Church Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cooking for the Church (beach and point) over the next couple of weeks. I gotta be straight with you – the first week or so is a bit of a tough one. The swell is small and the wind is mostly cross-onshore, keeping things messy. Things start to look up towards the very end of the month and into September, but you’ll need to be patient.

Right now, on Friday 21st of August, we’ve got a weak SSW swell rolling in at about 2ft with a period of 13 seconds. The combined energy is weak (247), and while the wind is light, it’s onshore. It’s a marginal call with questionable tide conditions. The water temp is about average for this time of year, no big anomaly to talk about.

This pattern of small, onshore swell (2ft to 2ft) with light cross-onshore wind pretty much sticks through the rest of August. Saturday and Sunday are particularly poor, with the swell dropping and the wind turning more cross-on. The period on the 19th of August is a decent 19 seconds, but the swell is only 2ft, so it’s not giving us much to work with at this exposed beach and point.

Into the last week of August, we start to see a pulse of energy. On Monday 25th, the swell ticks up a little, and by Wednesday 26th of August, we’ve got a 5ft S swell (13 sec period) with moderate wave energy (948). Wind is still light cross-onshore though, so conditions are marginal. Thursday 27th has the biggest swell of this first week at 5ft from the SSW (14 sec), with strong energy (965) but again that wind is just onshore, so the quality isn’t there for a standout session.

The real standout, the one to circle on the calendar, is Friday 4th of September. This is the only time in the whole 16-day window that we get a "glassy" wind call. On the Friday morning, the wind goes glassy from the SW at just 3 mph. The swell is a clean 3ft from the S with a 16-second period (that’s proper groundswell), and the combined energy is moderate at 944. This is the best surf on offer – clean, glassy conditions with a solid, long-period swell. It’s not huge, but it will be beautiful. Just remember, a long period swell at a beach point can sometimes break a bit straight, but with glassy wind, it’ll be worth the paddle.

Friday afternoon and Saturday 5th of September keep a similar size, with the swell building to 6ft on Saturday morning (strong energy at 1386), but the wind goes back to onshore. For those expert guys, that Saturday morning might have some punch if you can find a corner, but the glassy Friday morning is the clear winner. For beginners, the 3ft to 4ft days are fine, but the 6ft on Saturday is pushing into expert territory.

So, overall it’s a slow start. A long stretch of marginal to poor conditions through the rest of August, then a promising little window right on Friday 4th of September. That’s your target. Get it while it’s glassy.

Rusty.

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