Wollongong North Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s on offer around Wollongong North Beach over the next couple of weeks. I’ll be straight with you – it’s a pretty bleak run for a while, and you might want to leave the board in the shed for most of it. The first real chance of anything worthwhile doesn’t pop up until much later, so we’ve got a big gap of quiet days to sit through first.

Right now and through the rest of this week and into next week, the surf is small and messy. For the first few days, we’re looking at tiny 1 ft to 2 ft swell from the ENE, and while the wind is often cross-off or glassy – nice and clean – there just isn’t any power behind it. The combined swell energy is barely registering, sitting in the teens and twenties (20 to 52), so it’s a total non-event. Not worth paddling out for. That carries on right through Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday – all small, all weak. Even the glassy Friday morning with 2 ft won’t get you anywhere. The water’s sitting at 64°F with a tiny anomaly of 0.5°F, so pretty average for this time of year – nothing notable there.

Monday the 17th sees a bit of a jump in size, with a 5 ft swell pushing in from the east, but it’s a short-period 7-second windswell and the wind is cross-onshore with rain showers. The combined energy climbs to 464 (moderate), so there’s some oomph, but it’s messy and choppy. That’s more of a kite-surfing setup than a paddle-surfing one, to be honest. Tuesday the 18th and Wednesday the 19th clean up a little with offshore or glassy conditions, but the swell drops back to 4 ft to 4 ft, still short period, and the scores are low. There are a few surfable windows, but nothing you’d get excited about.

Thursday the 20th and Friday the 21st are back to tiny 2 ft to 3 ft – clean but weak. The pattern stays quiet through the weekend and into early the following week. Then, finally, on Sunday the 23rd of August, we get a proper standout. Both the morning and afternoon see a 4 ft ENE swell with a solid 10-second period, and the wind is cross-off from the WSW and W, keeping it clean. The combined energy jumps to 236 and 245 (moderate), and the morning session is flagged with “expect good surf conditions.” This is easily the best on offer across the whole outlook – decent size, clean lines, and a consistent groundswell feel. The ENE direction matches the optimum for this spot, so it should set up nicely. Crowds are sometimes an issue here, so you might find a few others out, but with it being a Sunday, could be a bit busier. Still, this is the one to aim for.

Monday the 24th sees the swell drop a little, still cross-off but with stronger S and SSW winds, keeping it clean but smaller. Then it fades out again through the end of the window.

So, bottom line: don’t bust a gut for anything before that Sunday the 23rd. That morning is the highlight – dawn patrol, clean, chest-to-head-high waves, and a good chance at some fun ones. After that, it trails off again.

Stay keen, but pick your moment.

- Rusty

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