Church Cove Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here, and I gotta be straight with ya – the next couple of weeks look pretty grim for a paddle. Church Cove is the only spot on the radar, and it’s honestly a struggle to find a window that’s worth getting wet for. This break is inconsistent at the best of times, and right now it’s copping a real hammering. We’re looking at a long stretch of poor conditions from today, Friday the 28th of August, all the way through to about the 10th of September. That’s nearly two weeks of onshore slop, strong winds, and blown-out mess.

The water temp is sitting around 64°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year – not that it’ll matter much when you’re fighting a gale.

Let’s run through it. Friday the 28th is a write-off – cross-on and onshore winds from the WSW at 16 mph, weak 3 ft to 5 ft swell with a short, gutless 6-second period. Combined energy is weak to moderate (112-168). No score.

Saturday the 29th gets uglier. We’ve got a near gale screaming in from the SW at 34 mph, pushing a 10 ft to 13 ft swell. That’s well over 8 ft, so only for experts if it were clean, but it’s blown out. Combined energy jumps to strong (937-2621). Don’t bother.

Sunday the 30th through to Thursday the 3rd of September is the same story – fresh to moderate onshore breezes, lumpy cross-chop, and waves from 4 ft up to 8 ft. The combined energy is moderate to strong (230-1194), but the quality is zero.

Friday the 4th and Saturday the 5th of September are the closest we get to a pulse. On Saturday morning the 5th, we finally see a light breeze from the NNW at 6 mph, giving us a cross-offshore flow and clean conditions. The swell is only 4 ft from the west with a 9-second period (moderate energy, 238). The report says “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions” – it’s the only time in the whole run that gets any kind of nod, and it’s barely a 1/10. Still, if you’re desperate, that Saturday morning is your best bet. The afternoon goes cross-shore and choppy again.

From Sunday the 6th right through to Saturday the 12th of September, it’s back to onshore or cross-on winds, tiny swell under 3 ft, and even a few days with combined energy below 100 (weak). The 10th and 11th have clean offshore or cross-off winds from the north, but the swell is pitiful – 1 ft to 2 ft with periods as low as 5 seconds. You’d be floating.

Honestly, mate, this is a kite-surfing window more than a paddle-surfing one – especially those days with 10 ft+ swell and strong winds. The only half-decent wave is that Saturday morning, September the 5th, and even then it’s just a little waist-high ripple with a clean face. Don’t get your hopes up.

Rusty.

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