Cabarita Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, it's Rusty.

Look, I'm not going to sugarcoat it. The next couple of weeks are looking pretty grim for a proper surf. We've got a long stretch of small, weak, and messy conditions ahead. The swell energy is just pathetic—we're talking readings in the 80s and 90s (weak energy) for the first few days, which is barely a ripple. There's a bit of pulse of energy mid-next week, but it's not going to save the quality.

For the first few days, from this Saturday the 22nd through Monday the 24th, it's a real struggle. You're looking at ankle-to-knee high dribble, around 3ft, with a short, weak 7-second period. The wind is mostly cross-off or light, so it'll be clean, but there's just nothing behind it. Saturday and Sunday are ordinary at best. Monday morning sees the energy jump up to 272 (moderate wave energy) as a bit of south swell tries to fill in, but it's still only 3ft and the direction is a bit confused. It’s surfable, but you'll be doing a lot of paddling for not much.

Tuesday the 25th and Wednesday the 26th are write-offs. The wind turns cross-on or onshore and it gets choppy. The swell bumps up to around 4ft, but it's junky, short-period stuff with onshore wind. Not worth the drive.

Now, there are a couple of small windows where it cleans up, but the swell stays small. Thursday morning the 27th and Friday morning the 28th are okay, but we're still stuck in that 3ft range with moderate energy (176-224). The highlight of this whole period might be Saturday morning the 29th. The wind goes glassy, the period stretches to a slightly better 9 seconds, and we have around 3ft of east swell, with energy up to 228 (moderate wave energy). It's still small, but if you're desperate, it'll be the cleanest dribble you'll find.

The start of September is more of the same—small, weak, and crossed-up. The energy levels stay moderate (160-220), but the period is short.

Looking further out, the first bit of real hope shows up on Friday the 4th of September. The morning has a cross-off breeze, a clean 3ft of east-northeast swell with a 10-second period, and energy reading 256 (moderate wave energy). It's still only knee-high, but the longer period gives it some push. That's your best bet for a clear, clean, rideable wave.

Beyond that, Sunday the 6th of September sees a jump in swell height to 4ft, but the period drops off a cliff to 5-6 seconds and the direction swings to the north. That's just a messy, wind-blown, short-period slop. With that kind of swell and the cross-off wind, Cabarita might actually be more interesting for the kite crew than us paddle surfers.

So, I'll be straight with you: there’s no standout, epic day in this 16-day window. The conditions are poor to ordinary for most of it, with only a few glimmers of clean but small surf. The water temp is sitting at 69°, which is pretty much average for this time of year.

Keep the board waxed, but don't get your hopes up. This is a waiting game.

Rusty.

Read more