Shark Island (Cronulla) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, I'm Rusty. Let's have a look at what's on the cards for the next couple of weeks.

The outlook is a bit of a slow burn, with a lot of small, messy days to sit through before we get a serious pulse of swell. The first week is mostly a write-off for quality surf, with a few windows of clean but tiny waves that are only just surfable. The real standout is a massive, late-arriving swell that will be for experienced surfers only.

Right now, Shark Island (Cronulla) is dealing with a long stretch of poor conditions. The first solid recommendation doesn't come until Sunday morning, the 6th of September. This is a good one though. The morning will be glassy with a clean 4ft south swell, period of 10 seconds. The combined energy is moderate at 335. The water temp is sitting at 63°, which is about 1° below the average for this time of year, so it's pretty normal. Sunday arvo gets blown out by an onshore breeze, so make the most of the early session.

The next real chance is on the back of a bigger swell, but it's tricky. Tuesday morning, the 8th of September, has a 4ft ENE swell with a clean offshore wind from the SSW, but the period is a short 8 seconds, so it'll be a bit of a close-out at this reef. The combined energy is moderate at 260. It's surfable, but nothing to get too excited about.

Now, for the true standout. Hold onto your board. Wednesday morning, the 9th of September, is an absolute monster. We're looking at a 16ft south swell with an 11-second period, and it's glassy. The combined energy is a massive 5658, which is very strong. This is a serious, heavy groundswell. The swell direction is from the south, which is optimum for Shark Island, and the period is long, so it will be powerful and well-shaped. This is strictly for experts only. The surf will be too big and dangerous for anyone else. The swell holds into Thursday morning, the 10th, with a 13ft SE swell, again glassy, and energy at 3110. Another excellent session for the experienced crew.

The swell drops off from there, but Friday morning, the 11th of September, cleans up nicely with a 6ft east swell, 9-second period, and glassy conditions. The combined energy is 758. This will be a fun, clean morning for a broader range of surfers, but the swell is over 5ft, so beginners might find it a bit much.

Beyond that, from the 12th of September onwards, the surf gets small and messy again with onshore winds and poor conditions through to the end of the forecast period. The last few days of the window are not worth paddling out for.

The day to circle is Wednesday the 9th of September for the big, clean south swell at Shark Island. If you're not an expert, just watch from the rocks.

- Rusty

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