Woolgoolga Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, it’s Rusty, and I’ll level with you – the next couple of weeks are a mixed bag. We’ve got a slow start with ordinary conditions, but there are a couple of windows where it’ll all line up and make it worth paddling out. The long-range stuff looks promising, but it’s still over a week away, so treat that as a “keep an eye on it” situation.

Right now, we’re looking at Woolgoolga (NSW) as the main option. It’s a beach and reef set-up that’s fairly consistent, but the start of this period is pretty grim. We begin with no real surf on offer. From Saturday the 8th through to Wednesday the 12th, it’s mostly small, weak stuff, with energy readings under 200 and pretty poor winds messing things up. There’s a sniff of a wave on Saturday morning at 2.3ft from the east with an 8-second period, but the wind is cross-off and the energy is weak. The standout from this early block is Monday the 10th, when there’s a bit more size at 4.2ft, but it’s still cross-shore and lumpy, so it’s not going to be pretty. Overall, not one for the wax.

The gap between proper surf is about four days, but things start to shift on Thursday the 13th. The morning is still small, but the afternoon brings a jump in energy to 687. The swell picks up to 5.6ft from the south, and the wind is cross-shore, so it’s a bit mixed. This is more a sign of things to come than a great session itself.

Friday the 14th is where we get our first real taste of something decent. The morning has a clean 4.2ft south-southeast swell with a 10-second period and a light cross-off breeze. The combined energy is moderate at 350, and it’s one of the better calls for the week. It’s not huge, but it’ll be clean and lined up. This is likely the pick of the first week.

After that, we go through a bit of a lull again. The weekend of the 15th and 16th drops off in energy, with the wind staying cross-off but the swell getting short and weak. By Sunday the 16th, the period drops right off to 7 seconds, so it’s choppy and a bit all over the place.

Then, we hit the second week, and this is where things get more interesting. From Monday the 17th through Wednesday the 19th, we see a consistent run of south to southeast swell. The energy climbs from the 300s to nearly 600, and while the period is still short (7-8 seconds), it’s not a total loss. The mornings are clean with cross-off winds, and the afternoons on Monday and Tuesday look okay too. But the real standout comes on Thursday the 20th and Friday the 21st. The swell builds to 7.2ft on the Thursday morning and 7.5ft Friday morning, pushing the combined energy into four digits – 1166 and 1290. That’s a strong pulse of energy. The period is still around 8 seconds, so it’s not a classic groundswell, but it’s powerful. The wind is light, though it is cross-on, so there will be some texture. This is a period where only experienced surfers should be out, as it’s over the 5ft mark and heading towards that expert-only territory.

The final highlight is Saturday the 22nd. The morning has a cleaned-up 6.2ft east swell with a 10-second period and a light cross-off breeze. The energy is still solid at 773, and this looks like the best all-round session of the whole 16-day window. It’s got size, it’s got period, and the wind is off-shore. The Sunday morning after that also looks clean at 4.2ft, so there’s a bit of a run of good conditions right at the end.

So, to sum it up: skip the first week, endure the middle, and keep your eyes locked on the 22nd of August. That’s the one that’ll get your heart rate up.

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