Thirroul Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty. Look, I’ll be straight with you – this 16-day window for Thirroul is a bit of a mixed bag. We’re looking at a lot of small, ordinary days, but a couple of windows pop where things come together nicely if you’re patient. The wave energy is mostly moderate, with combined energy values in the low to mid hundreds – nothing massive, but enough to work with. The water temp is sitting around 64°, which is about normal for this time of year, no big surprises there.

First, we get through a rough patch. Friday 21 August afternoon is glassy with a tiny 2ft swell from the ENE at 6 seconds, but it’s poor surf – energy is weak at 38, nothing to bother with. Saturday 22 August is a write-off with tiny 1ft waves both morning and afternoon; morning has a WSW cross-offshore wind at 12 mph, but the swell is too small. Sunday 23 August morning shows some promise: a bit of a bump with 4ft from the S at 8 seconds, combined energy of 220, and glassy conditions with a NNW cross-offshore wind at 3 mph. That’s clean, but the swell is short-period and ordinary. Not a standout.

Monday 24 August and Tuesday 25 August are forgettable – small 2ft to 4ft, mostly cross-off winds but poor surf quality. Wednesday 26 August morning is clean with 4ft from the ENE at 8 seconds (energy 180), but it’s just surfable. Thursday 27 August morning is glassy again with 3ft ENE at 8 seconds (energy 153), but still ordinary.

Now, here’s the first real standout. Sunday 30 August morning at Thirroul is glassy calm – zero wind, and 2ft from the ENE at 8 seconds. The energy is only 84, weak, so it’s small, but it’s clean. Not a big day, but the clean conditions make it worth a look if you’re desperate for a glassy session.

Then we hit the best part of the window. Monday 31 August morning: the swell jumps to 2ft, but look at the period – a very long 17 seconds from the SSE, with combined energy of 346 – that’s solid moderate energy. Winds are light N at 6 mph, cross-offshore, so it’s clean. That long-period groundswell is best suited for a point or reef, and Thirroul is a beach and reef setup. It might break a bit straight on the beach, but the reef section could shape it up nicely. This is the top pick of the whole 16 days.

Tuesday 1 September morning keeps the run going: 3ft from the S at 11 seconds (energy 217) with a light SW cross-offshore wind at 6 mph – again, clean and decent conditions. Not as standout as the Monday, but solid.

After that, from Wednesday 2 September through to Saturday 5 September, it’s back to small, ordinary surf with energy in the low hundreds and mostly cross-off winds but poor quality. Saturday 5 September morning has a solid 16 mph W offshore wind with 3ft from the S at 9 seconds (energy 165), but it’s just surfable – the wind is strong, so it’ll be clean but blown-out in the face.

Overall, the best on offer is Monday 31 August morning, with the long 17-second groundswell and clean conditions – that’s the one to circle on the calendar. Sunday 30 August morning is a close runner-up for a glassy small-wave session.

Stay patient, and keep an eye on that Monday. Rusty.

Read more