Cape Schanck Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s cast an eye over the next couple of weeks at Cape Schanck. It’s a classic reef setup, but we’re in for a patchy run. The good news is, there’s a proper window of clean, powerful surf coming up, but we’ve got to wade through a lot of onshore junk to get to it.

First up, the forecast is a bit of a slow burner. The immediate outlook is a write-off. Wednesday the 26th and Thursday the 27th are a no-go for paddling. We’re seeing onshore winds from the SSW and SW with 6ft to 6ft of swell, but it’s all messy and blown out. The combined energy is moderate to strong (1323), but the wind is just ruining it. Thursday afternoon the 27th does see a brief moment of glassy conditions from the NNE with a 4ft SW swell (449) – that’s a tease, but the swell is too small and weak to get excited about.

Friday the 28th is back to poor, with a big jump in energy (2159) and a 7ft SW swell, but it’s onshore and choppy. Saturday the 29th is more of the same, with a lumpy cross-onshore wind. Sunday the 30th stays marginal with onshore flow.

But then, Monday the 31st of August. That’s the stand-out. We’ve got a clean, cross-offshore wind from the north, and a solid 7ft SW groundswell rolling in with a 15-second period. The energy is pumping (1985-2116). This is proper Cape Schanck. It’s a reef break, and that long period groundswell is going to groom the waves into long, powerful lines. The wind is light, the conditions are clean, and the water temp is about average for this time of year. This is the one you want to be in the water for. It’s a bit of a crowd magnet here, so expect company, but for the advanced crew, this is the best on offer.

After that, it gets rough again. Tuesday the 1st of September has strong offshore winds (28 mph) that will hold the swell up, but it’s a wild, clean-but-blowy session. The rest of that week into the next is a mix of strong winds and onshore slop, with a few marginal windows. There’s a big pulse of 10ft SW swell (7419) on Saturday the 5th of September, but it’s cross-shore and lumpy. That’s a heavy, powerful day for experts only, but the wind will make it a battle.

The second week is a write-off. We’re looking at solid 8ft+ swells, but the wind is almost always onshore or cross-shore and strong. The energy is strong (over 3000), but the quality is poor. It’s a long stretch of days with nothing to recommend. The forecast is less certain that far out, but as it stands, it’s a blank run.

So, if you’re an advanced surfer, you circle Monday the 31st of August. That’s the clean, powerful, classic Cape Schanck day. The rest of the window is mostly for the die-hards or the kiters, as the beach-and-reef setup will be blown out.

Rusty.

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