Red Island Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s take a look at what we’ve got for the next couple of weeks.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you – the first week and a half is mostly a write-off. There are glimmers, but nothing you’d call a good surf day. The real standout is hiding way down the line on Monday the 21st of September, and even that has some downsides. Let’s walk through it.

Tuesday morning, the 15th, is the first chance for a paddle. Red Island is showing a clean 4ft of S swell, period of 10 seconds, with a light cross-off wind from the NNW. The combined energy is moderate at 295, and the water is sitting at 54°, which is a bit colder than normal for this time of year. It's a beginner-friendly break, but it’s inconsistent and sometimes gets a crowd. For a Tuesday morning, it might be worth a look for a quiet, small-wave session. But the quality is only so-so, so don’t get your hopes up too high.

Then, things go quiet. From Tuesday afternoon all the way through to Sunday the 20th, the surf is either too small, too chopped up, or the wind is just plain wrong. We see a few mornings with clean conditions on small waves, but the energy is weak and the waves are ordinary at best. It’s a real dry spell.

Now, here’s the one that gets my blood pumping a little – Monday the 21st of September. Red Island wakes up in the morning with a clean 7ft S swell, period of 12 seconds, and a light cross-off wind from the NNW. That’s a groundswell with some proper energy behind it – the combined energy is 1208, which is strong. The water is still that colder-than-normal 54°, but who cares when the waves have that push? This is the best on offer. But that 7ft is over the beginner threshold, so this is more for the intermediate crew and above. It’s a bit of a beast but the wind will make it clean. The afternoon is ruined by a cross-shore wind, so it’s a morning mission only.

After that high, it’s back to the grind. The rest of the week is full of onshore winds, messy conditions, and poor surf. A few days show bigger swell, like Wednesday the 23rd with a 7ft S swell, but the cross wind and rain will make it a washing machine. Thursday the 24th has a 8ft S swell, but it’s too big for most, and the wind is a fresh cross-shore, so even the experts will be battling lumpy, messy lines. That 8ft is for experts only, and even then, it won’t be pretty.

The final few days of September trickle out with tiny, weak waves under 2ft. There’s nothing to recommend there. The energy is weak, often in the double digits, and the wind is never your friend.

So, to sum it up: a quiet start, a long gap of poor conditions, then one sharp, promising window on Monday the 21st of September morning. After that, it fades back into nothing. If you’re keen, pencil in that Monday morning for a crack at a solid S swell at Red Island. The rest of the time, maybe leave the board in the car.

- Rusty

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