Thirroul Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s be straight – this outlook for Thirroul is a slow burner. We’ve got a long stretch of small, messy, or flat days before a big, late burst of size and quality. Don’t get your hopes up for the first week, but the end of the run looks like it could be a cracker for those who can handle it.

Right now, from Saturday 15 August through to Friday 22 August, it’s pretty grim. We’re looking at weak, short-period slop from the SSE and SE, mostly under 3ft and with cross-onshore winds. The combined swell energy is in the weak range (values between 30 and 286), and the water temp is sitting around 64°F, which is about average for the time of year. There’s nothing worth paddling out for – save your energy.

Then on Wednesday 19 August morning, there’s a brief flicker of hope. Glassy conditions with light offshore and a tiny 2ft ESE swell. It’s surfable, but honestly, it’s pretty ordinary. Thursday 20 August morning cleans up a touch with a light cross-offshore breeze and 3ft from the ESE, but the period is short at 6 seconds, so don’t expect much push. Still, the morning is clean.

Friday 21 August afternoon is another small window: 3ft from the ENE, light offshore W winds, clean conditions. Again, it’s small, but if you’re desperate, you’d get a few. The energy’s still low (81).

The real story starts Wednesday 26 August. We get a jump to 12ft from the S with a 9-second period, but the cross-onshore wind chops it up. The combined swell energy jumps into the moderate range at 3233, but the conditions are marginal. This is not a day for beginners – 12ft is getting heavy.

Thursday 27 August morning is a standout for experts. Swell hits 16ft from the S with a period of 12 seconds, giving it proper groundswell power. Combined energy is strong at 11573. The wind is light and cross-shore, so the sea surface is manageable. But at 16ft, this is only for experienced surfers.

The absolute pick of the entire forecast is Friday 28 August morning. We’ve got 16ft from the SSE, a 13-second period (very long period groundswell), glassy conditions with light offshore from the NNE, and combined energy of a massive 13869. This is exceptional – but only for experts. At this size, the break will be heavy and powerful. The long period means the sets will be clean and the paddling easier between bombs, but it’s no place for the faint-hearted. Crowds are sometimes an issue here, so expect company. The swell direction (SSE) matches the optimum direction (SE) closely enough to work well at this beach and reef setup.

After that, Saturday 29 August sees size drop to 8-10ft from the SSE, still with clean morning winds, but the energy is dropping. Sunday 30 August fades to 6-6ft from the SE with onshore winds and weaker energy (613-730). The run is over.

So, to sum it up: a whole lot of nothing until the last few days. The real standout is Friday 28 August morning – that’s the one to circle on the calendar, but it’s for experts only. Everything else is a skip.

Stay salty,
Rusty

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