Condos Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s cut straight to it. I’ve looked over the charts for the Condos area, and honestly, it’s a tough stretch ahead. We’ve got a solid 16-day window, but don’t get your hopes up for anything special.

Right from the get-go on Tuesday, August 18th, it’s flat and messy. We’re looking at a tiny 2 ft swell from the SE, with a weak period of 5 seconds. That’s barely a ripple, and with a cross-onshore breeze throwing chop on top of it, the conditions are just poor. The combined wave energy is a measly (22), which tells you all you need to know. This lacklustre pattern is set to stick around for days.

Through Wednesday and Thursday, the swell bumps up just a fraction to 2 ft, but that period stays stuck in the 4-5 second range. It’s still a junky, weak windswell. The wind stays a problem, mostly from the S or SE, keeping things cross-onshore and messy. Thursday afternoon, the wind shifts directly onshore, which is even worse. Energy values hover in the low 20s and 30s. We are in a real flat spell.

By Friday the 21st and into the weekend, there’s a slight improvement. The swell holds around 2 ft to 3 ft from the SSE and SE. We get a couple of windows – like Saturday morning and Sunday morning – where the wind backs off to a gentle cross-shore breeze. That’ll knock the chop down a bit, but the surf is still tiny and weak. The period is still short, so the waves have no push. The combined energy peaks at just (39) on Sunday morning, which is pretty darn weak. For a surfer, this is a wait-and-see situation at best. The water temp is 84°, and the anomaly is +0.7°, so it’s basically normal for this time of year – not a factor here.

The first part of the second week, around Monday the 24th and Tuesday the 25th, is more of the same poor, small-swell pattern. The standouts, if you can call them that, are Wednesday morning, August 26th, and Thursday morning, August 27th. The swell is still a weak 2 ft, but the wind swings to a light cross-offshore flow from the SW and WSW. This will clean the surface right up, making it glassy. But don’t be fooled, the surf itself is barely breaking. For a beginner, maybe you could find a knee-high roller, but there is no power.

We get a real tease on Friday morning, August 28th. The swell drops to a pathetic 1 ft, but the wind goes completely glassy. The sea surface will look like a mirror. It sounds nice, but there is absolutely nothing to ride. The energy reading is a bare minimum (5). This is a whole lot of nothing.

From Friday afternoon onwards, it’s a write-off. The swell gets even smaller, down to 0.7 ft, and all the way to the end of the forecast on September 2nd, the wind is back to a stiff cross-onshore. The surf is useless. The energy numbers are in the single digits and low teens. With the fresh winds in the first days of September making it lumpy, this is a kite-surfing breeze, not a surfing swell.

Verdict: There are no good options in this 16-day window for Condos. The tide is low and the ocean is flat. It’s one of those blank runs that happens, but forecasts can change, so keep an eye on it. For now, leave the board in the car.

Rusty.

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