Tallebudgera Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, surfers, Rusty here. Gotta level with ya – the next couple of weeks are going to test your patience. We’ve got a long stretch of messy, blown-out conditions ahead with only a couple of brief windows that might be worth paddling out for.

Let’s start with the report. The first real chance of a wave is on Wednesday, September 9th, in the morning. We’ll be looking at Tallebudgera here. The swell is a modest 5ft from the SSE, but the wind is light and variable from the east, swinging to a light onshore. It’s a gamble, but you might snag a clean one if the tide is right. The combined energy of the swell is a moderate 357 – it’s got some push, but nothing to get too excited about. The water temp is feeling about average for this time of year.

Honestly, after that, it’s a grim scene. Thursday the 10th sees a massive pulse of swell – 12ft from the SSE. That’s a whole lot of energy, with a reading of 2238, but the wind is howling from the south at 22 mph, creating a lumpy cross-chop. This is only for the experts, and even then, it’s going to be a battle. It’s the kind of day that looks more interesting for kitesurfing than paddle surfing.

We then slide into a solid week of poor surf. From Friday the 11th all the way through to Saturday the 19th, the winds are predominantly cross-shore or cross-onshore, and the swell is either too big with wind, or dropping into the 1ft to 3ft range with no quality. The combined energy levels are mostly in the weak to low-moderate range (21 to 128). There’s a brief moment on Thursday the 17th morning where the wind goes light and cross-offshore, giving us clean conditions, but the swell is only 3ft with a combined energy of 122. It’s a small, clean gamble, but the sets will be few and far between.

Now, the one standout in this entire 16-day stretch is the morning of Sunday, September 20th. The swell is back up to a solid 7ft from the SSE, with a combined energy of 700 – that’s a moderate, punchy swell. The wind is a perfect cross-offshore from the NNW at 12 mph, making for clean, lined-up waves. This is the day to circle on your calendar. It’s a week and a half away, so keep an eye on the forecasts, but it looks like the best chance we’ll get. The size is pushing into the advanced zone, so it’s not for beginners, but for the experienced crew, Tallebudgera could be absolutely firing.

After that, the wind turns onshore again, and the swell drops back to small, messy conditions through the 23rd.

So, the long and short of it: two slim windows. Wednesday the 9th for a small, clean low-tide gamble, and Sunday the 20th for the main event. Everything else is a washout. Hang in there.

Rusty.

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