The Inlet and Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ve gotta be straight with you – this stretch of water is in a bit of a flat spell. For the next week and a half, there’s barely a ripple worth paddling for. The Inlet and Pier is the only break on the cards, and it’s a beach and jetty setup that’s very consistent, but that doesn’t mean much when the swell is this gutless. We’ve got a long gap of surf that’s not worth your time, from now right through to the morning of Sunday, September 13. The combined swell energy is mostly a weak two-digit number – you’re looking at 19 to 71 for most of it, which is basically no energy at all.

Let’s run through it. Sunday the 6th: tiny 1 ft to 1 ft of windswell from the ENE, period around 7-8 seconds, and a cross-onshore breeze making it choppy. The water is a very unusual 79°, which is 6° warmer than normal for this time of year – that’s a big anomaly. The whole week follows the same sad story: Monday the 7th has 2 ft from the east, period 7-9 seconds, but the wind is onshore or cross-onshore. Tuesday the 8th morning cleans up with a light offshore from the west, but the swell is only 1 ft with 9-second period and 22 weak energy – flat. Wednesday the 9th has a brief bump of 3 ft from the south on a 4-second period in the afternoon with a cross-offshore breeze, but that’s a windswell, not groundswell. Thursday the 10th, Friday the 11th, Saturday the 12th – all tiny and messy, no score above 0.

Then Sunday the 13th morning finally gives us something surfable, but it’s still very ordinary – 2 ft from the east, 7-second period, clean with a cross-offshore breeze from the SSW, and combined energy of 71. It’s a 1 out of 10, so don’t get your hopes up. The rest of the second week stays poor: Monday the 14th, Tuesday the 15th, Wednesday the 16th, Thursday the 17th, all with small, onshore or cross-onshore conditions and strong winds. The period on Thursday the 17th does jump to 13 seconds, but it’s only 0.7 ft – that’s a long-period groundswell with no height, and it’s lumpy with a strong cross-onshore.

The only real standout, and I mean the *only* one, is the morning of Sunday, September 20. We get a glassy morning with a slight air, 2 ft from the ESE at 9 seconds, combined energy of 66. It’s still ordinary, but at least it’s clean. That’s the best you’re gonna get in this 16-day run – a tiny, clean, glassy morning that’s barely surfable. Crowds at The Inlet and Pier are often an issue, so on that rare clean morning you might have company, but with this little swell, it won’t be packed.

Bottom line: this is a bleak outlook. The break is consistent, but there’s nothing to be consistent *with*. It’s a long, flat run, and the only hint of a wave comes on the 20th. Keep your board waxed and hope the forecasts change.

Rusty.

Read more