Tallebudgera Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, it’s Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you: the next couple of weeks are looking pretty ordinary for a paddle. We’ve got a long stretch of small, messy surf ahead, with only a couple of mornings that might get you half-interested. The water temp is sitting at 68°, which is a touch cooler than the long-term average for this time of year, so don’t expect a warm one.

We kick things off on Tuesday the 18th with some real junk. Rain showers and a cross-onshore breeze blowing 12 mph out of the southeast, with surf around 6ft to 7ft. The swell energy is moderate at (505–578), but it’s short-period windswell, only 8 seconds, and it’s chopped up something shocking. Not worth the effort.

Wednesday the 19th eases off a bit. Morning sees 5ft out of the SSE with a cross breeze at 9 mph, and the period stretches to 11 seconds, giving it a bit more push, but the comment says it’s marginal at best. The afternoon goes cross-onshore and messy, so you’re better off finding something else to do.

Thursday the 20th is another write-off. Light rain in the morning, 5ft at 8 seconds with a cross-on wind. The afternoon picks up to 6ft but it’s still onshore and lumpy. The swell energy is dropping (228–318), and it’s just not doing us any favours.

Friday the 21st the swell drops right out. We’re looking at 3ft to 3ft, short-period junk at 7 seconds, with light cross-shore breezes. The energy is weak (139). It’s flat and gutless.

Now, here’s a tiny glimmer. Saturday the 22nd morning, there’s 3ft out of the ENE at 7 seconds, and we get a light cross-offshore wind out of the NNW at 6 mph. The water is clean. It’s not going to blow your mind, but it’s the first surfable option of the week. The energy is weak (107), so keep your expectations low.

Sunday the 23rd morning is similar energy levels (111) with 3ft at 8 seconds, but we get glassy conditions with a light east breeze. That’s about as good as a clean, small day gets. Still small though.

Then we hit a real flat spell. From Monday the 24th through to Sunday the 30th, the swell hovers between 1ft and 3ft. There are a couple of mornings with clean, cross-off winds—Tuesday the 25th, Wednesday the 26th, and Thursday the 27th have some clean windows—but the waves are tiny and weak. The energy readings are pathetic, mostly in the 30s to 130s. A few of these sessions are marked as "surfable," but honestly, for a breakwater spot like Tallebudgera, it’s barely a ripple. It’s a long, flat stretch, over a week of nearly nothing.

Things try to wake up a touch at the very end of the window. On Tuesday the 1st of September, we start to see a bit more life. The morning has 3ft from the south at 10 seconds, but it’s cross-onshore and choppy. The afternoon builds to 4ft out of the SSE, but the wind swings to a stronger cross-on at 16 mph, making it messy (energy 367). Not great.

Then Wednesday the 2nd of September brings the biggest swell of the whole run. We’ve got 6ft out of the SSE at 9 seconds, with a cross-shore breeze at 12 mph in the morning. The energy is moderate (592), but the period is under 10 seconds and the winds are going to put a real chop on it. It’s not clean, and it’s not the kind of southeast swell this break really wants—it’s looking for something more SSE in the optimum direction, but the wind is ruining it. The afternoon stays similar with a stronger cross-on breeze, so it’s still poor.

Overall, the best bet in this whole stretch is probably the glassy Sunday the 23rd morning. It’s small, but clean. If you’re desperate, maybe the Saturday the 22nd morning, too, with that light cross-off wind. But don’t get too excited. This is a bleak run, and Tallebudgera is looking more like a lake than a break for most of the next two weeks.

Keep an eye on that first week of September—the swell direction and period are starting to shift, and with a bit of luck the winds will line up. But as it stands now, I’d be finding something else to do with your time.

Rusty.

Read more