Right and Left Side Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’m gonna level with you—Right and Left Side has been a bit of a dud lately, and the next week and a half is pretty quiet. But if you’re patient, there’s a proper pulse of groundswell coming through in the second week that’ll make the wait worthwhile. This is a reef break, so when it turns on, it’s a serious wave, but you’ll need to be on your game.

Right now, we’re in a flat spell. Wednesday the 19th and Thursday the 20th are a write-off—cross-onshore winds and messy, weak swell. Friday the 21st is the first time you’d even bother looking. The morning sees a tiny 2ft swell from the west with a 9-second period, but the wind is light cross-offshore, keeping it clean. The afternoon goes glassy with the same tiny 2ft. It’s not exciting, but it’s surfable. Then it gets blown out again from Saturday the 22nd right through to Tuesday the 27th. Strong cross-shore winds and lumpy conditions—honestly, more of a kitesurfing setup than a paddle session for most of that run.

Wednesday the 26th sees the swell start to build, but the wind is still messy. By Thursday the 27th afternoon, there’s a 6ft swell from the west, but with a 35 km/h cross-onshore, it’s a choppy mess. The energy is building though—650 (moderate wave energy). That trend continues into the end of the month with bigger but wind-affected surf.

Now, here’s the good stuff. From Sunday the 30th of August into the start of September, we get a solid long-period groundswell. On Sunday morning, it’s 10ft from the west at 12 seconds, with a light cross-offshore breeze and clean conditions. The combined energy is already strong at 2539. The afternoon is similar at 10ft and 13 seconds, clean again. This is expert territory—over 8ft, so beginners stay out.

The absolute standout is Monday the 31st of August. We’re looking at a 12ft west swell with a 13-second period—that’s proper groundswell. The morning has a light cross-offshore breeze, the afternoon goes glassy. Combined energy is 3991 and 4611 respectively—very strong. This is the best window of the whole forecast. The swell direction (west) matches the optimum (north), so it’ll wrap in nicely on the reef. Expect clean, powerful, hollow waves. Crowds are possible here (listed as “sometimes”), so get in early.

Into Tuesday the 1st of September, the swell peaks at 13ft from the west-northwest with a 14-second period, but the wind turns cross-onshore and the energy is massive (6406). It’s marginal due to wind, but for experts only. Wednesday the 2nd and Thursday the 3rd drop back to 10ft but with clean offshore winds—excellent conditions for those who know the reef.

So, the first week is a bust. The real window is from Sunday the 30th of August through to Thursday the 3rd of September, with Monday the 31st being the absolute pick. Keep an eye on it.

Rusty.

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