The Heads Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let's talk about The Heads. We've got a 16-day window ahead, and to be honest, the start is a bit of a dud.

The first few days, from Saturday the 11th right through the weekend, the swell is there at around 8ft on Saturday morning coming from the SSW, but the wind is all wrong—cross-shore and bumpy. The water temp is about average for this time of year, so no surprises there. The energy is moderate to strong (2044) but the conditions just aren't there for a good wave.

Now, look sharp for Monday morning, the 13th. We get a proper change. Glassy conditions with a light offshore breeze, and a 5ft ESE swell with a short 8-second period. It's small and a little weak (556 energy), but the clean surface will make for some fun little waves if you're patient. It's a sandbar break, fairly consistent, so you can find a peak. Crowds are possible here, so keep an eye out.

Tuesday the 14th keeps that glassy, clean vibe with light winds, but the swell drops off a touch more. The morning has a 4ft ESE swell, and it's the same story: small but clean.

Then we hit a quiet patch. Wednesday through Thursday has messy cross-shore and cross-onshore winds with building swell, but nothing clean. The real standouts don’t appear until the following week. Mark your calendar for Friday morning, the 17th. That’s when we get glassy conditions again with a solid 10ft SW groundswell (12-second period). The energy is pumping (2373), and for experienced surfers, this is going to be excellent. The wind is light off the NNW, so it should be clean. But that 10ft is into expert territory, so leave the foamy at home. The Heads is fairly exposed to the SW, so it'll handle that size.

The morning of Saturday, the 18th, is another gem. Clean conditions with a cross-offshore breeze and a 6ft S swell at a long 13-second period. This gives it plenty of energy (1846) and shape, but that long period can make it a bit straight at a sandbar, so you'll want to move around. Again, crowds are possible here.

The best of the best, though, is looking like Sunday morning, the 19th. Glassy again, clean conditions, with a 7ft SSE swell at that same long 13-second period. The energy is strong (2155). This is the one to aim for—good size, clean, and the direction should groom the sandbar nicely.

After that, the swell backs off again into smaller, cleaner waves for Monday and Tuesday, but then we get a major pulse. The absolute standout, even though it's a long way off, is Friday the 24th. We’re looking at a massive 10ft SSW groundswell in the morning with a 20-second period—that's as long as it gets, and the energy is immense (9653). The wind is light cross-shore, so it could be okay, but that's a huge, powerful swell. The afternoon pushes up to a 13ft SSW swell, but the update says it's predicted to be too big for this break. For a sandbar, a swell this big with such a long period will be a washing machine for all but the most experienced chargers. That Saturday and Sunday afterwards keep the size around 10ft, but the period drops slightly.

So, the pick of the litter is Sunday the 19th for a clean, solid session, with Friday the 17th running a close second for the experts. The big one on the 24th is promising but less certain, and only for the brave.

Rusty.

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