Cobden Breakwater Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Cobden Breakwater’s got a bit of a mixed bag over the next sixteen days, but there’s a proper standout session if you’ve got the skill and the patience.

The real gem is Saturday morning, 15th August. We’re looking at a solid 8ft swell from the west, with a period of 16 seconds – that’s serious groundswell energy with long, clean lines. The wind is glassy, absolute perfection, so it’ll be smooth as silk. The combined swell energy is pumping at 2789 (moderate to strong energy), so this is excellent surf, but for experienced surfers only. Anything over 8ft would be expert-only, and this is right on the edge, so if you’re not confident, let the big boys have it.

Before that, we kick off on Thursday 13th with a 6ft swell from the WNW, combined energy of 730 (moderate). Light offshore wind in the morning keeps it clean, and the water temp anomaly is about average for this time of year, so nothing wild there. The afternoon picks up a longer period of 11 seconds and energy rises to 869, with a light cross-off breeze. Good, clean waves for an intermediate surfer.

Friday 14th drops to a 3ft swell, but with a very long period of 15 seconds in the morning – combined energy 710. Light cross-off wind. Clean, but small. The afternoon sees 4ft with a 19-second period (very long!) and onshore wind, so quality drops.

Then comes our standout Saturday morning, then Saturday afternoon fades with onshore wind and a 8ft swell (strong energy at 2534), but it’s not as clean.

Sunday 16th holds 7ft from the west with a 15-second period in the morning – combined energy 2119 – and a moderate cross-off breeze. Clean for experienced crew. The afternoon stays solid at 7ft with 15-second period and clean wind again.

Monday 17th settles to 5ft from the west, 14-second period, light cross-off wind, clean.

Tuesday 18th is smaller at 5ft, but period drops to 9 seconds, so more short-period wind swell. Still clean in the morning.

From Wednesday 19th through Saturday 22nd, the swell hangs around 3ft to 4ft, with periods of 13 to 16 seconds – clean conditions most of the time, especially Friday afternoon and Saturday morning with glassy wind. Light, but fun for a log.

Then Sunday 23rd afternoon surprises us with 8ft from the west, but the period is only 8 seconds (short-period). Combined energy is 1020 (moderate). Cross-off wind from the north at 6 mph, so it’s clean. This one’s only for experts again due to the size and short-period punch.

Monday 24th sees 6ft to 8ft from the west, but wind is howling at 19 mph from the north, making it messy despite being cross-off. Combined energy is high (2344 in the morning), but the conditions are marginal.

The last week tails off with smaller, cleaner swells – Tuesday 25th has 5ft with good energy (697) and light cross-off wind, and Wednesday 26th morning has 5ft with 10-second period, clean. After that, the swell fades a bit more, but there’s a late pulse on Friday 28th with 7ft from the WNW, 8-second period, and clean conditions.

Cobden Breakwater is a breakwater setup, exposed to the WSW, and it's fairly consistent. It can get crowded sometimes, so keep an eye out. The optimum swell direction is WSW, and that matches most of the bigger swells here.

Overall, Saturday morning, 15th August is the standout. Get on it early if you’re advanced. The rest of the period offers clean waves for intermediates on the smaller days, but the big stuff needs respect.

Rusty.

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