The Harbour Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’m gonna be straight with you – this outlook is a tough one. We’ve got a long, quiet stretch ahead for The Harbour. The good news is it’s a fairly consistent spot, so this flat spell isn’t the norm, and the long-range models are showing a flicker of hope. But honestly, you’re looking at a lot of days with nothing ridable.

The first real sniff of anything comes on the morning of Sunday the 20th of September, and it's only tiny 0.3ft SSE swell. That’s not even knee-high. That afternoon picks up a bit to 1.0ft from the SSW with a short 4 second period, a combined energy of just 5. The wind is light offshore from the SW, so it’ll be clean, but there’s simply no power. Water temp is a touch warmer than normal at 57°F, but that’s small comfort when you’re bobbing around on a lake.

From there, it’s more of the same drivel. Monday the 21st and Tuesday the 22nd see tiny 0.7ft and 0.3ft swells – you’d need a microscope to see them. The wind stays light and clean, but it’s hopeless for a proper paddle.

We finally see a jump on Wednesday the 23rd of September, but it’s a cruel one. The swell bumps up to 2ft from the NNE, but the period is a pathetic 4 seconds and the wave energy is still weak at 13. To make matters worse, the wind swings to a moderate cross-onshore from the north, turning the surface to chop. This is a pass.

There’s then another dead run right through to the end of the month. Thursday the 24th through Sunday the 27th are all tiny, poor surf conditions, with morning heights barely scraping 0.3ft to 0.7ft. The wind is clean, but there’s nothing to ride.

Now, the one glimmer in the whole 16-day window comes on the 29th of September. Tuesday morning sees a 5ft NE swell push in with a combined energy of 185. That’s a proper wave. The period is only 7 seconds, so it’s a bit of a short-period wind swell, but the size is there. The morning has a gentle cross-shore from the SE, which isn’t perfect, but it’s not terrible. However, by the afternoon, the swell jumps to 6ft from the NE with a 6-second period, and the energy climbs to 280. That’s moderate energy, and at 6ft this wave will be powerful and a bit dumpy. The wind turns cross-offshore from the SSE, so it’ll be clean, but this is a spot for confident intermediates only at that size and short period. It’s a beach/groyne setup, so a short-period 6ft wave will be a bit of a washing machine.

After that tease, the swell drops off a cliff again. Wednesday the 30th and Thursday the 1st of October are back to zero and tiny 2ft E swells, respectively. The energy is barely there.

So, what’s the call? The stand-out, and the only day worth marking on your calendar, is the afternoon of Tuesday the 29th of September. It’s the biggest swell of the period by a long shot, with clean cross-offshore wind. But it’s a short-period, punchy wave for The Harbour that could be a handful. For everyone else, leave the board in the shed or start looking at the forecast models again next week. The blank run is real, but this spot usually delivers – we just have to wait.

Rusty.

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