Shark Island (Cronulla) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here with a look at what’s coming up for Shark Island (Cronulla). It’s a bit of a quiet start, so don’t get your hopes up for the first week or so.

We’re looking at a long stretch of nothing much to get excited about. From Monday the 17th of August right through to Sunday the 23rd of August, it’s all poor surf conditions. Tiny little sloppy waves, mostly onshore or messy winds, and energy readings are low—mostly well under 265. You’d be wasting your time paddling out. The water temp is around average for this time of year, nothing special there.

Monday the 24th of August shows a tiny glimmer early morning with a clean 2ft south swell, period around 10 seconds. It’s surfable but ordinary, and combined wave energy is only 120 (weak to moderate). The wind is light and off the WSW, so it’ll be clean, but don’t expect much push.

Now, Tuesday the 25th of August is where things start looking interesting. The morning sees a 5ft south swell with a 9-second period and combined energy jumping to 391 (moderate). Wind is light and cross-shore from the NW, so it’ll be a bit of a cross-chop but not too messy. But the standout is Tuesday afternoon: an SSE swell at 5ft, period up to 11 seconds, and combined energy hitting a solid 828 (moderate to strong). Wind is light and cross-onshore from the ESE, so it’ll be a little bumpy, but with that much energy and a decent period, there’ll be some proper sets rolling in. This is a reef break that’s fairly exposed to swell, so it’ll handle that size well—but at 5ft, it’s getting into more advanced territory, so beginners might struggle. The swell direction from the SSE lines up nicely with the optimum SE direction, so there’ll be some nice lines. Crowds can show up here sometimes, so keep that in mind.

From Wednesday the 26th through to the end of the month, the swell backs off again and the winds get strong—clean but strong, with gusts up to 25 mph. That’s more of a kite day than a paddle day. The waves stay small, mostly under 3ft, and energy levels drop back down below 400. The last week of August and into September looks like more of the same: small, weak, and not worth the drive.

So, to sum it up: the only real window to get a wave is Tuesday the 25th of August, with the afternoon offering the best combo of size, energy, and clean-ish conditions. Everything else before and after is pretty bleak. Don’t stress though—forecasts can change.

Rusty.

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