West Dale Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s shaping up for West Dale.

Honestly, mate, I’ve got to be straight with you – the next 16 days look pretty grim for a proper paddle session. The whole window is a bit of a write-off for decent surf. There’s a bit of swell energy around early on, but the conditions just won’t line up.

We start off Monday the 7th with some waist-to-chest high swell coming in around 6ft from the WSW with a 13-second period. That’s got some decent power behind it, with a combined energy reading of 1089 in the morning. But here’s the killer – we’ve got strong onshore winds from the west blowing 15 to 16 mph. It’s going to be a messy, blown-out mess with poor surf conditions. Not worth paddling out. The water temp is sitting at 63°, which feels a touch warmer than usual for this time of year.

Tuesday the 8th is more of the same, just with a bit less size. Swell drops to 6ft in the morning, but those strong cross-onshore winds from the NW at 22 mph are going to leave it lumpy and choppy. The energy drops off too, down to 513.

Wednesday the 9th sees the swell drop further to 3ft, with a short 8-second period. The wind eases to a gentle breeze, but it’s still cross-shore, so you’re looking at some cross-chop. Really small and weak, with energy at just 145. Not a day for it.

Thursday the 10th is tiny – 1ft to 3ft of sloppy, onshore chop. Forget it.

Friday the 11th offers a slight glimmer. The swell bumps back up to 5ft in the morning with a 9-second period and energy of 318. The wind is a gentle cross-shore from the NNW. In the afternoon, it goes cleaner with a cross-offshore breeze from the north at 16 mph, and the swell drops to 4ft. That afternoon might be the least terrible window, but the wave quality still won't be anything to get excited about.

From Saturday the 12th onwards, it’s a slow slide into tiny, weak surf. Most days we’re looking at waves under 3ft, often with fresh to strong onshore winds that just chop it to bits. The combined energy drops into the double digits and stays there – 83, 51, 40, even down to single digits on some days.

There’s a real gap from around September 13th right through to the 22nd, almost 10 days where the surf is either poor quality or just too small to bother with. If you are a kite surfer, that strong cross-onshore wind on Monday afternoon the 14th with 5ft and 25 mph winds might look interesting, but for a paddle surfer? No thanks.

Bottom line: there’s no standout session here. The best of a bad bunch is probably Friday afternoon the 11th, where you might find a clean-ish, chest-high wave if you are desperate. But I wouldn't hold your breath. It’s one of those stretches where the ocean just isn’t playing ball.

Rusty.

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