Tippers Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, let's have a look at what's on the cards for the next couple of weeks, just focusing on Tippers. It's a reef break that's very consistent and exposed to the SW, so it’ll catch most of what’s coming.

To be straight with you, the first week and a half is looking like a bit of a write-off for proper waves. The swell is small, mostly around the 2 ft to 4 ft mark, and while the period is long – we’re talking 14 to 19 seconds, which is proper groundswell energy – the problem is the wind. For the most part, it's blowing onshore or cross-onshore from the WSW and WNW. That’s going to put a real chop on the face, making it messy and hard to ride. The combined swell energy is moderate, hitting 437 on Friday morning the 28th and building to 855 by Saturday afternoon the 29th, but that energy is being wasted with the wind.

Friday the 28th is the start, with a light breeze from the SW and water temps at 76°, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year. But the surf is rated as poor conditions and a zero. It’s the same story right through until the morning of Thursday the 3rd of September – a few marginal sessions pop up, but the wind is just never quite right.

The standout, and really the only proper chance, looks to be Thursday the 3rd of September. In the morning, we’ve got clean 4 ft SSW swell with a 15-second period, light WSW offshore wind and a combined energy of 857 (moderate). That’s the cleanest window in the whole run. The afternoon gets a bit cross-onshore, but the swell holds at 4 ft and the energy jumps to a strong 1038. For a reef break like Tippers, that long-period SSW groundswell with light offshore wind is exactly what you want. It’ll be clean and have some proper push. Crowds are only sometimes an issue here, so you might have it pretty good.

After that, Friday the 4th through to the 10th of September drops back into marginal or poor territory with onshore and cross-onshore winds again. Then, Friday the 11th of September sees a bigger push of 5 ft S swell with 14-second period and strong energy (1119 to 1215), but the wind is a moderate cross-onshore from the SSW, making it choppy and poor. Saturday the 12th of September is similar with 5-5 ft swell, but again cross-onshore winds ruin the party.

So, if you’re keen, make a plan for the morning of Thursday the 3rd of September. That’s your best and really only solid window. The rest of the time, the wind just isn’t playing ball.

Rusty.

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