Whitesand Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let me level with you straight up – the next 16 days at Whitesand Bay are a real struggle. The swell and the wind just aren’t lining up to give us anything worth paddling out for. It’s a tough stretch, but I’ll walk you through it.

We kick off on Tuesday, September 1st, with weak 3ft swell from the WSW at a short 6 seconds, but a cross-on SW breeze at 12 mph has it all chopped up. Combined energy is a meagre 82 – weak as dishwater. The water sits at a pretty normal 62°F, so nothing weird there, but the surf itself is poor. No point suiting up. That pattern holds through Wednesday, September 2nd, with the swell bumping to 5ft and 6ft, but strong cross-winds and 25 mph gusts turn it into a messy cross-chop (energy hits 379 in the arvo, but still a write-off).

Thursday, September 3rd, is more of the same: 6ft swell, but with a fresh cross-onshore breeze at 19 mph and a lumpy surface. By Friday, September 4th, we finally get an offshore wind – 16 mph from the WNW, clean faces. The swell is 6ft from the WSW at 8 seconds, and combined energy reaches 406 (moderate). This is the best of a bad lot, but the 6ft is getting into the too-big-for-beginners zone, and with that period around 8 seconds, it’s not going to have much shape. This is a stand-out only because everything else is worse. If you’re an experienced local with an old log, Friday morning could be worth a look, but don’t expect perfection.

Saturday, September 5th, drops right back to 3ft – barely a ripple. The wind is light offshore from the W in the morning, so it’s clean, but there’s no push. The energy is just 111. From there, we hit a long dry spell. Sunday and Monday see a bit of swell, but cross-off or cross-on winds keep it average. By September 8th, the swell bumps to 7ft (energy 660, moderate-strong), but with a fresh 19 mph cross-on from the SW, it’s lumpy and ugly – only for the kamikaze crew. That’s followed by smaller, cleaner days, but the swell is tiny – 2ft to 3ft – and the wind keeps turning.

The second week is a write-off. September 14th to 16th offers 1ft to 3ft swell with short periods (4-12 seconds), mostly cross-shore or cross-on wind. The 3ft on the 16th has light 6 mph winds from the WNW, but at 4-5 second period, it’s just windslop. Combined energy barely cracks 81. There’s simply nothing to get excited about.

Bottom line: there are no good surf options in the whole 16-day window at Whitesand Bay. It’s a blank run, and that’s not unusual for this area when the wind and swell refuse to sync up. For the kite surfers out there, some of those stronger cross-onshore days in the first week (like September 2nd and 8th) will look more interesting, but for a paddle surfer, leave the boards in the shed. Forecasts can always change, but right now, it’s a tough slog.

Rusty, signing off.

Read more