Tallebudgera Surf Forecast and Surf Report

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

Honestly, it’s a pretty grim outlook for the next couple of weeks at Tallebudgera. This breakwater spot is an advanced wave, but we just aren’t getting the conditions to make it worthwhile for paddle surfing. There’s a real dry spell on the cards. For the first week and a half, from now right through the end of August and into the start of September, the scoring is consistently low. The windows where we have any surfable waves are few and far between, and they come with major caveats.

The first real hint of something clean comes on Tuesday morning, 25 August. We’ve got a small 4 ft swell from the ENE with a short period of 8 seconds, and the wind is glassy with a slight air. The wave energy is weak at just 135 units. It’s surfable but very ordinary. Wednesday morning, 26 August, is tiny and clean with a cross-offshore breeze, but the swell is only 0.7 ft from the SSE – not enough to paddle. Friday morning, 28 August, is glassy again with a 3 ft SSE swell and 8-second period, wave energy at 198 units. Again, surfable but nothing to write home about.

Then things get a bit bigger, but it’s messy. From the 29th of August through the 31st, the swell picks up to 5 ft to 6 ft from the SSE and SE, but the wind is cross-onshore and choppy. That size is pushing into not-beginner territory, but the conditions are poor. On the 30th of August, the combined energy jumps to 526 units – moderate to strong – but with that cross-onshore wind, the quality is shot.

The water temperature is around 68°F, which is about average for the time of year – the anomaly is -1°F, so nothing unusual there.

We get another slight clean window on the morning of Wednesday, 2 September. A 4 ft E swell with 7-second period and a light cross-offshore breeze from the NNW. Clean conditions, but again, just surfable, not a standout. The very next morning, Thursday 3 September, is clean but the swell drops to just 2 ft from the E with a 10-second period – long period, but tiny. That period is significant, meaning better shaped waves and longer gaps between sets, but there’s just not enough size.

After that, the tail end of the forecast from 4 September onward fades away into small, weak, and mostly onshore slop. Nothing there worth chasing. Overall, the standout windows are the glassy mornings on Tuesday 25 August and Friday 28 August for a quick, clean, small session. The morning of Wednesday 2 September is also clean with a bit more size at 4 ft. Those are the best on offer, but don’t expect much.

There are long gaps of several days between any surfable windows, so be patient. If you’re looking for kite-surfing conditions, the bigger, windier days from late August might be more interesting, but for a paddle, it’s a lean run.

- Rusty

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