Castles Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here.

Well, I’ll be straight with you – this outlook is a tough one. We’re looking at a solid 16-day window starting from Thursday the 20th of August, and honestly, there’s not a single day that screams “go surfing.” It’s a long, flat, and generally messy run.

Let’s break it down. From Thursday the 20th right through to at least Tuesday the 25th of August, it’s a write-off. We’ve got tiny swell – mostly around 1 ft to 2 ft – with short, weak periods of 5 to 8 seconds. The combined energy is low, barely breaking 100 (25-99). On top of that, the wind is almost always cross or cross-onshore, making for choppy, bumpy conditions. Not worth paddling out for.

Wednesday the 26th of August morning is the first tiny glimmer. Up at Castles, we get a bit of a glass-off – wind goes light, almost nothing, and the water turns clean. The swell is still only 3 ft from the ESE with a short 6-second period, and the energy is 91. The report says “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions.” It’s not good, just... not terrible. The water temperature is a notable 78°, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year (over 4° warmer than average). For the absolute die-hard who just needs to get wet, that Wednesday morning glass is your only real shot in the first week.

After that, we get another lull. Thursday the 27th through to Tuesday the 1st of September is more of the same – small, weak, and messy. Energy stays under 100 most days. Winds are mostly cross-shore or onshore.

Then, things start to change around Wednesday the 3rd of September. We see a bump in swell height, reaching 4 ft on Thursday morning and peaking at 10 ft by Friday afternoon the 4th of September. The energy jumps to 236 and then to a very hefty 1049 by Friday arvo – that’s a serious amount of juice in the water. The swell direction is ENE, which matches the optimum direction for Castles (SE), so it’s not ideal, and the period is only 8 seconds, so it’s windswell, not groundswell. The problem is, it’s all cross-onshore wind, making for choppy, poor conditions. That 10 ft swell on Friday the 4th with 6 mph wind might sound tempting, but with the onshore wind and short period, it’s going to be a washing machine. That’s expert-only, messy, and honestly, more of a kite-surfing vibe than a paddle session.

So, the standout? There isn’t one. The best you can hope for is Wednesday morning the 26th of August at Castles for a brief, clean, glassy paddle on tiny waves. Everything else is small, choppy, or too big and blown out. That Friday the 4th of September has the size, but it’s not good for a normal surfer.

Stay patient, keep an eye on the charts, but don’t hold your breath.

Rusty.

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