Yonabaru Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let's have a look at the charts for the next couple of weeks here.

First up, I gotta be straight with you – the next week or so is looking pretty bleak. We’ve got a whole lot of nothing good on the cards. From Wednesday the 26th of August right through to the end of the month, the wind is just junk. It’s ripping from the south and southeast, mostly cross-off or onshore, and slapping the water into a mess. The swell is a mix of short-period, weak windswell, and the combined energy is barely registering (100 to 827). It’s just not worth paddling out for. There’s a bit of a break in the wind on the morning of the 29th, but with onshore winds and a small, short-period swell, it’s still a no-go.

We scrape through to the 31st with a bit more size, but still cross-onshore and lumpy. It’s a skip.

Now, things get a bit interesting for the first couple of days of September. On Tuesday the 1st, we’ve got a pulse of swell coming in from the ESE, around 8ft to 10ft, with a period of 12 to 13 seconds. That’s some decent groundswell. The winds are from the NNW, which is cross-off at Yonabaru, meaning the face will be clean. The combined energy jumps up to 2128 and 3391 – that’s a solid push. But here’s the catch: the model is calling it “marginal” and giving it a low score. The size is getting up there, and for a beginner spot like this, 8ft to 10ft is getting into expert territory.

Then, on Wednesday the 2nd of September, we see a monster. The morning shows a massive 18ft swell from the NW with a period of 10 seconds, and a combined energy reading of 8589. That’s a huge amount of water moving. The wind is cross-off from the WNW, so it’ll be clean. But the model is very clear: the swell is too big for this break. It’s a no-go for anyone. It’s a kite surfer’s dream, not a paddle surfer’s. The afternoon drops back to 10ft from the NNE, which is still a lot of power.

After that, the rollercoaster drops off a cliff. From the 3rd of September onwards, we’re back to small, weak, and wind-affected surf. The wind goes cross and onshore again, and the swell disappears. The combined energy numbers drop back into the double digits and low hundreds. The final week of the outlook is a write-off with gale-force winds predicted for the 8th and 9th of September.

So, the only real glimmer in this whole outlook is the morning of the 1st of September. If you’re an experienced surfer who can handle a solid 8ft to 10ft groundswell, and you can get out in the cross-off winds, that’s your window. It’s the best of a bad bunch, but it’s not a beginner’s day. The 18ft swell on the 2nd is just a spectacle for the beach. Don’t be a hero.

Stay safe, keep an eye on the sky, and I’ll catch you next time.

Rusty

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