Cobden Beach - The Channel Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Alright, this is a real tale of two extremes for Cobden Beach - The Channel. We’ve got some solid, clean, but dangerously large surf kicking things off, then a quiet spell, before another pulse of giants shows up in the second week. The water temp is sitting at 55°, which is about average for this time of year, so nothing wild there.

The first real action is this Saturday morning (15th August). There’s a long-period, 16-second groundswell pouring in from the west at 8 feet. The combined energy is a massive 2789 – that's a lot of power. The wind is light offshore from the SE at just 3 mph, so the surface will be glassy and clean. But I have to be straight with you – this is too big for this break. It’s an exposed beach setup, and with a period that long (over 15 seconds), the waves will be fat, straight, and meaty. This is expert territory at best and honestly, it’s probably more of a kite surfing show than a paddling session.

Saturday afternoon stays big at 8 feet (2601 combined energy), but the wind swings cross-shore from the SW. The quality drops, and the size is still a problem.

Sunday (16th August) is more of the same story. Morning sees a 8-foot swell from the WSW with a clean, moderate offshore wind from the ESE at 12 mph. The combined energy is 2347. Again, the size and long period make it too challenging for most. The afternoon backs off slightly to 7 feet, but the set-up is still too big.

Monday (17th August) finally brings a change. The morning drops to a much more manageable 5 feet from the west, with a period of 14 seconds. The combined energy is down to 965 – moderate now, not monstrous. The wind is a light offshore from the ESE at 6 mph. This is the standout of the first week. Clean, solid, and surfable. It’s a bit much for beginners at 5 feet, but for everyone else, Monday morning is the session to target.

From Monday afternoon through to the end of the week, the swell steadily fades. We get small, clean waves in the 3-5 foot range on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, with light winds. Good for logging or a longboard, but nothing exciting.

Then we hit a lull on Saturday (22nd August) afternoon and into Sunday morning (23rd). Saturday afternoon looks poor with rain and onshore wind, and Sunday morning is blown out with a messy 12 foot cross-onshore swell. Another run of huge, unruly surf arrives from Sunday the 23rd all the way through Wednesday the 26th. Swell heights consistently hit 8 to 12 feet, with combined energy readings in the 1536 to 5921 range – that’s very strong to extreme energy. The period is still long (10-17 seconds). Even with the occasional clean wind, these days are all "too big" warnings. This stretch is absolutely for experts only, and realistically, it looks better for kites.

After that big pulse, things finally settle down for the last few days of the outlook. Thursday the 27th morning is promising, with a clean 5 foot swell from the WSW under a light offshore breeze. Friday and Saturday (28th & 29th) stay small, with 3-4 foot waves and clean conditions. Good mellow fun to close out the period.

So to sum it up, the best window by far is Monday (17th August) morning for clean, solid surf. The following Thursday (27th) morning also looks good for a smaller, clean session. The rest is either flat, too small, or ridiculously big.

Rusty.

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