Shelley Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's talk about what Shelley Beach has on offer over the next couple of weeks. We've got a bit of a mixed bag coming our way, so let's break it down.

The pattern starts off slow. The first real chance to wet your line comes this Friday morning, September 11th. We’re looking at a chest-shoulder high Southerly swell, coming in at 6ft with a 10-second interval. The water temp is sitting at 65°F, which feels about normal for this time of year. The energy in the water is moderate at 564. The wind is light and cross, so it won't be perfect, but it's surfable. The afternoon goes onshore and turns to junk.

Saturday the 12th is the real standout early on. The morning is looking choice. The swell drops a touch to about knee-waist high at 4ft from the SSE, but the real magic is that glassy wind. It's dead calm, and the surface will be like a mirror. The wave energy is still decent at 357. If you can get out there early, it'll be clean as a whistle. The afternoon gets wrecked by a strong cross-shore breeze.

After that, we hit a long flat spell. From Saturday afternoon right through to Tuesday the 15th of September, it's just small, weak and bumpy. The energy drops right off into the double digits, and the winds are messy. Not worth paddling out.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting but ugly. Wednesday the 16th of September, a big pulse of swell rolls in. We’re talking 10ft in the morning, jumping to 13ft in the afternoon from the South. The wave energy is off the charts – 1620 and then 2792 – that's strong to very strong. The problem is the wind is howling from the SSW at 25 mph, creating a horrendous cross-shore chop. This is not for paddle surfing. For the kitesurfers out there, this setup looks far more interesting. It carries on into Thursday with 8ft sets but still messy and windy.

The surf drops back down, but then we get a real treat. Friday the 18th of September morning looks beautiful. It's small, only about waist-high at 2ft, but that's a clean, long-period groundswell from the SSE with a 20-second period. That means the waves will have real shape, and it will be glassy. The energy is still surprisingly high for the size at 616. It's a small-craft day, but if you've got a log, it’ll be fun and clean.

Saturday the 19th of September morning is another clean option. Similar small size at 2ft from the South, with a 14-second period, and light offshore winds. It’ll be clean and have some push. Sunday the 20th morning is glassy again but very small. The second week is quiet overall, with small, weak swells and onshore winds.

The big one to watch for is Wednesday the 23rd of September morning. The forecast is for a massive 12ft Southerly swell with a 10-second period. The energy is reading a huge 2291. The wind is light and cross, and the report says the tide and wind are favorable, but that the swell is predicted to be too big for this break. If you're an expert with big-wave gear, and the winds hold, it could be a session. If you're not, stay on the beach. The rest of that week fades back into small, marginal conditions.

So, to sum it up: Saturday the 12th morning for the cleanest waves, and Friday the 18th morning for a sneaky, clean long-period session on the smaller stuff. The big days mid-week are for experts and kite surfers only.

Rusty.

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