Wollongong North Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ll level with you – the next 16 days for Wollongong North Beach are a real mixed bag, and frankly, it’s a pretty grim stretch for the most part. We’ve got a long, long dry spell with barely a ripple, so patience is the name of the game. The only real bright spot that gets the blood pumping is a late run of cleaner, lined-up swell right at the tail end of the forecast.

The first couple of weeks are pretty much a write-off. From Wednesday the 22nd through to early August, the surf is either tiny, weak, or just plain messy. Wednesday the 22nd has a small 3 ft swell from the ENE with a short 10-second period, and the combined energy is only moderate at 185. The wind is a cross-off, so it’s clean, but the waves are ordinary – not worth getting excited about. Thursday the 23rd drops to 3 ft with stronger wind, and it’s poor. From Friday the 24th right through to the 31st of July, we’re looking at surf heights mostly under 1 ft, with combined energy values dropping to single digits or low tens. There’s a long stretch of glassy, calm conditions on the 27th and 28th, but with almost no height (0.3 ft) and energy (2-8), you’d be better off with a paddleboard. The swell that pops up on the 1st of August is still tiny, 0.7 ft, and the energy is low at 34. It’s a real patience test.

Now, the spark comes from the 4th and 5th of August. Tuesday the 4th sees the swell start to build. The morning shows a 4 ft, west-northwest cross-off wind, and the combined energy is moderate at 184. The waves are still “poor” by the numbers, but the afternoon cleans up to 3 ft with a light west wind. The real standout, though, is Wednesday the 5th of August. The morning brings a 5 ft swell from the SE with a short 7-second period, and the combined energy jumps to 245 (moderate). The wind is a clean cross-off from the west-northwest, and the report says “expect good surf conditions.” The afternoon holds up at 4 ft and 206 energy. This is the best on offer for the whole run. For an advanced break like North Beach, 5 ft with clean cross-off wind is a proper session. The short period (7 seconds) means it’ll be a bit less powerful and more lined up, but with the offshore breeze, it’ll be fun and punchy on the banks. The water temperature is about average for the time of year. The crowd factor is “sometimes,” so you might have a few other keen locals out, but it’ll be worth it.

The rest of the outlook after that is a bit of a letdown. Thursday the 6th of August has a 4 ft swell but with stronger 16 mph cross-off wind, which knocks the quality back to “poor.” So, there’s your window. Hit Wednesday the 5th of August.

Rusty.

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