Ammonias Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Righto, folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on the cards for Ammonias.

Honestly, looking at the whole 16-day window, I’m not getting that excited feeling. The forecast is a bit of a mixed bag, with a lot of marginal conditions and some periods where it’s just not worth paddling out. We’ve got a bit of a lull in quality before things start to look a little more promising in the second week.

The first solid surf we see is on the morning of Saturday the 22nd of August. We’ve got a 2ft swell coming from the SW with a very long period of 16 seconds, which is proper groundswell. The combined energy is moderate (523). The wind is a cross-shore from the ENE at 12 mph, so it’s not glassy, but it’s workable. The water temp is sitting at 80°, which is pretty much normal for this time of year. It’s a start, but the conditions are a bit marginal.

Things get a bit more size on Sunday the 23rd through to the end of the month, with swell heights around 5ft to 6ft, but it’s all short-period windswell (7 seconds) and the wind is mostly a moderate cross-shore. It’s just not clean enough to get the heart racing. The energy is in the moderate range (470-736), but the quality is poor. There’s a stretch from the 23rd to the 31st of August where the surf is mostly poor or just marginal.

Now, the first real standout I see is on the 1st of September. Tuesday morning and afternoon we’ve got a 7ft swell from the ENE, with a period of 8 seconds. The combined energy jumps to strong (1110 and 1064). The wind is a cross-shore at 12 mph. This is the biggest, most energetic surf of the window so far, and it’s borderline. 7ft is a fair bit of juice, so it’s not for the beginners, but the more experienced crew will be looking at this. It’s still a bit of a short period, so it won’t have the grunt of a groundswell, but it’s the best we’ve got for a while. Keep in mind it’s nearly a week away, so it’s a promising call, not a guarantee.

The 3rd of September also looks interesting. Thursday morning has a 7ft ENE swell (8 seconds), with strong energy (1031). The wind is light and cross-onshore, which is a bit of a bummer, but by the afternoon it turns glassy offshore from the ESE at 6 mph. That’s a major positive. That afternoon session could be the cleanest wave of the whole forecast period. Again, 7ft is expert territory for most, but if you’re up for it, that’s the one to circle on the calendar. It’s a reef break, so that long-period groundswell story doesn’t apply here; the short period will be fine for the reef.

After that, the last few days of the forecast get a bit messy again with stronger winds and lumpy conditions, so don’t get your hopes up for the 5th and 6th of September.

So, to sum it up: the first week is a write-off for quality. The standouts are Tuesday the 1st of September for the biggest, most powerful surf, and Thursday the 3rd of September in the afternoon for the cleanest, glassy conditions. Both are for the experienced crowd only.

Rusty.

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