Surfside Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you: the next two weeks at Surfside Pier are about as flat as a pancake. We’re looking at a long, drawn-out stretch of tiny, weak swell and pretty ordinary conditions. There’s nothing that even gets close to a standout session, so don’t get your hopes up for any decent waves.

Right now, this Sunday the 13th, we’ve got a tiny 1ft swell from the SE with a period of just 10 seconds – weak energy (24). A bit of a cross-off breeze in the morning keeps things clean, but it’s just too small to do anything with. Sunday afternoon turns choppy with a cross-onshore wind.

Monday the 14th doesn’t improve: still a pathetic 1ft SE swell, light breeze, clean in the morning but then turning cross-onshore later. This pattern of tiny, poor surf just keeps rolling on through the week. Tuesday the 15th sees a little bump to 3ft, but it’s a short-period 7 second easterly windswell, with messy cross-shore winds – still poor. Wednesday and Thursday are similar: waist-high at best, choppy, and just not worth paddling out for.

We hit a bit of a lull again Friday the 18th into the weekend, with swell dropping back to 1–2ft. By Saturday the 19th, the swell is basically gone. The combined energy is in the teens – barely a ripple. There is a brief, slightly more promising window starting Monday the 22nd of September. The swell picks up to 4–4ft from the east, with a period of 7 seconds and moderate energy (131 to 173). The winds turn cross-off from the NNE, so it’ll be clean. But here’s the catch: that 4ft, short-period easterly swell at a beach break like Surfside Pier is going to be fat, crumbly, and hard to get a decent ride on. It’s not the sort of wave that’ll get you excited.

The following days, Wednesday the 23rd through Saturday the 26th, keep offering clean conditions with cross-off winds, but the swell stays small (1ft to 4ft) and short-period. The energy is moderate at best, but the wave quality is consistently described as “poor surf conditions.” Even with clean faces, there’s just no push or shape.

For a beginner spot, anything over 5ft can be too much, but we never even hit that. The entire 16-day run is a bust. Surfside Pier is known for being inconsistent, and this forecast shows exactly why. It’s not unusual for this area to go through blank runs like this. Honestly, with these tiny, weak swells and strong onshore or cross-shore winds at times, the setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. There’s nothing here for the surfer.

Keep the board in the car, but don’t drive to the beach. Forecasts can change, but this one is grim.

Rusty.

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