Noosa - Sunshine Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Righto, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cookin’ for our stretch of coast.

The next 16 days are a real mixed bag, and honestly, it’s a bit of a slow starter. We’ve got a solid run of ordinary, messy conditions to get through before we see any real quality. The first decent option doesn’t show up until Wednesday, 2nd September, so you’re looking at a gap of nearly a week of average to poor surf before that.

Sunshine Beach is the only break on the cards. First up, Wednesday morning, 26th August, we’ve got tiny 3ft ENE swell with a period of 8 seconds. The combined energy is weak (118). The wind is a light offshore from the WSW, so it’s clean but the waves are just ordinary. The water temp is about average for this time of year. By Wednesday afternoon, the wind drops to glassy calm, but the swell drops to 3ft. It’s surfable, but don’t expect much.

Thursday, 27th August, the wind swings SSE and gets up to 15 mph, making a mess of things. The swell bumps up to 4ft but it’s short-period, choppy, and cross-on. This is a write-off for paddle surfing. The same messy pattern holds through the rest of the week and into the weekend. The swell gets a bit bigger on Sunday, 30th August, hitting 5ft to 6ft, but it’s SSE wind at 15 mph with a short period, so it’s just a chopped-up, onshore mess. The combined energy gets up to 369 on Sunday afternoon, but the quality is poor. This is more of a kite-surfing setup than a surfer’s wave.

Now, here’s the one that stands out. Wednesday morning, 2nd September. The swell is 4ft from the ENE with an 8-second period, and the combined energy is moderate (238). The wind is light SE, glassy. That’s the key – the wind is glassy, and the wave comment says “expect good surf conditions.” This is the best on offer in the whole window. It’s not huge, but it’ll be clean and fun. The crowd factor at Sunshine Beach is “sometimes,” so you might have a few others out, but it won’t be chaos.

After that, we slide back into ordinary. The rest of the first week of September is a mix of small swells and cross-on winds. The surf is small and weak. There’s a brief moment on Monday, 7th September, where the swell picks up to 6ft from the SE with an 8-second period, and the combined energy is strong (385). The wind is light SE, so it’s not awful, but the wave comment is cautious – “marginal surf forecast or questionable tide conditions.” For a more experienced surfer, it might be worth a look, but it’s not a standout.

The second week is lean. From Tuesday, 8th September, through to the end of the forecast, the swell drops off. There’s a glassy morning on Tuesday, 8th, with 3ft ESE swell, but the energy is weak. Thursday, 10th September, is flat with no wind and 2ft of swell. The run ends with poor, small surf.

So, the one to circle is Wednesday morning, 2nd September. It’s the only truly clean, glassy session on offer. Get in the water then if you can.

Rusty.

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