Castles Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s get straight into it.

Right off the bat, I’m not gonna lie to you – this is a tough stretch for Castles. The whole 16-day window is a real struggle. We’ve got a long, dry gap right at the start, with nothing worth paddling out for from the 22nd of August all the way through to the morning of the 2nd of September. That’s nearly two weeks of flat, weak, or just plain messy conditions. The swell is tiny, the wind is mostly cross-off or onshore, and the wave energy is practically non-existent, with readings like 44, 57, and 67. It’s a real patience tester.

The water temp is sitting at 79°, which is a massive 6° warmer than usual for this time of year. That’s very unusual – you’ll be surfing in a bath, but at least you won’t need a wetsuit.

Things finally start to flicker to life on the morning of the 2nd of September. We get a bit of a pulse of energy – 161 of combined swell energy (moderate) – with a 0.7m (2ft) SE swell at 12 seconds. That’s a long-period groundswell, which is promising for shape, but at a sandbar like Castles it can be a bit straight. The wind is a clean cross-off from the NNW at 9 mph, so the surf *could* be clean. The score says it’s surfable but very ordinary, so don’t get your hopes up too high.

The afternoon of the 2nd drops off again with onshore wind and poor conditions.

Into the 3rd and 4th of September, we see a bit more push, with swell heights around 1.0m to 1.1m (3ft to 4ft) from the SE and E, and energy levels in the 100-140 range (moderate). The problem is the wind – it’s cross-on or onshore, so it’s going to be choppy and messy. The periods are short, too, around 6 to 8 seconds, so the waves will be weak and crumbly, not what you’d call a proper session.

The 5th and 6th of September are more of the same – small, onshore, weak. The energy levels drop back below 100, and the swell is just a foot or so high.

Honestly, there’s not a single standout session in this whole forecast. The best of a bad bunch is the morning of the 2nd of September, but it’s still a “meh” call. If you’re desperate for a paddle, that’s your best bet for clean-ish waves, but don’t expect much. For the rest of it, the wind is too messy or the swell is too small.

There’s nothing here for beginners or experts – it’s just too small and weak for anyone to get excited about. For kite surfers, the stronger onshore days might offer something, but for us paddle surfers, it’s a dry spell.

Keep an eye on the forecasts, though. It’s been a quiet run, but it can’t stay this way forever.

Rusty.

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