Shelley Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, surf’s up… well, sort of. Let me break it down for you, Shelley Beach.

Right now, the water’s sitting at 64° – that’s about 1° cooler than the long-term average for this time of year, so nothing wild, just a touch on the cool side. Nothing to stress about.

The next few days are pretty ordinary. We’ve got a bit of a lull here. The first real chance to get wet is actually Thursday morning the 20th — small stuff, around 3 ft from the ESE, with a short period of 6 seconds. The wind is light and cross-off though, so the surface will be clean. It’s surfable, but very average. The swell energy is weak at 108.

After that, it’s mostly poor surf conditions right through the weekend and into next week. The waves shrink down to 1 ft, period is short, and the wind is mostly cross or onshore. There’s a gap of several days with no real recommendations. We do get a Monday morning the 24th with a clean 1 ft swell from the south, period 11 seconds — that’s a longer period, but the size is tiny. The energy is still weak at 65. Not worth paddling out for.

The next standout doesn’t pop up until the morning of Friday the 28th of August. That’s the first solid call. The forecast shows 3 ft from the south, period 10 seconds, with a light cross-off wind from the NNE. The combined energy is 249 — moderate. Conditions should be clean and surfable. That’s the best window of the first week and a half.

Then, hang on to your board, because the end of August and start of September get a bit wild. On Sunday the 30th afternoon, the swell jumps to 8 ft from the south, period 10 seconds, and the energy hits 1278. The wind is cross-onshore and choppy though, so it’s not clean. Still, the size is there.

But Monday the 31st? That’s when things get serious. The morning brings 10 ft from the south, period 12 seconds, and the energy is 2530 — strong. The wind is moderate cross-shore, and the swell is predicted to be too big for this break. Same story Monday afternoon: 13 ft from the SSE, period 14 seconds, energy 5213. This is expert-only territory, and even then, it’s a lot of water moving. The long period means it’s a proper groundswell, but at a beach break like Shelley, it might be a bit too straight and dumpy. The forecast also says the wind and tide are favorable, but the size is the problem.

This big swell continues into the first of September — Tuesday morning shows 12 ft from the SSE, period 13 seconds, energy 4443. The wind is cross and moderate, but again, the break is being overwhelmed. The best chance in that big swell window is Wednesday afternoon the 2nd of September: 10 ft from the SSE, period 12 seconds, energy 2795, and the wind turns light and cross-off from the NNE. That’s clean, but it’s still massive. Only for the brave.

After that, it drops back: Thursday the 3rd morning has 7 ft from the SE, period 11 seconds, energy 1087, but the wind is cross-on and choppy. Thursday afternoon is 6 ft, period 10 seconds, energy 796, with a gentle cross-shore and cleaner conditions. That’s more manageable but still a solid session.

So, if you’re looking for the best on offer, I’d say Friday morning the 28th of August is your standout — clean, 3 ft south swell, light wind, and moderate energy. It’s the most user-friendly decent wave in the whole outlook. The big stuff at the end is for the charger crew only. For everyone else, pick your moment carefully.

— Rusty

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