201 at one point), but the swell height barely moves between 1ft and 3ft. It's still a short-period, wind-affected mess. The only morning that looks semi-clean is Wednesday the 27th, but the swell is only 1ft with weak energy (90). It's a tease.

Finally, on Wednesday the 2nd of September, we get a small glimmer. The morning shows a 2ft swell from the southwest, but look at that period—16 seconds! That's a proper groundswell. The wind is light offshore from the southeast, so the conditions will be clean. The combined energy is moderate (174). For a brief moment, there might be a clean, long-period wave to be found. But it's still tiny, and the afternoon wind swings around to mess it up. This is the only real standout in the entire forecast, and it's a long way off, so don't hold your breath.

Honestly, for the whole 16 days, the surf is just too small and weak to be worth a trip. The best call is to wait for a better forecast. The consistent lack of quality means it's a normal quiet spell for the area.

Rusty.

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