Redhead Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ve gotta be straight with you – for this neck of the woods, the next 16 days are a real tough watch. We’re looking at a long, dry spell with barely a wave worth paddling for, so don’t be in a rush to wax up.

The only spot on the radar is Redhead, a pretty consistent little reef break that often has a crew on it. The water temp is sitting at 63°F – and that’s 2°F below where it should be for this time of year, so it feels a bit colder than normal. We kick things off Monday the 17th of August with some messy 4ft ESE windswell, but the wind is all wrong – cross-onshore at 9 mph – making it choppy and poor. The combined energy is weak to moderate (117). That’s a write-off.

Through Tuesday the 18th, it’s the same story: a bit more energy (126 to 158) but the wind stays cross-shore or cross-onshore, and the quality is rubbish. Wednesday the 19th morning is the first time you’ll see a cleanish wave. The swell drops to 2ft from the ESE with a 10-second period, but the wind goes glassy – zero knots – so it’s surfable but very ordinary. Combined energy is moderate (176). Still, that’s the best we’ve got so far, and it’s only a score of 1 out of 10. The afternoon gets messy again.

Thursday the 20th morning brings a tiny 3ft ESE swell with light offshore wind from the NNW (9 mph), making it clean. But it’s small and the energy is weak (56). Friday the 21st is flat. From there, it’s a gap of days with nothing – just tiny 1ft to 2ft dribble and bad wind. Saturday the 22nd and Sunday the 23rd are barely worth looking at. By Monday the 24th, we get a clean 1ft bump but it’s hopelessly small.

Then on Wednesday the 26th of August, a pulse of E swell hits at 4ft to 5ft with a short 6-second period. The combined energy jumps up to moderate-to-strong (232 morning, 165 afternoon), but the wind is a fresh cross-onshore at 16 to 19 mph – lumpy and choppy. That’s more of a kite-surfing setup than a paddle session. Thursday the 27th cleans up a little but stays poor and small.

After that, it’s flat again through the end of August and into September. The last few days are just tiny 0.3ft to 0.7ft slop with onshore breezes, and even the glassy moments on 1 September can’t save it.

Honestly, there’s no standout session here. The only time it’s clean and small is Wednesday the 19th morning, and that’s not a standout – it’s just the least bad. The rest is a long blank run. Don’t hold your breath; the swell just ain’t on.

Rusty.

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