Redhead Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Well, let’s be honest, the next couple of weeks at Redhead are a bit of a mixed bag. We’ve got a real slow patch to start, then things start to rumble back to life, and there’s a genuine window of quality waiting for us if we’re patient.

The opening of the period is pretty grim. Sunday the 9th has a little ripple of 2ft from the east, but it’s weak with only 79 combined energy. It’s surfable but honestly, you’d be scratching for the odd one. Then from Monday the 10th through to Saturday the 15th, it’s mostly poor. Swell drops right off, with days of 1ft to 2ft and energy readings down in the low-to-mid 40s or even single digits. The wind is mostly cross-off or offshore, so it might look pretty from the car park, but there’s just nothing to ride. It’s a real flat spell.

We get a pulse of short-period, wind-affected swell rolling in from the 16th of August. It’s coming from the ESE/SE with periods of only 6 to 8 seconds, so it’s lumpy, raw, and the cross-onshore wind is going to make it a messy, choppy mess. Heights build from 4ft up to 5ft by the 17th and 18th, but with energy climbing into the 200s and 300s, it’s all just closing out and blown out. This looks more interesting for the kite crew than us paddle surfers, to be honest.

That messy, cross-onshore energy hangs around for most of the following week. The waves actually get bigger, with 5ft to 7ft on the 19th and 20th, but the south-east wind keeps ruining it. The energy numbers are solid – 288, 348, 428 – but the quality is just poor. There’s a slight let-up on the 21st with a bit less size, but the wind is still messing things up.

Now, hold on, because the real standout is at the end of the run. It’s still over a week away, so treat it as promising rather than locked in, but Sunday the 23rd of August looks special. The swell is a proper groundswell, 6ft from the east with a long period of 12 seconds. The combined energy is a strong 843, and the wind is forecast to be glassy in the morning. Redhead on Sunday morning is the pick. That’s clean, lined-up easterly groundswell with no wind. For a reef break, that long period will have it running down the point nicely. It might be a bit big for the groms, but for everyone else, that’s the one to clear your schedule for.

Monday the 24th also looks very promising, with a solid 5ft of east swell at 12 seconds, and a glassy morning again with energy at 693. It’s a touch smaller than Sunday, but still, that’s two mornings of proper, clean surf to close out the period. It’s a long wait, but it looks like it’ll be worth it.

Rusty out.

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