Shooting Gallery Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cooking over the next couple of weeks for Shooting Gallery. I gotta be straight with you – this isn't shaping up to be a classic run, but there’s a small window worth paying attention to.

The whole 16-day period starts off pretty rough, with a lot of lumpy, cross-onshore wind and messy surf quality. For the first three days, Tuesday through Thursday, the swell is there – around 5 ft to 6 ft from the north – but the NNE wind is blowing a solid 19 mph, making it a write-off. The combined energy is moderate (255 to 470), but it’s just not surfable with that breeze. Forget it.

Things start to look a little better on Friday the 4th of September. The morning shows a drop in swell to a small 2 ft from the north, but the wind swings around to the WSW at a gentle 9 mph, giving us offshore conditions and clean faces. The energy is weak (94), so it’s not going to be pumping, but for a sneaky dawny on a reef, it might be the best we get. The afternoon picks up a touch to 4 ft from the NNW, but the wind goes cross and wonky, so stick to the early session.

From there, it's a long, dry spell. Saturday the 5th through to the middle of the week just has poor conditions – moderate cross-onshore wind, choppy sea state, and messy swell. Nothing is coming together. This gap stretches all the way from Friday afternoon through to about Tuesday the 15th of September – that’s around a week of nothing much worth paddling out for.

Now, late in the forecast, into the second week, there is one standout that catches my eye. On the morning of Tuesday the 15th, there is a tiny swell at 3 ft from the NNW, but more interesting is the afternoon: a 2 ft groundswell from the west-northwest with a long period of 11 seconds. The energy is moderate (174). That period is going to give the waves some real shape and push, especially at a reef like Shooting Gallery. The wind is a cross-onshore at 16 mph though, which is a bummer, but still cleaner than most days. It’s a long-range forecast for that date, so keep an eye on it, but it’s the most promising pulse in the whole outlook.

To be honest, if you’re not a local who knows this reef inside out, the rest of the window is a struggle. The consistent north-northeast wind direction is just wrong here for the optimum, which is a north-northwest swell. It never really clicks. Stick to Friday the 4th morning for a clean, small wave session.

Rusty.

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