Saint Annes Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here, lookin’ at the Saint Annes picture (reef break). Truth is, mate, this 16-day window is a bit of a rough one. We’ve got a long stretch of poor conditions to get through, but there’s a little window of hope halfway through the first week of September that’s the real standout.

The whole period starts quiet and messy. From Sunday the 30th of August, right through to Friday the 4th of September, it’s a string of days with weak, cross-shore wind and small, short-period swell. The energy is all over the place, but it’s low to moderate at best, with values between 213 and 1199. The water’s about average for this time of year, nothing unusual. For a spot that’s fairly consistent and sheltered from the WNW, the wind is just killing it. Keep the stick in the car for this run.

The first real sign of life shows up on Sunday the 6th of September. Overnight, the wind swings around to a light cross-offshore from the north, and we get a clean-up. The swell holds at 3 ft from the SSW with a long 15-second period, giving it some grunt. The combined energy reads 458, which is moderate, but the clean conditions make it the pick of the bunch. This is a morning session for sure, with that light breeze and clean surface. The SSW direction is a bit off the optimum WNW, but when it’s glassy like this, you take it.

Monday the 7th of September morning is a bonus. The wind drops to glassy, near flat calm, with light air. The swell is 3 ft from the SSW, period 14 seconds, and the energy is 312. The waves are small and ordinary, but that glassy surface makes it surfable for a quiet paddle. The crowd factor is often here, so you might have a few mates out, but it’s a small-wave day.

After that, it’s back to the doldrums. From Tuesday the 8th of September through to Thursday the 10th, the swell drops right off to 1 ft to 3 ft, with messy cross-on winds and low energy readings between 110 and 669. Not worth a look.

The second week gets a bit weird. Friday the 11th of September afternoon sees a jump in swell height to 7 ft, but it’s from the WNW with a short, choppy 6-second period. The energy is moderate at 543, but the period is so short it’ll be a wash. This is a poor, bumpy mess. Saturday the 12th and Sunday the 13th of September see the swell build to 8 ft from the WNW, with 8-second periods. The energy on Sunday afternoon hits 1039, which is strong. But that’s a lot of water for a reef break with a cross-shore wind. The WNW direction is spot-on for the optimum, but the period is short, so it’s going to be a lumpy, hard-to-handle wave. This is only for experts, and the wind is still cross, so the quality is marginal. It’s a solid, powerful swell, but the conditions are too rough to call it a standout.

The best of the whole outlook is unarguably Sunday the 6th of September morning. Clean, light cross-offshore wind, a consistent 3 ft SSW swell with a long 15-second period, and moderate energy. It’s the one to pencil in.

Rusty.

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