Tallebudgera Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's coming our way.

To be straight with you, for the next week and a bit, it's pretty grim. We've got a run of poor surf conditions at Tallebudgera that stretches right through from Friday the 14th of August and doesn't let up. The swell is there, but it's all cross-onshore or cross-shore wind making a mess of things, with a moderate breeze and a chop that'll have you fighting it the whole time. The combined energy is moderate, sitting between 211 and 460, but it's just not doing us any favours with that wind. The water temp is sitting at 68°F, which is close to average for this time of year.

This rough patch keeps going through the weekend and into the start of the next week. By Monday the 17th, the swell bumps up to 8 ft from the SE, but that onshore wind from the SE and ESE just kills it. It stays choppy and messy. For anything over 5 ft, beginners would be out of their depth here, and when it hits 8 ft, it's pushing into expert-only territory but with terrible conditions.

The real kicker is that this poor run lasts right through until the morning of Friday the 21st of August. That's over a week of no-good, unsurfable waves.

The Standout Window

Finally, on the morning of Friday the 21st of August, things flip. It's clear, the wind goes glassy from the NNE at just 3 mph, the swell drops to 3 ft from the ENE with a short 7-second period, and wave energy is a weak 160. This is the only real window of the whole forecast. The waves will be tiny and very ordinary, but with glassy conditions, it'll be clean. This is a longboard or foiling session, and the main appeal is the flat, clean water. After that, it's back to cross-shore winds and poor conditions, with a brief moment on Saturday the 22nd where it gets a little cleaner but the swell is a tiny 2 ft.

After Saturday the 22nd, we're back into another long stretch of poor, choppy conditions right through to the end of the month. The swell pops up again on Tuesday the 25th of August to 6 ft from the S, with a combined energy of 703, but that SE wind at 16 mph will be onshore again, ruining it.

So, the honest call is this: if you're desperate for a paddle, the morning of Friday the 21st of August is your only shot, and you'll be on tiny, clean waves. Apart from that, the whole 16-day window is a write-off. It's one for cleaning the board and checking back later.

- Rusty

Read more