The Heads Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here with a look at what’s coming up at The Heads over the next couple of weeks. Let’s be straight, it’s a bit of a waiting game. The first real chance of anything decent doesn’t show up until a week from now, and even then we’ve got some issues to work through.

The overall pattern is a lot of onshore and cross-shore wind messing up the swell, with the occasional spike in energy that might be too much for this sandbar setup. The water temp is about average for this time of year, nothing wild.

We kick off Wednesday the 16th with a 7.9ft SW groundswell at a juicy 14 seconds. The energy is pumping, 2424, real solid. Problem is, we’ve got a light WSW wind putting a cross-on bump on it, plus the commentary flags questionable tide conditions. It’s a 3 out of 10, surfable but not pretty. The Heads is a sandbar, so that long period (14 seconds) can make things a bit straight and sectiony, best for a wider point rather than a beach break. Not the standout.

The next best window doesn't arrive until a day that might be worth circling: Tuesday the 22nd. In the morning we get a 4.6ft ESE swell. The period is short, only 8 seconds, so it’s a weak windswell, not a groundswell. But here’s the kicker—the wind goes glassy. The energy reading 747 is weak, but with glassy conditions, that tiny little swell will be clean. The forecast says “very good surf conditions.” It’s the best on offer in the whole run for a clean, small-wave session. It’s a 3 out of 10 on the score, but for fun, low-stakes boards, that’s the morning to paddle out.

After that, we hit a long dry patch. Nothing worth paddling out for from the 23rd through the first week of October. The swell gets bigger but the wind stays ugly.

Now, the late period has some serious power, but it’s a caveat. On Thursday the 24th, we see a 11.5ft SSE swell with a 9-second period, energy 1926. The forecast says the swell is predicted to be too big for this break. Over 8ft is expert-only territory, and for a sandbar at The Heads, this is a washing machine. The morning looks cross-shore with moderate breeze; the commentary gives it an 11 out of 10 for the wave state, but for experts only. The same goes for the 28th and 29th—we get 11.5ft to 13.1ft of E and ESE swell, with high energy readings (3147 and even 5406 on the 29th morning). The wind on the 29th morning turns cross-offshore and clean, but that 13.1ft of E swell will be a beast. Definitely not for the faint-hearted, and the sandbar won’t hold that size well. For the brave, experienced crew, the 29th morning has the most power and cleanest wind in the whole two weeks, but it's a long-range call, so less certain.

Bottom line: if you want a clean wave on a small board, Tuesday the 22nd morning is your window. Everything else is either blown out or too big for The Heads to handle nicely.

Read more