The Heads Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on the table for the next couple of weeks.

Honestly, the outlook starts with a bit of a flat note and stays pretty marginal for most of the run. The first real surf to get excited about doesn’t show up until Sunday the 13th of September, but even then, it’s a mixed bag. We’ve got a solid 7ft swell from the SW with a very long 15-second period rolling in on Sunday morning at The Heads, and the combined energy is pumping at 2909 – that’s strong energy. But it’s an E wind, 9 mph and cross-shore, so there’ll be a bit of chop. The water temp is 60°, which is 3° cooler than usual for this time of year – a bit colder than normal, so bring a thicker suit. That morning surf is rated as marginal, so not the cleanest. Sunday afternoon though, the swell jumps to 12ft from the ESE, but that’s too big for this break – really only for the experts, if anyone’s game.

Through Monday and Tuesday the 14th and 15th, we’ve got smaller 8ft to 4ft swell, but the wind stays cross or cross-on and the combined energy drops to between 948 and 1567 – moderate energy. Nothing special, just messy conditions with rain and light chop.

Midweek, Wednesday the 16th shows a pulse of 8ft SW swell with a 14-second period, combined energy at 2603, but again the wind is cross or onshore, so it’s not going to be pretty. The rest of that week and into the weekend (17th-19th) is all marginal, with 5ft to 6ft SW swell and persistent E/ESE winds. Not your classic clean waves.

There’s a bit of hope on Friday the 25th of September – the morning session looks sweet. The wind goes glassy (0 mph from the S), and we’ve got 6ft SW swell with a 10-second period, combined energy at 727 – moderate energy. That’s as clean as it gets, with glassy conditions. The break is The Heads, a sandbar that’s fairly consistent, and the optimum swell direction is SSE, but SW is close enough. Crowds are sometimes an issue here, so you might have company. This is the standout of the whole period – light wind, clean waves, just a solid little session.

Later that Friday afternoon the wind picks up to 12 mph cross-on, and it gets choppy – so make the most of the morning.

The last few days, the 26th to 28th, see bigger swell again – 7ft to 12ft SW groundswell with very long periods up to 16 seconds. The combined energy gets huge – 3932 on Saturday the 26th afternoon, and 4524 on Monday the 28th morning. But that size is too big for The Heads; it’s expert-only territory. The Monday morning has glassy conditions, which would be incredible, but the 12ft swell is just too much for this spot. If you’re a solid charger, maybe, but for most of us, it’s a watch-from-the-beach day.

So bottom line: the only real standout is Friday the 25th of September morning – glassy, clean, 6ft SW swell. Get in early.

Rusty.

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