Carola Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you – this stretch is a tough one for the paddle crew. We’ve got Carola on the table, but it’s a real dry spell for most of the run.

Right now, we’re looking at a long gap with nothing to get excited about. From Wednesday the 26th right through to the end of August, and into the first few days of September, the forecast is full of poor surf conditions. The water temp at Carola is sitting at a very unusual 78° – that’s much warmer than normal for this time of year, but the waves are just not there. Zero swell energy (0) for days on end, with cross-shore winds messing up the surface. Not worth a look.

We start seeing a tiny pulse of swell on Friday the 28th of August – a weak 0.7ft from the north, bumping along at 6 to 8 seconds. The combined energy is only 3 to 5 (weak). It’s still poor, with cross-shore winds. The same tiny northern windswell keeps showing up the next few days, but it’s so small and messy it’s not worth paddling for.

Then we hit a real blank from Monday the 1st of September through Thursday the 3rd. No swell at all. Zero energy. A proper dead zone.

Things finally start to whisper on Friday the 4th of September. We get a 0.7ft swell from the west-northwest, with a period of 11–12 seconds. That’s a long-period groundswell, and it brings the energy up to 11–15 (still weak). The wind is cross-offshore from the SSE at 20 km/h, so the surface cleans up. It’s small, but it’s the first sign of life.

The standout, if you can call it that, is Saturday the 5th of September. The swell pushes to 1.0ft from the northwest, with a solid 12-second period. The combined energy climbs to 21 (weak, but the best of the run). The morning is cloudy with a cross-offshore breeze, which means glassy conditions. For a reef break, that long period from the northwest should give it some shape. But look – it’s tiny. This is for the dedicated surfer who wants to scratch around on a longboard. Not a show for the crowd. The crowds are listed as “sometimes,” so you might have company.

The 5th of September morning is probably the best you’ll get. The 6th keeps the same 1.0ft at 12 seconds, but the wind swings cross-shore, adding a bit of chop. The 7th drops back to zero swell again.

The 8th of September sees a small 0.7ft pulse from the west-northwest, 10-second period, with light cross-offshore winds. Clean, but tiny. The 9th and 10th offer a few more scraps of northwesterly swell, but nothing to write home about.

Honestly, if you’re desperate for a surf, the 5th of September morning at Carola is your only real window. It’s too small for beginners to worry about size, and it’s not big enough for experts either. The reef setup might give you a little glide, but the energy is still low (21). For a proper session, you’ll want to keep an eye on the next forecast. The blank runs are pretty normal for this area when the swells are this quiet.

Rusty.

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