Shark Island (Cronulla) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, I'm Rusty. Let's have a look at what's coming up for Shark Island (Cronulla).

We've got a lean start with nothing really worth paddling out for this weekend or through the early part of next week. The surf is small, onshore, and just messy – honestly, a bit of a write-off from Saturday the 12th right through until Tuesday the 15th. You're looking at a solid four days of flat to weak, choppy conditions, so maybe save the wax.

Our first real glimmer of hope comes on Wednesday the 16th, but it's a double-edged sword. A powerful S swell is set to push through, hitting 10 ft on the morning and jumping to 13 ft in the afternoon – that's massive, heavy energy (1364 to 2813) for a reef break. The wind is strong offshore or cross-off, so the faces will be clean, but mate, this is advanced territory only. The period is around 9 to 10 seconds, so it'll be powerful and a bit relentless. Thursday the 17th is still pumping with 8 ft to 10 ft S/SSE swell, and while the cross-off winds keep it clean, the stability is questionable. The water temp is sitting at 64°, which is about average for this time of year, nothing unusual there.

Things settle down by Friday the 18th, but it drops to a pretty average 3 ft S swell with cross-shore winds – just a marginal day. It's not until Saturday the 19th that things get interesting. We've got a smaller 3 ft ESE swell, but it's a long-period groundswell at 11 seconds, and the morning shows *glass* conditions – WNW wind at just 3 mph. That is rare and precious. The energy is moderate (376), but for a reef break like Shark Island, that clean, glassy surface with a touch of direction will make for some really fun, lined-up waves. The afternoon gets a little bumpy again, so make it a dawn mission. This is the standout of the whole forecast.

After that, it's back to a long, drawn-out lull. From Sunday the 20th onwards, we're looking at tiny surf – mostly under 3 ft and often with poor onshore or neutral winds. There's a brief pulse on the 22nd of September (Tuesday) with a 5 ft to 6 ft SSE swell, but it's a short-period windswell (7-8 seconds) and comes with light rain, so it's not going to offer much quality. The rest of the 16-day window fades into that small, weak pattern.

Best bet? Get out for that glassy Saturday morning on the 19th. The bigger stuff mid-week is for the experts only, but the long-period groundswell with perfect glass is as good as it gets around here.

Rusty.

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