Red Strand (Dirk Bay) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get a look at what’s cookin’ for the coming stretch.

First off, I gotta be straight with you – this is a tough one. The whole 16-day window is a real struggle. We get a few pulses of swell, but the conditions just aren't our friend. The first week is a write-off with tiny waves and sloppy winds. If you're desperate for a paddle, the only real window of opportunity that even looks halfway decent is a very specific hour on Friday the 28th of August.

For that early morning, the wind will be glassy at Red Strand (Dirk Bay). It’s a sheltered reef break, beginner-friendly, but it’s inconsistent. The swell is tiny at just 3ft from the South, with a period of 7 seconds, so it’s a short-period wind swell. The combined wave energy is weak (113). It’s not gonna be anything to write home about, but it’ll be the cleanest the place looks for a while. You'd be surfing for the quiet, glassy surface more than any real power.

The water temperature anomaly is about average for the time of year, so nothing out of the ordinary there.

After that, the whole outlook gets grim. The wind turns onshore or cross-shore, and the swell is all over the place. By the morning of the 4th of September, we get a clean, offshore breeze from the NNE, but the swell is only 1.0ft with a very long period of 15 seconds. That’s a groundswell, but it’s so small it’s barely breaking. It’s a classic case of beautiful conditions, zero oomph.

Then, on the 6th of September (Sunday), we see a massive spike in energy. The afternoon shows a 12ft swell from the South with a period of 8 seconds, and the combined energy is a beastly 1557. But the wind is howling straight onshore at 15 mph. This is a rough, messy, dangerous mess. For a beginner reef break, it’s a complete no-go. This setup looks much more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

The rest of the second week is a mix of poor-quality, messy windswell and onshore winds. The morning of the 10th of September throws up a 8ft swell from the South, but it’s cross-onshore and choppy with moderate wind. That’s expert-only territory and still not clean.

Honestly, pick your moment wisely. The glassy morning of the 28th is your best bet, but keep your expectations real low. This is a tough run for this area.

Rusty.

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