Shelley Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, mate, Rusty here. Let’s have a good look at the next 16 days. It’s a bit of a slow cooker for Shelley Beach, but there are a couple of moments that could be worth paddling out for.

The 16-day window starts with a pretty grim stretch. From Saturday the 15th through to Tuesday the 18th, it’s all onshore wind, lumpy conditions, and weak, short-period swell. The water is sitting at 63°F, which is a bit cooler than usual for this time of year, so you might want a thin spring suit. The energy is weak to moderate, with the combined swell energy reading around 216 (moderate) on Saturday morning, but it’s paired with a cross-shore wind and marginal surf. The whole first week is a bit of a write-off, honestly.

The first real standout comes on Wednesday the 19th, early doors. Shelley Beach should fire up with a light, glassy westerly wind, and a 4 ft swell from the SE, with a period of 7 seconds. The combined energy is moderate at 230. It’s not a monster, but for a spot that’s been battered by onshore wind, that glassy morning is the best on offer. It’s a proper window of clean, small waves – good for a fun session on a longboard or a fish. The consistency is consistent here, so you won’t be waiting forever.

After that, the rest of the runs are mostly ordinary. There’s a clean, small window on Friday the 21st with a 3 ft swell from the ENE (89 energy), and glassy conditions in the afternoon, but it’s tiny. The swell keeps dropping through the weekend and into the following week, with the combined energy dipping into the double digits (63, 86) and the swell period staying short. Nothing to get excited about.

Then, the second week throws a curveball. Towards the end of the forecast, things get properly big. On Saturday the 29th, the morning shows a 16 ft swell from the S, with a 13-second period and a massive 16076 combined energy. That’s a very strong, long-period groundswell. However, the wind is onshore from the SSE, and the guidance says this break is exposed to the SE swell. That size is way too big for Shelley Beach – it’s only for experts, and even then, the wind is a mess. The spot is rated for intermediate surfers, but this is a proper beast. The Sunday the 30th morning still has a 10 ft swell from the SSE, but again, it’s onshore and too big.

So, to sum it up: the best window is Wednesday the 19th morning. That’s your one true standout. The rest is small, windy, or way too big. If you’ve got a paddleboard or a kite, the big wind and swell on the 29th and 30th might be more interesting for kiting than surfing. The gap between the good Wednesday morning and the next real event is about a week of small, ordinary surf.

Stay patient, and keep an eye on that Wednesday morning.

Rusty.

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