Thirroul Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here. Look, it's a bit of a slow start for Thirroul. We're looking at a real mixed bag over the next couple of weeks, with plenty of small, ordinary days and some blown-out ones in between. There's a couple of brief windows of clean, rideable surf, but you'll need to pick your moments.

The early session on Friday morning, August 21, is nothing flash. We’ve got a weak 3ft swell from the ENE with a short, weak 6-second period and only 52 units of energy (weak). The wind’s offshore from the NW though, 10 km/h, so it'll be clean. It's surfable, but that's about all you can say for it.

The weekend is a write-off, with tiny waves hardly hitting 0.7ft. Hold off until Sunday morning, August 23. That's a bit more promising. The swell bumps up to 3ft from the south, the energy jumps to 136 (moderate), and it's dead glassy with a light NNW breeze. It's only small, but it'll be clean and you'll get a few.

Monday the 24th and Tuesday the 25th offer similar small, clean waves in the mornings with offshore to cross-off winds. It's not big, but it's a chance to get wet without the fight.

Now, the week ahead gets a bit more interesting. Wednesday morning, August 26, has 3ft from the ENE with 134 energy (moderate) and a light WSW cross-off breeze. It's clean enough. But things shift Wednesday afternoon when a 4ft south swell arrives with 340 (moderate) energy and clean cross-off winds from the west at 20 km/h. A better pulse.

Thursday, August 27, sees the biggest swell of the period so far – 5ft from the south, with a longer 11-second period and a solid 628 units of combined energy (strong). That's a proper groundswell. However, the wind turns cross-shore from the SSW, then onshore from the ESE in the arvo, so it won't be perfect. This is expert territory now, with waves over 5ft.

Here's the standout. Friday morning, August 28, is the pick of the first week. We've got a 3ft south swell, 9-second period, and 252 energy (moderate). But the key is the wind – a solid WNW offshore breeze at 20 km/h. That'll groom it up beautifully. For Thirroul, offshore from WNW is what you want. It'll be clean and lined up. This is the session to target.

The end of August and start of September gets messy. A strong south wind kicks up on Saturday the 29th and Sunday the 30th, with onshore winds and messy, choppy surf. That south wind on the 30th pushes the swell to 8ft from the NE, but with 1130 energy (very strong) and onshore wind, it's a complete mess. Kite surfers might be frothing, but for a paddle surfer, it's a write-off.

The run continues poor through Monday the 31st with onshore winds.

Then we see a brief reprieve on Tuesday morning, September 1. The swell drops back to 4ft from the east, 10-second period, with 345 energy (moderate). And it's dead glassy with an ESE breeze at only 5 km/h. That's a beautiful window for some clean, albeit average-sized, waves. A nice way to start spring if you can get out.

The outlook fades again after that, with some smaller clean days on the 3rd and 4th of September but nothing worth hanging your hat on. The 3rd morning has a clean 4ft from the south with a cross-off breeze, but the period is short at 7 seconds.

So to sum it up: if you want the best surf, point your board at Friday morning, August 28 for the cleanest, most powerful lines under offshore winds. Tuesday morning, September 1 is a solid backup with glassy conditions. The rest is marginal or blown out. Keep your eyes on the forecast, it's a fickle stretch.

Rusty.

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