Tallebudgera Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, it’s Rusty here.

Honestly, the next couple of weeks look pretty grim for a proper paddle at Tallebudgera. We’ve got a solid run of poor conditions stretching from this Thursday afternoon all the way through to the end of next week. The first real chance of anything surfable doesn’t show up until Wednesday morning, September 2nd, but even then, it’s tiny and ordinary – just 2ft of weak, short-period swell with light cross-off wind. That’s not a session, that’s a paddle.

The gap between now and that first slight hope is over five days of onshore chop and cross-shore mess. The swell does push through to about 6ft on Sunday the 30th, but the wind is all over it, making it a washing machine. Not worth your time. The energy is moderate (436) but the quality is zero.

When we finally get that Wednesday morning window, the water temp is around 69°, which is about average for this time of year. Not a heater, but not a shock either. The wave direction is SSE, coming from the south, and it’s a breakwater setup, so at least it’s not a complete beachy mess. Still, the swell is tiny and weak (153), so think longboarding on a glassy day, not a proper surf.

Thursday the 3rd and Friday the 4th mornings are similar – clean, light offshore, but with even less energy (76). These are the best of a bad lot, but they’re not standouts by any means. The crowds are often there, so if you’re going to get in, go early and enjoy the clean but gutless conditions.

Then we hit another flat spell over the weekend and into the start of the following week. The swell dies right down, and the wind swings around to the north. Not doing us any favors.

Now, here’s the one to watch, but it’s a long way out. On Tuesday the 8th of September, the energy jumps to 656 in the morning, with 6ft of south swell. But the wind is still cross-on, making it messy. The afternoon, though, sees a jump to 10ft and energy of 1048, but that’s too big for Tallebudgera – that’s an expert-only day with a strong cross-on breeze. And it only gets bigger on Wednesday the 9th, with 8ft to 8ft of swell and energy up at 1149 to 1372. This is significant swell for this spot, but the wind is still cross-on, so it’s going to be a grinding, ugly wall. That’s a day for the tow-in crew, not the casual surfer. With that size and onshore wind at a breakwater, this setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

So, in short: the next week is a right-off. The following week is big but junky. The only real windows for a clean, albeit small, surf are the mornings of September 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. Mark those in your calendar, but don’t get your hopes up too high—it’s all about the glass, not the size.

That's it from me. Stay patient.

Rusty.

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