Red Island Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, grab your board, let’s talk about what’s coming up at Red Island. This is a beach and reef set-up, mostly for the beginner crew, but don’t get too excited just yet because it’s an inconsistent spot. The water’s sitting at about 54°, which is a bit colder than normal for this time of year.

We’ve got a bit of a slow start. Monday and Tuesday bring small, weak swell around 3ft to 3ft from the south with light offshore winds, making for clean but very ordinary waves. The energy is weak (253), nothing to write home about. Wednesday is even smaller, down to 2ft, so really just a paddle-around kind of day.

Then, Thursday the 27th morning is where it starts to get interesting. The swell bumps up to 5ft from the south with a very long period of 18 seconds, and it’s glassy – offshore wind from the east at just 3 mph. The energy jumps right up to a strong 1386. This is excellent for experienced surfers, but that long period means it might break a bit straight on the beach; the reef sections should handle it better though. Keep an eye on the crowds, they can show up sometimes.

Thursday afternoon sees the wind shift and get a bit messy, so the morning is definitely the call. Friday through Saturday morning stays clean with offshore breezes, but the swell drops back to 3ft to 4ft. It’s still surfable, just nothing special. Saturday afternoon gets ruined by onshore wind, so bail out early.

We hit a dry spell from Sunday the 30th through Monday the 31st – tiny swell, under 3ft, and Tuesday the 1st of September is when it all kicks off.

That Tuesday is the absolute standout. We’re looking at a massive 13ft to 16ft south-southwest groundswell, with a period of 14-15 seconds. The energy reading is off the charts at 10677 to 14004, with light offshore winds from the west-northwest all day. This is exceptional surf, but make no mistake, this is for experts only. Anything over 8ft is serious business at this break. If you’re not comfortable in heavy water, give this one a wide berth.

Wednesday the 2nd still has good, solid 7ft swell with offshore winds, but the energy drops a touch to 1534. Still great for experienced surfers.

Thursday the 3rd and Friday the 4th get blown out and messy with strong winds. The swell is still there, but the quality isn’t. From the 5th of September onwards, it fades right back to tiny, weak surf (under 2ft), with very low energy. There’s a glimmer on the 7th and 8th of September with clean, 4ft to 4ft south swell that’s worth a look for a fun, mellow session in the glassy conditions, but that’s about it for the tail end.

Bottom line: the absolute best on offer is Thursday the 27th morning for the experienced, and the big, heavy standout is Tuesday the 1st of September for the experts only. Everything else is a wait-and-see game.

Rusty.

Read more