Cape Paterson Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, grab your wettie, mate. Rusty here. It’s been a bit of a battle for the next couple of weeks down at Cape Paterson, but there are a couple of windows worth circling on the calendar. Let’s break it down.

The start of this stretch is a write-off, to be honest. For the first few days, we’ve got a combination of onshore and cross-onshore winds, choppy conditions, and the wave quality is just poor. It’s not even worth paddling out for the most part. You’re looking at a couple of days of disappointment before things start to clean up.

The first flicker of hope comes on the morning of Friday the 28th of August. We get a pulse of 5.9ft WSW groundswell, but the cross-shore wind is still messy. It’s rated as marginal. The afternoon looks a bit better on paper with a bigger 7.5ft WSW swell and the wind goes light offshore, but the tide and overall conditions are still questionable. It’s not the day to get excited about, but it’s the first sign of life.

The weekend into the start of next week is more of the same – poor conditions with cross-onshore winds and lumpy, choppy surf. The swell hangs around 4.9ft to 6.2ft, but it’s just not clean. The best bet during this stretch is the late afternoon of Monday the 31st of August. The wind drops to a light 6 mph breeze, and the swell is 5.9ft with a nice 15-second period. The energy is moderate (1775), and while the wind is still technically cross-on, it’s light enough that it might clean up a bit. It’s marginal, but it’s the best you’ll get for a few days.

We get one hell of a wind event on the 1st of September with strong cross-offshore breezes, but the swell drops a bit and it’s still all over the shop. The rest of that week is just more fresh, lumpy cross-onshore conditions. The swell does build, getting up around 7.5ft to 8.2ft by the 3rd and 4th of September, but it’s not doing us any favors as the wind is ruining it.

The first real standout comes on Saturday the 5th of September. The swell jumps to a solid 9.8ft from the WSW with a 14-second period, and the energy is pumping hard (5254 to 6419). The morning is still messed up with a fresh cross-shore wind, but the afternoon looks promising. The wind drops to a gentle 9 mph, but it’s still cross-onshore. It’s going to be big, powerful, and a bit rough, but there’s some serious grunt in the water. This is only for the experienced crew.

Now, the real gem. The best surf on offer is the afternoon of Sunday the 6th of September. The swell is still a very solid 6.9ft from the WSW, but we finally get some decent offshore and cross-offshore winds. The morning has a moderate offshore breeze and it’s clean (rating of 3), but the afternoon is where it’s at. With an east cross-offshore wind at 9 mph, the conditions are “clean” and the wave comment says “expect very good surf conditions.” This is your window. This is a proper, clean swell with manageable size. This is the standout.

After that, it goes downhill fast. The 7th of September brings a near gale-force onshore wind and a short-period, wind-whipped swell. Completely blown out. The rest of the week is a mixed bag of lumpy, cross-onshore junk and short-period swell. There’s another interesting window on the morning of Thursday the 10th of September. The wind goes light and variable, the swell picks up to 7.9ft with a very long 16-second period from the SW. The energy is strong (2627). But the commentary is only “marginal.” This long-period groundswell could be breaking too straight at this beach and reef setup. It might be a bit walled, but it’s worth a look if you’re keen.

So, bottom line. Don’t paddle out much for the first week. The 5th of September is for the big-wave chargers only. The clear standout is Sunday the 6th of September in the afternoon, that’s your best chance for a proper, clean session. The 10th of September might offer some clean but tricky, long-period waves. Crowds are sometimes a factor here, so if you get that Sunday afternoon, get in the water early.

Keep it salty.

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