Noosa - Sunshine Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on offer.

To be straight with you, the outlook for Sunshine Beach is a bit of a tough one. Over the next 16 days, we’re looking at a long stretch of challenging conditions, with only a few brief windows where it might be worth paddling out. The water temp is sitting at 70°, which is pretty much bang on average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

The opening days are a write-off. Friday the 17th has a 7ft SE swell, but with a short, weak period of 6 seconds and a fresh cross-onshore wind at 19 mph, it’s all lumpy chop. The combined energy is moderate at 368, but it’s just poor surf. That pattern sticks around through Saturday and Sunday the 18th and 19th, with the swell actually building to 10ft by Sunday. The energy spikes to a very strong 1756, but the wind stays cross or cross-onshore and the period is still short. The sheer size makes it expert-only, and even then, it’s messy. The next few days, from Monday the 20th through to Thursday the 24th, see the swell slowly drop from 10ft down to 4ft, but the wind remains cross-onshore or cross, keeping conditions poor. The energy drops from very strong to weak, but the quality just isn’t there.

We hit a bit of a lull from Friday the 24th onwards. The swell drops to 3ft and below, and the wind finally starts to ease. The energy is weak, under 200. The best of a bad bunch comes on Sunday the 26th morning. The swell is tiny at 3ft from the E, but the wind swings light offshore from the SW, so the surface cleans up. The energy is very weak at 109, but it’s surfable. Monday the 27th morning is another small window with a 2ft ENE swell, a light offshore, and clean conditions. Still, these are very ordinary waves for a beginner, not a big day.

The standout in the whole 16-day window is Sunday the 26th morning. It’s not a classic, but with the wind going light offshore and glassy, you’ll get the cleanest possible lines on a small, weak day. The swell direction is E, which is close to the optimum of E, and the break is consistent. Crowds are possible, so you might find a few others who’ve been waiting for a window. It’s the only real chance for a decent paddle.

Later in the second week, from Monday the 28th onwards, the swell drops to almost nothing, with a 2ft glassy morning on the 28th that’s flat but pretty. The 1st of August shows a 5ft SE swell building with a clean offshore wind on the Saturday morning, but the period is short at 6 seconds, so it’s more of a choppy, ordinary wave. The very end of the outlook, on the afternoon of the 1st, has a 4ft SE swell with a clean offshore, but again, it’s small and weak.

Honestly, this is a stretch where the surf is either too big and messy, or too small to get excited about. The best advice is to keep an eye on Sunday the 26th morning. It’s the one real chance for a clean, if small, session. Don’t hold your breath for the rest.

Rusty.

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