Ansteys Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. It’s a tough run ahead for Ansteys, no two ways about it. The whole 16-day window is pretty much a write-off for a decent paddle. We’ve got a solid week and a half of poor surf conditions, with only a handful of mornings offering anything close to surfable, but they’re still far from good. The pattern starts quiet and stays messy.

Let’s break it down. Tuesday 18 August kicks off with a lumpy, 4 ft east swell, but it’s blown out by a fresh cross-onshore wind at 22 mph. The water’s sitting at 70°, which is about normal for this time of year. That sets the tone. Wednesday and Thursday the 19th and 20th are no better—cross-shore winds and lumpy, choppy conditions. The swell on Thursday jumps to 7 ft from the south, but with a strong breeze cross-onshore, it’s just a mess. The combined energy is moderate (653), but the wind ruins it.

Friday 21 August has a 4 ft south swell with a long period of 13 seconds, so there’s some groundswell energy (527 combined energy), but again, a fresh cross-shore wind kills the quality. The weekend is a write-off too, with a big 8 ft south swell on Sunday 23 August and a combined energy reading of 2307—that’s strong wave energy—but the cross-onshore wind makes it choppy and dangerous. It’s too big for beginners anyway, and only experts would even think about it, but the wind is just wrong.

We get a bit of a breather on Saturday 22 August morning: a 3 ft swell from the east-northeast, light winds from the north-northwest at 6 mph, and the wind state is cross-offshore, so it’s clean. The combined energy is weak (134), and the period is short at 7 seconds, so it’s not going to be any sort of standout. It’s surfable, but barely worth getting wet for.

The second week doesn’t get much better. Monday 25 August has a 6 ft south swell, but fresh cross-onshore winds again. The 28th of August (Friday) morning is the best of a bad lot: a 4 ft south swell, light winds from the south-southeast at 6 mph, and the combined energy is moderate (502). The period is a long 13 seconds, so there’s some groundswell punch, but the wind is still cross-onshore, just light. It’s cleanish, but still marginal. The afternoon of the 30th of August (Sunday) sees a 7 ft south swell with light winds from the south-southeast, and combined energy of 626—again, moderate—but it’s still a cross-onshore wind, so it’s not going to be the clean, lined-up waves we want.

Bottom line: there’s no true standout session here. The only window that might give a few rideable waves is the morning of Saturday 22 August, but it’s small and weak. The long-period groundswells in the second week (like the 28th) have the energy, but the wind direction is never right. For a spot that’s inconsistent and exposed to the east, this is a classic blank run for the area. Honestly, if you’re into kite surfing, the mid-week stronger swells with the strong cross-onshore winds might look more interesting than paddle surfing. Otherwise, keep the board in the car.

Rusty.

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