West Shore Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on offer for West Shore Beach over the next couple of weeks. First thing to say is, it’s going to be a lean run. The wave heights are tiny across the board—mostly ankle to knee-high, occasionally brushing shin-high—so we’re looking at a real flat spell. The energy’s weak for almost the entire period, with combined swell energy readings mostly in the teens, twenties, or low fifties (e.g. 18, 57, 34). There’s a brief uptick to 108 on Friday 18 September morning, and a later spike to 138 on Wednesday 23 September morning, but even those are just moderate energy at best. The water temp here is about average for the time of year, nothing unusual to report.

Right, so we start from now, but there’s no real surf to get excited about until maybe Monday 15 September morning. That morning you get a tiny 2ft south-easterly swell coming in at 10 seconds—short-period and weak (energy 57). The wind is calm, glassy, so it’ll look pretty as a pond, but the wave state is “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions.” Honestly, a longboard might catch a dribble, but I wouldn’t rush out. After that, Tuesday through Thursday are mostly poor or ordinary.

Now the first little standout—if I can call it that—is Friday 18 September morning. We’ve got a 2ft south-easterly swell, period bumps up to 13 seconds, so some reasonable groundswell shape there. Combined energy hits 108, so moderate. The wind is light cross-off from the west at 10 km/h (6 mph), keeping things clean. This is the best it’s going to get in the first week. Still tiny, but a longboard might actually have a fun little session. Crowds are “often” here, so if it’s the only show in town, expect company.

After that, we slide back into a string of weak, ordinary days through to the end of the third week of September. A few glassy mornings (e.g., Monday 21 Sept morning, Sunday 28 Sept morning) but with 1ft waves and low energy, they’re barely rideable.

The other moment that deserves a mention is Wednesday 23 September morning. Swell picks to 2ft from the east-south-east, period short at 9 seconds, but energy jumps to 138—the highest in the whole outlook. Wind is glassy from the north-west at 5 km/h (3 mph), so it’ll be clean. Still small, but for this break, that’s as good as it gets. After that, it’s back to tiny, poor conditions through to the end of the forecast on 29 September.

Overall, the only windows I’d even paddle out for are Friday 18 September morning and Wednesday 23 September morning. Both are tiny but clean, and the swell direction is south-easterly to east-south-easterly, which works for West Shore Beach given its optimum swell is from the north-east—so it’s a bit off-angle, but with the small size, it’ll still wrap in. Nothing here for beginners? Actually, it’s so small it’s safe for everyone, but boring for most. Experts will be twiddling their thumbs. The gaps between any decent surf are long—several days at a stretch—so it’s a wait-and-watch period. Forecasts can always change, but right now, West Shore Beach is serving up a flat, clean, glassy lake for the next sixteen days.

Best bet: Friday 18 Sept morning with a clean 2ft south-easterly at 13 seconds, and Wednesday 23 Sept morning with a glassy 2ft east-south-easterly.

Rusty.

Read more