Sandy Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Gotta be straight with you – this is a tough stretch on the cards. Looking at the whole 16-day window, we’ve got a lot of wind and messy conditions to deal with, and honestly, I’m not seeing any real standout sessions worth getting excited about. The water temp is sitting at 81°, which is bang on average for this time of year, so at least you won’t need a thick wetsuit.

The only break on the radar is Sandy Beach – a beach and reef setup. It’s fairly consistent for swell, but the wind is the villain here. The optimum swell direction is from the ESE, but for the entire first week and beyond, we’re getting hammered by strong to near-gale cross-shore and cross-onshore winds from the ENE and NE. That means chop, lumps, and generally poor surf conditions. The swell energy is mostly moderate, with values sitting between 211 and 2606, but it’s all wasted on the wind.

There’s a small window around Saturday the 5th of September afternoon where the wind drops to a gentle breeze from the ESE, and the swell is 7 ft from the ENE at 8 seconds. The energy is still strong (1059), but it’s a cross-onshore and fairly choppy situation. It’s a ‘marginal’ call at best. Then on Tuesday the 8th of September, we get a morning with clean, cross-offshore wind from the NNW, but it’s a near gale at 31 mph – that’s too strong for any real fun and the swell is 10 ft, which is big and gnarly, strictly for experts. The afternoon that day is a bit better with a gentle cross-shore and 8 ft swell, but it’s still only a marginal 3 out of 10.

The rest of the run is a write-off. There are long gaps of several days, from the start right through to the 14th, where there’s no real recommendation. The 4th and 5th of September have some big, nasty stormy swell, and the 2nd of September has a super long period 16-second swell from the south, but the wind is cross-shore and lumpy, so it’s not working. For the last few days, the swell drops right off, with energy under 500 and continued poor conditions.

Honestly, if you’re a paddle surfer, this is a blank run. Given the persistent strong winds and the beach-and-reef setup, this is going to be more interesting for kite surfers than anyone else. Keep an eye on the forecasts, though – it can’t stay this poor forever.

Rusty.

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