ADs/Doubles Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get into it. This is a tricky outlook for ADs/Doubles. The honest truth is, for the first stretch there’s just nothing doing. The whole forecast is a real mixed bag, but let’s break it down day by day.

We kick off Monday, August 17th, with a clean sky, but the wind is howling out of the ENE at 30 km/h, cross-shore, and the swell is a weak, short-period 1.6m from the ENE. Combined wave energy is only 688 (moderate). The water temp is sitting at 80°F, which is about average for this time of year. It’s lumpy, messy, and the forecast says “poor surf conditions.” No standouts here.

Tuesday the 18th and Wednesday the 19th are more of the same story – cross-shore winds in the 12-19 mph range, small ENE swells (3 ft to 4 ft), periods around 7-8 seconds. Energy drops into the 100s and 300s. It’s just not worth paddling out.

Thursday the 20th throws a bit of a curveball. Morning brings a tiny 2 ft swell from the SSW, but check this out – the period jumps to 18 seconds. That’s a long-period groundswell, but it’s tiny and the energy is just 333 (moderate). The wind is a gentle cross-shore from the NE, so it would be clean if there was any real push. It’s described as “marginal” – you might catch a few weird closeouts if you’re desperate.

Friday the 21st through to Sunday the 30th is a long, sad stretch. Swell bumps up and down between 2 ft and 12 ft, but the wind never lets up. It’s cross-shore or cross-onshore, mostly 16-28 mph from the ENE. The wave energy climbs into the thousands (strong to very strong) by late August, but it’s all wind-affected, lumpy, and messy. The period stays short (6-9 seconds), so it’s junky windswell. For intermediate surfers, anything over 8 ft in these conditions is just a washing machine – experts only, and even then it won’t be pretty.

The best of a bad bunch actually comes on Friday, August 28th. The swell hits 12 ft from the E, period up to 9 seconds, and the energy is huge – 1933 to 2212. The wind is cross-shore from the NE (19 mph), and the notes say “wind and tide favorable.” But there’s a catch: it’s predicted to be too big for this break. If you’re a top-level charger at ADs/Doubles, and you don’t mind the lump, that Friday morning and afternoon is the only standout in the whole 16-day window. But for the average surfer, it’s a no-go.

After that, the last few days of August and into September 1st see the swell drop back down to 3 ft to 4 ft, but the wind stays brutal (28 mph cross-shore on Tuesday morning). Energy is moderate, but the conditions are still poor.

Bottom line: There’s a big gap of terrible surf from now until late August. The one true standout is Friday, August 28th, but only for experts who can handle a big, lumpy, cross-shore swell. For everyone else, this is a long, blank run. The setup here is so wind-affected that it starts looking more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. Stay patient, brothers and sisters – forecasts can change, but this one’s a tough read.

- Rusty

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