Sandy Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Righto folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a squiz at what’s coming our way for the next couple of weeks. I’ll be straight with ya – this is a rough stretch for paddle surfing. We’ve got a long gap of poor to zero conditions to kick things off, and even when the water starts to show some potential, it’s nothing to write home about for most of the run.

From Thursday afternoon the 27th of August right through until the 3rd of September, it’s pretty grim. The wind is howling from the ENE, often at a solid 18 to 25 mph, and it’s blowing straight cross-shore, putting a nasty lumpy chop on everything. The swell is all over the shop – weak south pulses with long periods that don’t match the wind, then short-period ENE windswell that just gets chopped up. Water temp is sitting at a normal 81°F at Sandy Beach, but you won’t care because the surf will be junk.

There’s a shift starting Thursday the 3rd of September. The swell starts building from the east with a period of 12 seconds and combined energy hitting 1125 (moderate to strong). The wind backs off a touch to a moderate 15 mph breeze from the NE, but it’s still cross-shore. This keeps the surf only marginal – lumpy and hard to love. That pattern holds right through until Sunday the 6th of September. On the 6th, the afternoon shows a glimmer with a 7 ft east-nor'-east swell, 10-second period, and combined energy of 2121 (strong). The wind drops to a moderate 12 mph from the NE, but it's still cross-shore. It’s a step up in size but still messy.

Now, the one standout that got my heart beating a little is the morning of Monday the 7th of September. We get a clean 3 ft swell from the south-south-west, but it’s running with a very long period of 15 seconds and combined energy of 1036 (moderate). The wind is a light 6 mph from the NE, still cross-shore but barely a whisper. This is a point break or reef setup kind of swell – Sandy Beach is a beach and reef mix, so that long period might make it a bit straight and tricky, but with that light wind, it’s the cleanest window in the whole forecast. Water’s about average for the time of year.

Looking further out, from the 9th of September onward it gets iffy again. Thursday the 10th of September afternoon has a small 3 ft east swell, 11-second period, with a light 6 mph cross-offshore breeze from the NNW. It’s clean and the energy sits at 572 (moderate), so for a skinny day it’s a decent little session if you’re desperate. Friday the 11th of September morning sees a 5 ft east swell with a light onshore wind from the SE – might be a bit bumpy and not worth the paddle. The rest fades back into poor, choppy cross-shore slop.

Overall, there’s nothing here that’ll get the crowds frothing. The best on offer is that Monday the 7th of September morning – small but clean with some real long-period groundswell energy. If you’re a beginner, anything over 5 ft is a handful, and here that means the 7 ft-plus days are for experienced surfers only. For the rest of the time, with the strong cross-winds and lumpy conditions, this setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

Rusty.

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