Wurtulla Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s ahead for Wurtulla. The next 16 days are a tough stretch. There’s a real flat spell and not much quality to get excited about. Most of the period is plagued by onshore or cross-shore winds and weak, short-period swell that just won’t clean up. We do have a few brief windows where things calm down, but overall, this is a long run of disappointing surf.

Wednesday morning 26 August offers a little hope, but it’s a soft start. The water temperature is 68°, running about 2° cooler than normal for this time of year—so expect a bit of a chill. The swell is tiny at 3 ft from the ENE with a period of only 8 seconds, and the combined energy is weak at 97. The wind is glassy from the WSW though, so the surface will be clean. It’s a beginner-friendly wave, but don’t expect any power. The afternoon picks up slightly to 3 ft ENE, period 7 seconds, energy 116, still glassy—surfable but ordinary.

Thursday 27 August goes downhill fast. The swell jumps to 4 ft from the SSE, period 6 seconds, energy 186, but it’s cross-shore with a 16 mph wind, turning it into a lumpy mess. The morning is described as poor, and the afternoon is even worse with a cross-onshore chop. Same story Friday and Saturday—small waves, wind-affected, nothing worth paddling out for.

Sunday 30 August actually sees the biggest swell of the period at 6 ft from the SE, period 6 seconds, combined energy of 268—moderate wave energy. But with a fresh 19 mph cross-shore wind on the morning and 16 mph cross-onshore in the arvo, it’s blown out. That’s too big for beginners and too sloppy for anyone else. This setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

From there, it’s a slow bleed. Monday 31 August through to the end of the outlook, the swell drops back under 3 ft mostly, with period rarely reaching 10 seconds and energy mostly below 150. Winds are nearly always onshore or cross-onshore. There’s one brief window on Wednesday morning 2 September: 3 ft from the E, period 9 seconds, energy 124, with glassy NNE winds. Again, surfable but ordinary.

Saturday morning 5 September also offers glassy conditions with a tiny 2 ft from the E, period 10 seconds, energy a very weak 55. Not much to work with.

The standouts? Honestly, there are none worth hooting about. The best on offer is the glassy mornings on Wednesday 26 August and Wednesday 2 September, but even those are small and weak. If you’re desperate for a paddle and don’t mind tiny clean waves, those are your windows. Everything else is either flat, windy, or both.

Rusty.

Read more