Thirroul Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty, and I’ve been watchin’ this stretch of coast like a hawk. Let’s get into it.

It’s gonna be a quiet start, no lie. We’re lookin’ at a bit of a dry spell for the first few days, with nothin’ worth paddlin’ out for. Saturday the 22nd and most of Sunday the 23rd are flat or real weak—just poor, messy waves with tiny energy. You’ll be waitin’ until Sunday morning the 23rd for the first real sign of life, when a small southerly pulse rolls in around 4ft, period sittin’ at 8 seconds, and the combined energy hits 215—that’s moderate juice. The wind’s a light north at 3 mph, blowin’ cross-off, so it’ll be clean. It’s not a standout, but it’s a start.

The standout for the whole run? It’s gotta be Tuesday the 1st of September—that’s over a week away, so keep your fingers crossed, but the signs are strong. The morning kicks off with a 6ft southerly swell, period 7 seconds, but the wind is glassy out of the southwest at 3 mph. The energy’s pushin’ 323—moderate—and it’s glassy. Then the afternoon gets even better: 7ft from the south, period 8 seconds, light northwesterly at 6 mph blowin’ cross-off, and the combined energy jumps to 940—strong. That’s clean, solid surf for an intermediate crew. It’s the best on offer.

Now, before that, there’s a gap from Monday the 25th through to the end of August where the surf is just ordinary. Energy stays low to moderate, winds are mostly cross or onshore, and the waves are messy. Monday the 25th morning has 2ft from the south, period 9 seconds, with a light north breeze cross-off—clean, but tiny. The energy’s a weak 93. Nothin’ to get excited about.

After that Tuesday standout, Wednesday the 2nd and Thursday the 3rd of September turn ugly—strong cross-shore and onshore winds, energy in the moderate range, but the conditions are choppy and poor. Not worth it.

Then, Friday the 4th of September—another one to circle. The morning brings a 10ft swell from the SSE, period 8 seconds, and it’s glassy with a west-northwest breeze at 3 mph. The energy is a whopping 1033—very strong. That’s too big for beginners, but for experienced surfers, it’s excellent. The afternoon backs off a bit to 8ft, still from the SSE, period 9 seconds, with a light southwest cross-off and 887 energy—still very good. That’s a solid day for the crew who knows what they’re doin’.

Saturday the 5th and Sunday the 6th of September fade out with average 3ft southerly swell, onshore or glassy conditions, and moderate energy. Sunday morning the 6th is glassy with a 3ft easterly swell, period 8 seconds, and energy of 241—clean, but small.

Alright, let’s talk Thirroul itself. It’s a beach and reef setup, exposed to the swell, and it’s best with swell from the SE. The water temp is about average for the time of year—no big anomaly to report. Crowds can pop up sometimes, so keep an eye out, but it’s not a circus.

The long-period swells we see—like the 11-second one on Sunday afternoon the 23rd—are groundswell, but with a short fetch and mixed wind, it’s not a game-changer. The 8 to 10 second periods we see most days are more typical, and the 7-second stuff on that Tuesday is a bit short, but the glassy wind makes up for it.

So, if you’re keen, the real windows are Tuesday the 1st of September morning and afternoon, and Friday the 4th of September morning. The rest is a mixed bag of small, weak, or windy. The gap between the first decent wave on Sunday the 23rd and the next real standout is about a week of average to poor surf. Don’t hold your breath for the in-between days.

Rusty.

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