Agate and Pearl Street Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ll be straight with you—this outlook for Agate and Pearl Street is a real grind. We’ve got a 16-day window, but the surf is just not cooperating. The first recommendation doesn’t even pop up until Monday afternoon, August 3rd, and even then, it’s a tough sell.

The core problem is that we’re stuck with a weak, wobbly swell from the SSW direction, mostly around 1ft to 2ft. The combined energy is all over the place, but it starts at a modest 142 (moderate wave energy). The real kicker is the wind. It’s mostly a light breeze, but it’s coming from the WSW, which is onshore at this reef break. That’s a recipe for bumpy, frustrated paddling, not proper rides. The water is a warm 74°F with a massive anomaly of 7°F, feeling much warmer than normal for this time of year, which is a weird consolation.

Let’s walk through it. August 3rd afternoon is a “poor surf conditions” start. The morning of the 4th has a light cross-onshore, but still only 1ft. This pattern drags on for days. The period is decent, 13 to 15 seconds, which is a proper groundswell, but with such a tiny swell height and bad wind, it’s just wasted energy.

We finally see a minor uptick around Thursday, August 6th, with swell hitting 2ft, but the wind is still onshore. The energy climbs to 158 (moderate), but it’s still poor. By Friday, August 7th, the swell period jumps to 19 seconds, and the energy surges to 331 (strong wave energy), but the swell is only 2ft. This is a classic tease: long-period groundswell that should be beautiful, but it’s too small to do anything, and the wind is cross-onshore with a gentle breeze, making it choppy. It’s “marginal” at best for the afternoon.

The weekend of August 8th-9th is more of the same. Swell inches up to 3ft with moderate energy around 300, but the wind is consistently cross-onshore. The morning of the 9th has a light cross-shore, which is the closest we get to clean, but it’s still not there.

The first week is a total washout. We then hit a gap of a few days where the surf is just poor, with no real hope. The best chance, if you can call it that, arrives around Friday, August 14th. The swell is still only 2ft, but the period hits 19 seconds again, and the combined energy rockets to 517 (strong wave energy). The wind is cross-onshore from the W at 9 mph, which is not ideal, but this is the only window where the ocean has some real grunt behind it. This is the standout, but it’s a long-range call, so keep your expectations low.

Saturday, August 15th, has a similar 3ft swell and strong energy, but the wind is onshore, making it poor. After that, it tails off back into the doldrums for the rest of the second week.

Honestly, for a reef break that needs a clean swell, this is a shocker. If you’re a kite surfer, this setup might be more interesting than paddling. For the rest of us, it’s a waiting game. The forecasts can change, but right now, it’s a tough run.

Rusty.

Read more