Cape Paterson Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here. Let's get straight into it for Cape Paterson. This is a sheltered beach and reef set-up that's pretty much for advanced surfers only, especially when it gets a bit of size. The water temp is sitting about average for this time of year, nothing too wild.

We've got a bit of a slow start, but the standout window is actually right at the beginning. Sunday morning the 23rd of August is your best bet. The swell is a solid 8 ft from the SW with a nice long 14-second period, pushing a very strong wave energy (2193). The wind is cross-off from the NW at 9 mph, keeping things clean. It's a good one for the experienced crew, but at this size, it's not for beginners.

After that, things get a bit messy. Monday the 24th has some smaller 5 ft SW swell, but the winds are onshore or cross-shore, and the quality drops right off. Tuesday the 25th morning has a little window with offshore ENE wind and 5 ft SW swell, which might be worth a look for a quiet session, but the energy is moderate (898). The rest of that week is pretty average, with onshore winds and choppy conditions.

We get a big pulse of power on Friday the 28th of August. The swell jumps to 8 ft from the WSW with a very long 18-second period, sending massive energy through (3633). The problem is the wind is cross-shore, making it messy. This is big, powerful, and lumpy—strictly for experts, and even then it's a handful. The afternoon eases a little but stays cross-onshore.

The following week is a mixed bag. There's a fair bit of size from the 30th of August through to the 1st of September, with SW and WSW swell between 6 ft and 8 ft, and periods up to 17 seconds. The wind is mostly cross or cross-onshore, so the surf is never really clean. The energy is strong across these days.

Then, another chance pops up on Wednesday morning the 2nd of September. The swell drops to 6 ft from the SW, but the wind turns offshore from the NE at 9 mph, giving us clean conditions. The energy is moderate (1236), but this is a solid window for a quality session if you're experienced.

After that, it goes wild. The 3rd of September sees the swell jump to 13 ft from the WSW, but with a strong onshore gale, it's a complete write-off for surfing. The 4th of September has huge 12 ft WSW swell with a very long 17-second period, but again, onshore winds ruin it. This setup is more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

The last few days into the second week drop off in size but stay windy, with no real clean windows showing up. To be honest, the best surf on offer is that Sunday morning the 23rd of August, with the Wednesday morning the 2nd of September as a solid backup if you're patient.

Rusty.

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