Whites Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, switching over to feet and miles, let’s talk it out.

Right then, ol’ Rusty here, and I’ve had a look at what’s cookin' for the next couple weeks. To be honest, it’s a bit of a tough stretch. We’ve got plenty of size at times, especially early on, but the wind just won’t play ball. There’s a heap of strong onshore and cross-shore breezes that are gonna mess things up good and proper. Most of the decent energy is gonna be blown out, so you've gotta dig deep to find the windows.

Let’s start with Whites Reef. Now, there’s no hiding it: right out of the gate, from Sunday the 12th through most of Tuesday the 15th, it’s a write-off with heavy, choppy, and poor surf conditions. Even though there’s some solid 8ft to 8ft swell rolling in with a long period (16 seconds for the Monday), a howling 25 mph wind has it looking like a washing machine. That combined swell energy is massive, clocking in around 1633-3340, but it's all for nothing with that cross-onshore mess.

It doesn't really improve much until we get toward the end of the first week. A bit of light at the end of the tunnel: on Friday the 17th morning, we’ve got a clean-ish 4ft SW swell (16-second period, 775 energy) with a light cross-shore breeze from the NNW at only 6 mph. It’s still only a 2 out of 10 in the books, but the tide and shape might just let you snag a few. The early clean-up on Friday morning is the best chance of the first week.

Then we hit a bit of a lull. Saturday the 18th and Sunday the 19th are small and weak, 3ft and less, before a few bigger pulses start to swing through from the 20th onward. But again, that wind is the problem—Monday the 20th through Wednesday the 22nd brings back cross-onshore and onshore conditions. There’s one little standout on Wednesday the 22nd afternoon: a 3ft S swell with a 15-second period (514 energy) and a cleaner cross-offshore breeze from the north at 16 mph. That’s a session for the patient ones, but the wave height is well under 3ft.

The rest of the run, from the 23rd up to the 27th, is more of the same: moderate to fresh cross-shore and onshore breezes, lumpy chop, and a lot of poor conditions. The swell is there in short bursts—like a 3ft SW on Friday the 24th afternoon with a very long 19-second period (694 energy)—but it's hammered by a strong 25 mph cross-wind. It’d be dribbly and messy. Sunday the 26th is a total washout with rain. Honestly, for kite surfers, the whole period has plenty of power and cross-shore wind, but for a paddle surfer, it’s slim pickings.

If there’s a true standout, it’s Friday the 17th morning at Whites Reef. That’s your best chance: 4ft of SW groundswell with a 16-second period and a gentle 6 mph cross-shore breeze will give you a few clean, workable runners, even if it’s not huge. For something a bit later, Wednesday the 22nd afternoon with 3ft S swell and clean offshore wind is a distant second. The water temp is sitting about 60°, a touch warmer than average for this time of year.

But overall, it's a long and frustrating 16 days here. We have days of decent energy but a wind that just won’t quit.

Rusty

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