The Cutting Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you – The Cutting’s looking at a long, challenging run of big, unruly swell that’s going to push it out of reach for most of the next two and a bit weeks. The water’s sitting at 57°, which is pretty average for this time of year, nothing to write home about.

The first few days are a write-off. Sunday the 6th sees a 10ft SW swell rolling in, but with a cross-onshore 20 km/h wind, it’s choppy and messy. The combined energy is cranked at 3028, but the size is already too much for this break, and the score reflects that. Monday the 7th and Tuesday the 8th morning offer a slight window: Monday morning has a 5ft SW groundswell (12-second period) with clean onshore wind, but the surf quality is rated poor. Tuesday the 8th morning though – that’s a glimmer. A 7ft SW swell at a very long 18-second period with a light cross-offshore breeze from the WNW at 10 km/h. That’s clean, organised, with the energy reading 3996 – moderate to strong. This one’s for experienced surfers only, but it’ll be the best of a tough bunch. The tide needs to play ball, but if it does, that morning is your standout.

From Tuesday the 8th afternoon onward, it’s a relentless parade of too-big swell. The 9th and 10th of September bring towering 15ft to 18ft SSW swells with cross-onshore winds, energy readings screaming past 10,000 – that’s not surfing, that’s survival, and even then it’s not recommended. The weekend of the 12th and 13th offers a slight reprieve: Saturday the 12th morning has a 10ft SW groundswell (15-second period) with an offshore NNE breeze at 15 km/h. It’s clean and the energy is 4024, but the swell’s still too big for the break according to the forecast. Saturday afternoon drops to 8ft with a cross-offshore wind – clean, but again, marginal. Sunday the 13th is similar, around 6ft to 6ft SW groundswell with offshore winds, but the scores are low.

Then from Monday the 14th, we hit a nasty stretch of slop and mush with no real quality until around Thursday the 17th of September. That morning brings a massive 16ft SW groundswell (17-second period) and a fresh offshore NNW wind at 30 km/h. The energy reading is an insane 27043 – very strong. It’s clean, but it’s an expert-only playground at that size. Friday the 18th and the weekend of the 19th-20th stay huge, with solid SSW swell and strong cross-shore winds making it ugly. The only other real glimpse of glass comes on Monday the 21st of September: a 13ft SW groundswell (15-second period) with a glassy, near-calm NNW breeze of 5 km/h. The combined energy is 12959 – very strong. It looks incredible on paper – clean, glassy, organised – but again, the size is well over the 8ft threshold, so it’s strictly for the experienced crew.

Overall, The Cutting is going to be too big for the vast majority of this outlook. The one standout is Tuesday the 8th of September, early morning – that clean, 7ft, long-period SW groundswell with light offshore wind is your best shot if you’re an experienced surfer and can pick your tide. After that, it’s a waiting game for the very end of the period, but that’s still a big, clean wall for the brave. Crowds are possible there, but with conditions like these, it’ll be quiet.

Stay safe out there.

Rusty

Read more