Bay Street Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the cards for Bay Street over the next couple of weeks.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you – it's a slow start. We're looking at a long stretch of days where the surf is just not doing us any favours. From Sunday the 23rd of August right through to Tuesday the 1st of September, it's pretty much a write-off. We're talking about a run of about ten days with nothing worthwhile. The swell is tiny, mostly around 1ft to 2ft, and the wind is nearly always onshore or cross-onshore, messing up any chance of a clean wave. The odd bit of energy pops up in the afternoon, but the conditions are poor. It's a real bummer, but that's how it goes sometimes.

We do finally see a glimmer of hope around the 3rd of September. The morning of Thursday the 3rd has a bit of a pulse from the SSW with a 2ft swell at 19 seconds, but it's still a marginal call. It's not until the 4th and 5th of September that things start to look a bit more interesting. The swell ticks up to 3ft to 3ft from the SSW, and the energy is building – you can feel it in the numbers (combined energy of all swells directed here is 590 to 811). The morning sessions on Friday the 4th and Saturday the 5th have light winds and a cross-onshore breeze that might just keep the surface clean enough for a paddle. The wind is light, so it could be glassy early. The water is feeling much warmer than usual for this time of year, sitting at 71°F, which is a solid 5°F above average – that's a real treat for the skin.

So, if I had to pick the standout moment in this whole 16-day window, it’s the morning of Saturday the 5th of September. The swell is a clean 3ft from the SSW with a 17-second period, and the wind is light. It's a beginner-friendly size, and the long period means there will be some proper lines, though it might be a bit straight for a beach break like this. Still, it's the best we've got. The crowd factor is a "sometimes" deal, so you might have a few others out, but it's worth the look. The morning of Friday the 4th is a close second, with similar conditions.

After that, the surf hangs around the 3ft to 4ft mark for the start of the following week, but the wind turns more onshore and cross-shore, so it gets messy again. The longer-range stuff on the 7th of September has a bit more size – 4ft from the S – but a moderate cross-shore breeze will chop it up, making it less appealing for a paddle. That setup might actually be more interesting for the kite crew.

In short, there's a lot of flat and poor conditions to sit through, but a couple of promising mornings pop up in the first week of September if you're patient. Keep your eyes on the 4th and 5th.

Rusty.

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