Airports Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, it’s Rusty here.

Honestly, looking at the next couple of weeks, we’re in for a bit of a flat, messy stretch for the most part. The surf is going to be small and the wind’s mostly going to be working against us, so you’ll need to pick your moments. There is one morning that stands out as a proper gem, but you’ll have to be patient to get to it.

The first few days are pretty grim. Wednesday the 5th and Thursday the 6th are small, with onshore winds making things choppy and messy. The swell is there, around 4ft to 5ft, but it’s short-period, windswell junk, and the cross-onshore wind just ruins it. You’re not missing anything.

We go through the weekend and into the start of next week with the same story – small, lumpy, and mostly cross-onshore. The swell is in that 5ft to 6ft range at times, but it’s short-period and the wind keeps it bumpy. Not worth the paddle, to be honest.

There’s a slight tease Monday the 10th morning, where the swell drops right off to around 3ft but the period jumps to 20 seconds. That’s a long-period groundswell, which is nice, but it’s just too small to get excited about. The light cross-onshore wind will keep it bumpy anyway.

The middle of the week (the 12th to the 15th) is more of the same – small, inconsistent, and with winds that are mostly cross or cross-on. The swell direction is trapped in the SSE, which isn't ideal for us. It’s a write-off.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. Look at the 18th of August. The swell builds properly, jumping to over 6ft on the Tuesday afternoon with a long 18-second period and strong energy. The wind is still cross-on, but there’s a lot more power in the water. This is the start of the real swell.

But the standout is Wednesday morning, the 19th of August. This is the one to circle. The swell is a solid 5ft from the SSW, with a 16-second period. The energy is strong, but more importantly, the wind is glass – absolutely nothing. It’s going to be clean, glassy perfection. This is the best on offer, no question. The break is Airports, a reef setup that’s fairly consistent and exposed to the SW. The optimum swell direction is SW, and that’s exactly what we’re getting. It’s an intermediate spot, and with that size and quality, it’ll be worth it. There’s a chance of crowds, as it’s a known spot, but for those conditions, it will be worth fighting for.

After that, the 20th sees the swell fading quickly back down to around 3ft and below, with onshore winds returning. We’re back to square one.

So, there you have it. A long stretch of average to poor surf, but that Wednesday the 19th is a proper standout. Mark it in your calendar. Patience will pay off.

Rusty.

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