Shipwrecks Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into the bones of this forecast for Shipwrecks. It’s a reef and point set-up that’s fairly consistent, but we’re in for a bit of a mixed bag over the next couple of weeks.

At the start, the water is a warm 88°F which is much warmer than normal for this time of year, a real anomaly that’s a solid 5°F above the usual – that’s a notable change for the area.

We kick off on Thursday, 3 September with a bit of a lumpy offering. The morning has a 8ft south swell, with a period of 11 seconds, but the wind is onshore from the SE at 9 mph, making it choppy and messy. The combined energy is a beefy 1585 (moderate wave energy), but the quality is just not there. The afternoon cleans up a little, but it’s still cross-onshore, so it’s only a marginal session.

Friday, 4 September sees the swell drop to 5ft in the morning, still from the SSW, but the SE wind is onshore again. The afternoon gets smaller to 4ft, and the period jumps to a very long 16 seconds (groundswell!). That’s a long period, which means good shape and energy, but at a beach break this long period can make it break a bit straight. The combined energy drops to 956 (still moderate). The wind is cross-onshore, so it’s not clean enough to get excited about.

Saturday, 5 September is a little better. The morning is small at 4ft with a 16-second period, but the wind is light and cross-onshore, so there are small ripples. The afternoon is the first real standout. Swell is 3ft from the SSW, period 15 seconds, but the wind swings to the west at 16 mph, which is a cross-offshore breeze, making it clean. The combined energy is 736 (moderate). This is a solid window for a few turns, but that cross-off wind can be a bit tricky to line up.

Sunday, 6 September is a write-off in the morning – poor surf with a 3ft SSW swell and cross-onshore wind. The afternoon, however, gets a mention. The swell drops to 3ft, but the wind shifts to a light NW offshore at 3 mph, and it’s clean. The combined energy is 517 (weak). This is the best clean option for the first week, but it’s small.

Monday, 7 September is similar. The morning has a clean 3ft swell with a WSW cross-offshore wind at 6 mph. The afternoon stays small and gets a bit cross-onshore.

From Tuesday, 8 September through to the end of the second week, the surf really drops off. We’re talking consistent 2ft to 3ft swells, mostly poor conditions, and a lot of onshore or cross-onshore winds. The combined energy sinks into the 100-400 range (weak to very weak). There are a few clean windows, like the afternoon of 11 September with a 2ft swell and a cross-offshore wind, and the morning of 12 September with a 2ft swell and clean conditions, but it’s all very small, not worth paddling out for.

The real interesting bit comes right at the end. On Thursday, 17 September, we get a 2ft swell from the SW with a period of 21 seconds – that’s an incredibly long period groundswell. The combined energy jumps to 725 (moderate). The wind is cross-shore, so it’s a bit choppy, but it’s marginal. Then, on Friday, 18 September afternoon, the wind goes glassy. The swell is 3ft from the SW, period 19 seconds, and the combined energy is 700 (moderate). The conditions are glassy, and the forecast is for very good surf. That’s the standout of the entire 16 days, but it’s more than two weeks away, so it’s a promising but less certain call.

The big news is that for long stretches in the middle, there’s just no surf worth chasing. The only real options are the small, clean windows on the 5th, 6th, and 7th of September, and then the late-in-the-game glassy hope on the 18th. For a spot that’s fairly consistent, this is a patchy run.

Rusty out.

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