Anse Bougainville Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here, taking a look at our local stretch. So, for this little corner of the world, we’ve got a bit of a situation on our hands. The swell is going to be pumping at times, but the wind is just going to ruin it for a while. Honestly, the whole sixteen-day window is looking pretty grim for a proper surf, but we’ll work through the details so you know what’s up.

The forecast kicks off with a lumpy, onshore mess from Friday, the 21st of August, all the way through to the 27th. We’ve got swell around 5 ft to 8 ft from the SSE and SE, but the wind is locked in from pretty much the same direction, blowing at 15 to 22 mph. It’s onshore and cross-onshore, so expect chop, bumps, and just generally poor conditions. The combined energy in the water is moderate to strong, hitting 951 on Friday morning, but with the wind howling, it’s a total write-off. Anse Bougainville (a reef break) is getting hammered.

The light at the end of the tunnel gets a bit brighter around the 28th of August, but it’s still messy. Then we get into the 29th and 30th of August, and the energy levels go through the roof. On the 29th, Saturday morning, we see a 5 ft groundswell from the south with a very long 19-second period, and the combined energy jumps to 2593. By the afternoon, the swell is 10 ft at 10 seconds from the SSE, and the energy is a massive 3518. The 30th follows suit with another big south groundswell at 6 ft and a 17-second period. But here’s the kicker: the wind is still hammering from the SSE and SE at 22 to 25 mph. That kind of wind on a 10 ft swell makes it a washing machine, and the breaks will be blown out. For Anse Bougainville, a reef, a 10 ft wave with that wind is serious business and only for experts. Too big and messy for the average surfer.

The first week of September isn't much better. From Monday the 31st of August through to Saturday the 5th of September, we’ve got consistent swell between 8 ft and 12 ft from the SSE and SE, with periods between 10 and 11 seconds. The combined energy is still very strong, often over 2000. However, the wind stays stubbornly onshore from the SE and SSE at 12 to 19 mph. The water temperature is about average for this time of year, nothing wild to report.

We get a tiny window on the 28th of August afternoon, where the swell drops to 3 ft with a long 18-second period from the SSW, but the wind is still cross-onshore, so it's not clean enough to call it a standout.

Honestly, looking at the whole run, there isn’t a single day I can point to and say, “That’s the one.” The swell energy is there, the size is there for the brave, but the wind just kills every session.

Given the strong onshore winds and the kind of power in the water, a spot like Anse Bougainville is going to be blown out and lumpy. If you're a kitesurfer, this setup with that much wind and swell might be your jam, but for a paddle surfer, it’s a tough watch. The entire stretch from the 21st of August to the 5th of September is a big gap with no real window for clean, quality waves. It’s one of those periods where you might just want to leave the boards in the car and watch the ocean do its thing.

This is Rusty, signing off.

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