O'Neills Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cookin’ for O’Neills Bay over the next couple of weeks.

Right from the get-go on Wednesday, August 19, we’ve got a solid SW groundswell pushing in at 5 ft with a 13-second period and about 1388 (moderate-to-strong combined wave energy). The vibe is gonna be pretty average though – the wind’s blowin’ a moderate cross-shore, which is gonna put a bit of a chop on the face. Water temp is sittin’ at 57°, which is pretty much normal for this time of year, so nothing wild there.

Thursday the 20th is a bit of a mixed bag. The morning session looks a touch cleaner with a light cross-shore breeze and still some good 6 ft SW swell, but the models are flaggin’ it as only marginal, so don’t expect perfection. By the afternoon, the wind swings and picks up, getting cross-onshore and choppy. Honestly, it’s not your best bet.

Now, if you’re an advanced surfer and you’ve got the skills, you might want to keep an eye on Monday, August 24. The afternoon looks like the pick of the bunch here – a solid 8 ft SW groundswell with a very long 15-second period and a massive 2562 combined energy reading. That’s powerful ocean. The wind is light offshore from the WSW, so it should be clean on the takeoff. But listen, that size and that energy is strictly for experienced crew. Beginners, stay on the sand. Crowds are often around here, so expect some company out the back.

By early in the second week, things get a bit messy with strong onshores on the 23rd and 25th, but then we get a nice little window on Thursday, August 27. The morning kicks off with a clean, gentle offshore from the NE and a 5 ft SW swell. Not huge, but the conditions will be glassy and the waves will have some shape. For a more relaxed paddle, that’s a good shout.

The real standout, though, and I mean the one I’d circle on the calendar, is Sunday, August 30. We’ve got a beautiful long-period SW groundswell, 18 seconds, hitting 3 ft, but with clean as a whistle conditions. The wind is a light offshore from the ESE, and the combined energy is 732 – moderate, but very clean. That long period will make the waves peel nice and straight down the line, perfect for a point or reef setup. It’s not big, but it’ll be gorgeous. That’s the day to be in the water.

From there, through the start of September, we get a few more days of clean cross-offshore wind, with a few pulses of WNW swell, but the quality drops off a bit and the winds get a little stronger. Nothing that’ll blow you away, but worth a look if you’re keen.

There’s a decent stretch of mediocre-to-poor surf in the middle, around the 21st to the 23rd, with onshore winds and lumpy conditions – you might want to sit that out.

Overall, O’Neills Bay has a couple of genuine windows, especially the 24th for the big-wave hunters and the 30th for the soul surfers.

Rusty.

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