Addington (South Beach) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right then, let’s have a look at what’s on offer for the Addington (South Beach) region. For the first few days, it’s a bit of a flat start and you won't want to rush out. The real action starts to build from Wednesday the 26th of August onwards.

The best of the early window looks like Wednesday the 26th. Wednesday morning has some clouds, a light breeze and some solid, clean potential. The swell is from the S at 4ft, with a very long 18-second period. That’s a proper groundswell, and the combined energy is a moderate 787. For a beginner-friendly break like this, that long period can mean the waves stand up nicely, but the sets will be a bit more spaced out. Then Wednesday afternoon gets a step better, with the swell picking up to 5ft from the S, still with that dreamy 18-second period. The combined energy jumps into the strong zone at 1574, and the forecast is for very good surf. The wind stays light and cross-offshore, so it will be clean. This is the standout of the first week.

However, a big shift happens from Thursday morning onward. A strong NE wind kicks in and it’s onshore, blowing hard at 15 to 25 miles per hour. The swell jumps around a fair bit but the quality goes out the window. From Thursday right through the weekend and into the start of the next week, it’s just poor surf conditions with a strong onshore blow. The swell gets big on Friday, hitting 10ft from the ENE, but with that wind, it’s a complete mess – more of a washing machine than a wave. Beginners would be best to stay away entirely when it gets over 5ft, let alone over 8ft.

Things get interesting again further out. Friday the 4th of September sees a big jump in size, with 8ft to 10ft swells from the SSE, but the wind is a strong offshore from the SW. The water will be clean, but that near gale-force wind at 25 miles per hour makes paddling out a real mission and limits the options for most surfers. The combined energy is very strong at 1780 to 1954. This is expert territory only.

The absolute pick of the entire 16-day outlook is Saturday morning the 5th of September. The wind swings to a moderate offshore from the SSW at 12 miles per hour, which will groom the face beautifully. The swell is a solid 10ft from the ESE, with a very strong combined energy of 2655. This is excellent surf for experienced surfers, but it’s definitely not one for beginners; it’s big and powerful. The period is a moderate 10 seconds, so the waves will have plenty of punch and won't be too hard to paddle into. If you’re an experienced surfer, this is the one to circle on the calendar. Saturday afternoon drops off a little with a shorter period, but conditions stay clean.

The water temperature at Addington is 71°F, which is bang on average for the time of year, with no anomaly to speak of.

So, for the short term, Wednesday the 26th is your window for clean, fun waves. But if you can wait, that Saturday the 5th of September morning is the standout – big, clean and powerful, but only for the experienced crew.

Rusty.

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