Rodiles Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the menu for Rodiles.

Straight up, it's a bit of a slow start. We're looking at a week of mostly small, onshore junk before things start to clean up. The first few days, from Thursday the 10th through to the start of the following week, are a write-off. The wind is coming from the east and cross-onshore, churning up the water. The swell is tiny, mostly between 2ft and 4ft, and the energy is weak to moderate (from 58 to 586). The water temperature is about average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

The tide turns, so to speak, around Tuesday the 15th. We get a shift in the wind to the west-northwest, going cross-offshore. That’s the ticket. That morning, the swell is still small at 3ft, but the wind is light and the conditions are clean. The afternoon sees the swell jump to 6ft with a short period around 7 seconds and moderate energy (345). It’s a bit raw and jumbled from the short period, but it’s the first real sign of life.

Wednesday the 16th afternoon is where we start to see something worth paddling out for. The wind goes cross-offshore again, the swell is a clean 3ft from the northwest, and the energy is moderate (283). The forecast is calling for good surf conditions. It’s not a monster, but it’s clean and rideable.

The standout in this whole outlook is actually the following week. Look at Thursday the 17th and Friday the 18th. Thursday morning has a solid 4ft from the north-northwest at a longer period of 11 seconds (moderate energy of 344) with a light cross-offshore breeze. That’s proper groundswell potential. But the real gem is Friday the 18th afternoon. We’ve got a 3ft north-northwest swell with a long period of 12 seconds (moderate energy of 373) and glassy, offshore wind. Dead calm. That’s going to be clean, lined-up waves at this river mouth. That’s the one to circle in your calendar.

After that, it gets messy again. The weekend of the 19th and 20th goes back to cross-onshore wind and chop. There’s a big spike in swell on Sunday the 20th afternoon, hitting 8ft from the north-northwest with a very long period of 16 seconds and strong energy (3429). That’s a big, powerful groundswell, but with the moderate east wind chopping it up, it’s going to be a washing machine. That’s expert territory only, and with the onshore wind, it’s more likely to be a mess. The following Monday morning, the 21st, has a similar powerful 7ft swell (energy 1682) but with lighter onshore wind, so it’s still marginal.

For the rest of the second week, from the 22nd onwards, it’s back to small, weak, onshore conditions. The 25th of September morning is glassy but with a tiny 2ft swell, so it’s flat.

So, the pick of the fortnight is Friday the 18th afternoon. The combination of that long-period groundswell, the glassy conditions, and the cross-offshore wind at the end of the week makes it the best bet. The Thursday the 17th morning is a close second, also clean and with a nice long-period swell. The rest of the time, you’re fighting the wind for small, weak waves.

Rusty, signing off.

Read more