Cape Paterson Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s talk about Cape Paterson for the next couple of weeks. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, with some clean windows and a fair bit of messy, blown-out junk to wade through. This is a beach and reef setup, sheltered from the swell, so it needs the right direction to fire.

Alright, the main takeaway for the whole period is that there are only a handful of sessions worth paddling out for. There’s a solid gap of days where it’s just not worth it, especially from the 26th right through the end of August and into September. The first real standout is Tuesday morning, the 25th of August. We’ve got a 5ft SW groundswell with a period of 13 seconds, and the wind is offshore from the NE. That’s a clean, glassy setup. The water temp is sitting at 56°, which is about 2° warmer than usual for this time of year, so pretty normal. The combined energy is moderate at 803, but the conditions are locked in.

Now, the next real highlight doesn’t roll in until Monday the 31st of August. The morning has a 6ft SW swell with a very long 16-second period, meaning proper groundswell. Winds are light from the NW, so cross-shore but small ripples only. It’s clean and the energy is strong at 2148. The afternoon bumps up to a 7ft SW swell, 18-second period, with glassy conditions as the wind goes SW at just 3 mph. The combined energy is very strong at 3013, but with that long period, it might be a bit too straight for the beach breaks and better suited to the reef. This is the pick of the whole outlook.

After that, things get messy again. There’s a big pulse coming through around the 4th and 5th of September, with 10ft swell and strong winds, but the wind is either cross or cross-onshore, making it choppy and ugly. For a sheltered spot like Cape Paterson, that’s going to be a washing machine. That last window on the 7th and 8th of September sees massive swell, like 21ft and 15ft, but with near gale-force winds and onshore conditions. That’s not surfing for anyone but the insane, and honestly, it looks more like a kite-surfing setup than a paddle session.

So, bottom line: your best bet is Tuesday morning the 25th of August for clean, offshore conditions on a solid SW swell. The absolute standout for size and quality is Monday the 31st of August, with the afternoon session giving you glassy, long-period groundswell at 7ft. Just be aware, that long of a period might make it a bit wonky on the beach, so head for the reef if you can. Crowds at Cape Paterson can pop up sometimes, so keep that in mind on a good day.

Rusty.

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