Cape Paterson Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s chew the fat on what’s ahead for Cape Paterson.

Mate, the next couple weeks are a bit of a mixed bag, and honestly, there’s a big gap of poor conditions at the start. Tuesday the 4th kicks off with rain and a strong 25 km/h onshore wind from the WSW. There’s a 2.3m swell with an 11-second period, and the wave energy is solid at 1328, but that wind is just trashing it. Wednesday the 5th is more rain and onshore wind, with the swell dropping to 1.6m in the morning. Water temp is 57°, a touch warmer than usual for this time of year, but the surf is still poor.

Thursday the 6th and Friday the 7th are cross-shore winds and small, weak swell. Energy plummets to 294 on Thursday morning – just weak and choppy. Friday afternoon shows a little life with a 1.6m WSW swell and a very long 15-second period, but the wind is light cross-onshore at 5 km/h. It’s marginal, scoring just a 2 out of 10.

Saturday the 8th is your first real chance. Clean conditions with a cross-offshore breeze from the NNE at 20 km/h, and a solid 1.6m groundswell with a 16-second period. Energy is high at 1305. The lines should be clean, but watch the tides – it’s still a bit on the smaller side.

Sunday the 9th stays clean with cross-offshore wind, but the swell drops to 1.3m and energy falls to 603. Clean, but weak. Then we hit a nasty stretch from Monday the 10th through Wednesday the 12th. Monday sees a huge 3.0m WSW swell in the afternoon with energy of 5446, but it’s blown out by 35 km/h cross-onshore wind. Tuesday the 11th is 2.5m of bumpy onshore mess. Wednesday the 12th is a beast – 5.0m swell with near-gale force NW winds. Only for the brave, and even then, it’s ugly.

Thursday the 13th through Sunday the 16th stays marginal. Swell sizes from 2.0m to 3.5m, but the wind stays cross-shore or cross-onshore, creating lumpy conditions. Long periods of 14 to 18 seconds mean there’s heaps of energy – between 1761 and 6397 – but the wind just won’t give us a break.

Now, here’s the shining light. On Tuesday the 18th, we get a proper glassy morning. Wind drops to 5 km/h from the NE – dead offshore – and the swell is a clean 1.9m from the SW with a 16-second period. Energy is a strong 1892. This is the pick of the entire 16-day window. Clean, glassy, decent size – if you can only paddle out once, make it Tuesday the 18th morning. The break loves a SW swell, and that’s exactly what’s on the menu. It’s an advanced spot, fairly consistent, and it can get crowded sometimes, so get there early.

After that, Wednesday the 19th slips back into clean but smaller surf with 1.4m swell and a fresh cross-offshore wind – not bad, but not the standout.

So, a long quiet spell early on, a couple of clean but smaller days around the 8th and 9th, then a big, windy, messy middle. The real keeper is that glassy Tuesday the 18th morning. Don’t miss it.

Rusty.

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