Cintsa West Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let's get into it. The next couple of weeks are a bit of a mixed bag for us here. There’s a bit of a slow start, but we’ve got some solid groundswell building up in the backend that could have its moments.

Right now, it’s a bit of a waiting game. The first few days are pretty grovelly, with onshore breezes making things messy. You’ll want to sit back and let the ocean sort itself out. There’s a bit of energy early on, but the wind is just going to chop it all up. We’re looking at a couple of days with some lumpy, cross-shore chop, so it's not worth getting too excited about. The swell is there, but quality is the issue.

Things start to shape up a bit towards the end of the month. Friday morning (28th August) is our first real standout. We’ve got a clean 2.5m swell with a nice period, coming from the ENE, and a light cross-offshore breeze. It’s going to be a proper point break session. The energy is moderate to strong, with a combined swell energy reading of 2101. This is the kind of day you tell your mates about. Cintsa West is going to be firing, but that moderate size will keep the crowds down to those who know what they’re doing. Keep in mind, this spot is inconsistent, so when it’s on, you need to be on it. The water temp is sitting around 66°, which is pretty normal for this time of year, nothing crazy.

Saturday morning (29th August) is a similar story, still clean with a 2.5m ENE swell and light cross-offshore winds. The energy is even a touch higher (2227). It’s right up there with the day before as one of the best calls for the next week. The water temp is about average for the season.

After that, the wind switches and it gets messy again, with a drop in swell size. Sunday and Monday look pretty average, with smaller waves and shifting winds.

Now, for the second week. We see a significant pulse of long-period SSW groundswell arriving around Wednesday 2nd September. It starts building, but the wind is coming from an onshore direction, which puts a bit of a crumble on it. By Thursday 3rd September, though, that light is gone. The wind swings around to the WSW and really cleans up the break. The swell is still solid at 1.8m, with a period of 11 seconds. It’s a bit of a tease, because that afternoon the bottom falls out with a severe blowout. There’s a big storm surge coming through from Thursday afternoon through Saturday, producing a huge, blown-out mess. It’s looking like a write-off for a couple of days. That big swell on Friday and Saturday is just too much and the wind will be howling. That’s more for the kite crew than us surfers, if you ask me.

The clean-up happens on Monday 7th September, but the swell has dropped a lot. It's still rideable, but nothing special. There is another pulse coming in from the ENE around the 8th, but again, the wind is going to be on it. It’s just a whole lot of so-so.

So, for my final call. It’s not a total loss. The standout sessions are clearly Friday 28th and Saturday 29th of August. They have the best combo of decent-sized swell, clean conditions, and the right direction. For the long-range stuff, the big SSW groundswell arriving on September 2nd and 3rd is promising, but the wind is a gamble. We might catch a few decent ones before it gets blown out, but it’s a case of being in the right place at the right time. It’s looking like a bit of a classic winter pattern for us, to be honest. It won't stay flat for long, and a forecast change could turn those so-so days into something worthwhile.

This is Rusty, signing off.

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