Anse Bougainville Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, it’s Rusty here. Let’s look at what’s on offer at Anse Bougainville over the next 16 days. Straight up, I’ve gotta be honest with you – the outlook is a tough one. The whole period is marked by persistent onshore to cross-onshore winds and a near-constant stream of poor surf conditions. The swell is there, but the wind just won’t play nice, leaving the waves lumpy and choppy for the most part. There’s no standout session that jumps out, so we’re looking at a long stretch of average to poor quality surf.

The first day with any surf recommendation is Friday, August 7. The swell is 8 ft from the SE with a period of 9 seconds, packing strong to very strong wave energy (1049). But the wind is a solid 22 mph onshore from the SE, which just ruins it. The water’s a touch warmer than normal at 82°. This is a reef break that’s exposed to the swell, but with that wind, the conditions are described as ‘poor surf conditions’. Nothing to get excited about.

Saturday, August 8 carries on much the same – 8 ft to 7 ft SE swell, still onshore wind at 22 mph. The combined energy stays strong (1028 to 919). Still poor.

Sunday, August 9 picks up a bit: 8 ft SE swell, period 10 seconds, and the energy climbs to 1274 on the morning and 1394 in the afternoon. But the wind is a stiff 25 mph onshore in the morning, easing to 22 mph in the afternoon. It’s still poor, and the swell is over 8 ft, which puts it in the only for experts category. Even then, the wind is just too strong for clean surf.

Monday, August 10 sees the swell drop a little to 5 ft from the SSE, period 9 seconds, with moderate energy (790 to 648). The wind is still 19 mph onshore. Poor conditions.

Tuesday, August 11: swell settles at 5 ft to 5 ft SSE, period 9 seconds, energy moderate (499 to 570). Wind eases to 16 mph onshore. Still poor.

Wednesday, August 12: the wind shifts to cross-onshore from the SSE at 22 mph, and the swell is 6 ft SSE, period 10 seconds. Energy is moderate to strong (981 to 967). The conditions are now described as ‘fresh cross-onshore and lumpy’. Not good.

Thursday, August 13: wind stays cross-onshore at 16 mph, 6 ft SSE swell, period 11 seconds, energy 961. The morning is ‘moderate cross-onshore and choppy’. The afternoon improves slightly to onshore wind at 12 mph, but still poor.

Friday, August 14 through to Sunday, August 16: the pattern holds – onshore winds from the ESE or SE at 16–19 mph, swell between 6 ft and 7 ft, period 10–11 seconds, energy strong to moderate (1012 down to 954). All poor.

Now, Monday, August 17 brings an interesting change. The swell drops to 4 ft from the S, but the period jumps to 17 seconds – that’s very long period groundswell. The energy is strong (1336). However, the wind is still onshore from the SSE at 19 mph. This is a reef break, and long period groundswell can work well on reefs, but with that onshore wind, it’s going to be messy. Afternoon sees 4 ft and 16-second period, still the same wind. Still poor.

The rest of the period from Tuesday, August 18 to Saturday, August 22 sees no let-up: onshore winds from the SE or SSE at 12–22 mph, swell from 5 ft to 7 ft, period 8–9 seconds, energy moderate to strong (937 down to 375). The last couple of days – Saturday, August 22 – have a risk of thunderstorms and 7 ft SE swell, but still onshore wind. All poor.

So, what’s the bottom line? There’s no day in this 16-day window where the conditions line up for a good surf at Anse Bougainville. The swell is present, sometimes even strong, but the wind is consistently onshore or cross-onshore, wrecking the wave quality. The water temperature is a touch warmer than normal for the time of year at 82°. The break itself is consistent, but with these winds, it’s just not worth paddling out. The setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing given the strong onshore winds and lumpy conditions. Keep an eye on the forecast – it tends not to stay poor for long, but for now, it’s a blank run.

Rusty.

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