Tallebudgera Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s be straight up – this outlook for Tallebudgera is a tough one. There’s not a single standout session across the whole 16-day window, so we’re looking at a long, quiet run with only a few flickers of hope right at the end.

We kick off Tuesday afternoon, 25 August, with a weak 4ft swell from the ENE at 8 seconds, but a solid cross-shore is making a mess of it. The energy’s weak (186) and the water’s sitting at 69°, pretty much average for this time of year. No action there.

Wednesday 26 August morning drops to a tiny 0.7ft from the S – not worth paddling out. The afternoon pushes back up to 4ft from the ENE, but the onshore wind and short 7-second period have it choppy and ugly. We then grind through Thursday and Friday – small, weak swells in the 3ft to 3ft range, always with a cross or cross-onshore wind that leaves the surface messy.

Saturday 29 August afternoon sees the energy climb to moderate (402), with 4ft from the SSE at 10 seconds, but it’s cross-onshore and choppy again. Sunday 30 August brings the biggest swell of the period – 6ft from the SSE, with moderate wave energy (607) – but the wind is screaming cross-shore at 16 mph. The surface is a cross-chop. Couple that with a 10-second period that’s not long enough to clean it up, and it’s just not happening. This continues into Monday 31 August with similar 5–6ft and onshore winds.

From Tuesday 1 September, it fades. Swell drops to 4ft and the energy slumps back to 330. The wind is light and cross-on, but the surf is only “marginal” at best – a one-out-of-ten day. Wednesday 2 September is more of the same – 4ft, ENE, short period 8 seconds – and it’s still poor. Thursday 3 September morning has a clean 2ft from the SE but it’s tiny. The next week, from 4 September to 9 September, is a massive gap: wave heights hover between 2ft and 4ft, with weak to moderate energy (50 to 265), and the wind is either cross-shore or cross-offshore, but the swell is just too small and short-period to make anything of it. The only slight bright spot is Tuesday morning 8 September – a clean 3ft from the ENE with a light offshore, but it’s barely surfable. Wednesday morning 9 September sees the last pulse: 3ft from the SSE at 10 seconds with a clean cross-offshore wind, but still ordinary.

Honestly, if you’re looking for a wave, there’s nothing to chase here. The setup is more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing on those windy days, especially Sunday 30 August. For a wave, sit tight – forecasts can change.

Rusty.

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