Red Strand (Dirk Bay) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s have a look at the next sixteen days here at Red Strand.

To be straight with you, it’s gonna be a long, flat stretch for most of it. The first couple of weeks are mostly poor with hardly any waves to get excited about. There’s a real dry spell from now through to the end of the month. The only time things start to look faintly interesting is right at the tail end of the forecast – the very first day of October – and even then, it’s nothing to write home about.

Right now and into the middle of the week, we're seeing tiny swell – think 0.7ft up to 2ft – with rubbish period and cross-shore winds. Thursday the 17th is a little cleaner with a light cross-off breeze, but the swell’s still only around 2ft. The weekend kicks off with a bit more size – Saturday the 19th morning shows 5ft from the SW with a period of 7 seconds and moderate cross-shore wind, and the combined energy is 417 (moderate energy). That’s the biggest swell all forecast but the wind is messy, so the waves will have a cross-chop on them. Still, for a beginner spot, it might be your best chance to get wet if you don’t mind lumpy conditions. Later that afternoon it drops right down.

From Sunday the 20th right through to Tuesday the 1st of October, it’s a proper flat spell. We’re talking swell heights mostly under 3ft, often just 0.7ft or 0.9ft. There are some glassy mornings – like Monday the 21st and Tuesday the 22nd – which would be lovely if there were any waves, but there just aren’t. Periods are long at times (14-18 seconds) but it’s just too small to break.

The only glimmer in the whole outlook lands on Thursday the 1st of October, morning. Red Strand (Dirk Bay) sees a 3ft SW swell at 9 seconds, combined energy of 163 (moderate), and clean conditions with a light cross-off breeze. The water temp anomaly here is listed as a dash, so it’s about average for the time of year. It’s surfable but very ordinary. Given the 16-day window is almost empty, this is the one time you could paddle out and catch a few. But don’t expect much – it’s a beginner-friendly reef break that’s sheltered and only gets small waves. Crowds can show up sometimes, but with conditions this average, it might be quiet.

So to sum up: a long, flat run with just one brief, average session possible on October 1st. If you’re desperate for a paddle, that's your window. Otherwise, keep an eye on the forecasts – it tends not to stay this poor forever.

Rusty.

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