Cape Paterson Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Lookin’ at the Cape Paterson stretch for the next couple weeks, and honestly, it’s a bit of a mixed bag with a long, frustrating wait up front. The first solid window doesn’t come until the weekend of the 15th. Before that, we’ve got a lot of wind-affected, lumpy-to-messy cross-shore junk and some serious size that’s just not gonna clean up. The water temp is about what you’d expect for this time of year, no major surprises there.

The first call that’s really worth getting out of bed for is Saturday, 15 August, early. We’ve got a clean 7ft swell out of the southwest (15-second period), and a light ESE breeze making for cross-off conditions. That’s a proper groundswell with solid energy (2102 – that’s moderate wave energy) and clean lines. The catch is this is Cape Paterson (Australia), a beach-and-reef setup, and that longer period can make the waves a bit walled at the beach, so you’ll want to hunt the banks. It’s also an advanced break, and at 7ft that’s not for beginners – plenty of punch. Crowds can pop up sometimes, so don’t expect to have it all to yourself.

Sunday the 16th offers a smaller, cleaner option with the swell backing off to 5ft (14-second period). The wind stays cross-off from the east, so it’ll be clean but the energy’s dropped to moderate (1002). A good follow-up session for those who don’t mind a bit less grunt.

Then there’s a real standout hiding in the second week. Saturday, 22 August, afternoon is looking like a gem. The swell is a modest 4ft out of the WSW (14-second period), but the wind goes completely dead – absolutely glassy. Combined energy is still moderate (843). That’s about as clean as it gets for this exposed spot. For a mellow, fun session without getting smashed, that’s your pick. It’s safe for a wider range of surfers at that size.

Before all that, the period from the 11th to the 14th is a write-off: strong onshore and cross-shore winds, messy chop, and on the 13th, the swell jumps to 10ft but with howling cross-winds – that’s expert-only territory, and even then, it’s not gonna be pretty. The run from the 17th through the 19th is small but clean, with decent conditions but only marginal waves. The real blank run is the first four days: just nothing but poor conditions.

Overall, there are two real standouts: Saturday 15th morning for the best size and quality for experienced surfers, and Saturday 22nd afternoon for the glassy, user-friendly conditions. Everything else is either wind-slapped or just too small to get excited about. The latter part of the second week shows a bit of life again around the 26th, but that’s far out and the confidence is lower. For now, mark your calendar for those two Saturdays.

Rusty.

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