Noosa - Sunshine Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty. Let’s be straight up – this outlook for Sunshine Beach is a tough one. We’ve got a long stretch of poor surf conditions ahead, with decent swell sizes showing up but the wind and period timing just aren’t lining up for quality waves. The first real glimmer of something surfable doesn’t appear until Tuesday the 25th, and even then, it’s only just scraping a pass.

The early part of the run, from today, Tuesday the 18th, right through to Monday the 24th, is a write-off. We’re looking at cross-on winds, choppy lumpy junk, and swell periods mostly under 8 seconds, which means weak, short lines. The combined swell energy sits between 91 and 485 – a moderate reading at its peak on the 18th with 7ft from the ESE, but it’s cross-on 19 mph wind, so it’s a messy, blown-out mess. The water temp is about 68°, which is about 2° cooler than normal for this time of year – it’s got a bit of a bite to it.

The first chance of anything resembling a surf comes Tuesday morning the 25th. We’ve got a clean, cross-off wind from the NNW at only 6 mph, with 3ft of ENE swell at 8 seconds. It’s small, but the wind is light and clean. The combined energy is weak at 134. It’s surfable but very ordinary conditions – you’d be scratching for a ride.

If you can wait, Wednesday morning the 26th is the standout in this entire period. Glassy conditions with a light S wind at 3 mph, and the same small 3ft ENE swell at 8 seconds. Combined energy is only 91, but that glassy wind makes all the difference – clean face, no chop. It’s going to be tiny, but if you’ve got a log or a fish, you’ll get a few fun ones. Crowds are possible here, so don’t expect solitude.

Thursday morning the 27th offers another glassy session with no wind at all and 2ft ENE swell at 8 seconds – even smaller, but still surfable and clean for the patient surfer.

From Friday the 28th onwards, the swell drops right off, with heights under 2ft, and the combined energy plummets into the double digits. Cross-on and cross-shore winds dominate from the 29th through to the 31st, with a fresh breeze up to 19 mph creating lumpy, choppy junk. The 31st shows a long-period swell from the SE (13-14 seconds), but with cross-on 12 mph wind and only 1ft of wave height, that’s a clean, lined-up ankle-snapper that’s barely breaking.

A little bump on the 2nd of September shows 5ft from the E at 6 seconds, but again, cross-on winds ruin it. The entire second week is a low-energy grind with poor conditions.

So, if you’re determined, the best shot is Wednesday morning the 26th of August – glassy, clean, small. It’s not going to be epic, but it’s the only window where the wind plays nice. Don’t hold your breath for the rest.

Rusty.

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