Shelley Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, it’s Rusty.

Let’s be straight: the next few days at Shelley Beach are pretty flat and nothing special. Saturday morning sees a weak 4ft SSE swell with a short period and cross-on breeze. Water temp is about 64°, right on average for this time of year. Combined energy is 338 (moderate) – it’s marginal. Saturday afternoon and the rest of the weekend stay poor, with swell dropping to just 3ft by Sunday morning – that Sunday morning does turn glassy with a light NNE wind, so if you’re really keen it’ll be clean but barely worth the paddle.

Monday stays undersized, with a long-period 16-second S groundswell but only 2ft – all bark, no bite. The energy reading is 266 (moderate) and the cross-shore wind doesn’t help. Tuesday brings a little more size, 3 to 3ft S swell, but periods are short and wind is messy. Nothing to get excited about.

Wednesday 2 September is a small bump – 2ft S swell in the morning with a clean offshore NW wind, but the energy’s weak at 133. That’s surfable but ordinary. Thursday 3 September is even smaller, 2ft S swell with a 10-second period and clean offshore WNW wind in the morning, but energy is a measly 80 (weak). That’s a paddleboard day, not surf.

From Friday 4 September through to Sunday 6 September, swell stays in the 1 to 3ft range, mostly short-period S swell, with poor conditions and weak energy – mostly under 100. There’s a gap of nearly a week with nothing worth chasing.

Then on Monday 7 September the wind gets strong and swell builds. Monday morning has 4ft S swell with a screaming 45 km/h NW offshore – clean but nearly impossible to paddle into, with moderate energy of 244. Monday afternoon jumps to 6ft S swell, 9-second period, and Tuesday has 5 to 6ft S swell. Wind is strong offshore or cross-off, and by Tuesday afternoon the combined energy climbs to 814 (strong). Conditions are clean but that wind is howling at 35 to 40 km/h – tough going.

Wednesday 9 September brings the biggest swell of the run: 8ft S swell with a 12-second period and combined energy of 1616 (very strong). The wind is cross-shore at 25 km/h, so it’s choppy. That’s for experts only – too big and messy for most.

Now here’s the standout: Thursday 10 September morning. Shelley Beach turns on with a great 6ft SSE swell, 12-second period (groundswell), and glassy conditions – barely any wind, and the combined energy is a strong 1071. This is the pick of the outlook. Water temp is still about 64° – average for the time of year. It’s worth the wait, but it’s only for experienced surfers at that size.

Friday 11 September morning is another solid option: 4ft SSE swell, 12-second period, glassy again, with 593 combined energy (moderate). Clean and inviting.

After that, the swell fades fast through the weekend of 12-13 September back to tiny, ordinary waves. So your best bet is Thursday and Friday morning, 10 and 11 September. Thursday morning is the true standout.

– Rusty

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