Coogee Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, it’s Rusty here.

Look, the next couple of weeks are going to test your patience. We’ve got a long, drawn-out stretch of tiny, weak surf ahead, with a few brief pulses of energy, but nothing that’s going to have you scrambling for your board. We’re looking at a serious lull for the first week, with only knee-high slop and deteriorating conditions. The water is sitting at about 62°, which is a bit colder than normal for this time of year, so you’ll want the full rubber.

Wednesday morning (19 August) kicks things off with a clean, glassy 2ft ESE swell, but the energy is weak and there’s just not enough push. It’s surfable if you’re desperate for a paddle, but it’s very ordinary.

The next several days are a write-off. Thursday through to Tuesday (20-25 August) are all poor, with tiny swells under 3ft and bumpy, cross-shore winds messing things up. The energy drops right off. There’s a little kick on Tuesday morning (25 August) with 4ft ENE, but it’s still plagued by cross-off winds and a poor rating.

We finally get a real pulse on Thursday morning (27 August). That’s when a solid 8ft S groundswell (10s period) rolls in. This is the first proper swell of the window, but it’s a big one, pushing well into expert territory. The winds are cross-off and clean early, which is a silver lining, but at 8ft, this is more of a spectacle than a surf for most of us. By the afternoon, it’s getting messy with onshore E winds and dropping to 8ft. It’s a one-hit wonder, and it’s a solid, powerful groundswell, but it’s only for the experienced crew.

The standout, if you can call it that, arrives on Friday morning, 28 August. The swell has backed off to a much more manageable 5ft from the SSE, with a 9-second period. The energy is still solid, but the real kicker is the wind. We’ve got offshore WNW winds, and by Friday afternoon it goes completely glassy with zero wind. This is the cleanest window of the entire stretch. Coogee (beach reef and point) will be handling this SSE swell well, and with the glassy conditions, it’s going to be the pick of the fortnight. The water will still be cold, but this is your best chance for a proper, clean surf.

After that, it gets messy again. Saturday (29 August) sees a jump back up to 10ft S, but it’s blown out by a strong S wind and lumpy. Not worth it. Sunday (30 August) is still sizeable at 7ft but gets hammered by fresh SSW winds. The energy remains high, but the quality just isn’t there.

Early the following week sees more moderate SSW groundswell, but it’s inconsistent and the conditions remain average. The first week of September brings a period of cleaner but smaller surf. On Tuesday morning (1 September), there’s a nice long-period SE swell pushing 12 seconds, but it’s cross-on. It’s a tease.

The real gem for the second week is Wednesday morning, 2 September. A clean, glassy 4ft SE swell with light NE winds. It’s not big, but it’ll be pure, clean lines rolling through with no wind. That’s a great session for some fun, longboard waves. After that, the swell fades out again, with the window ending on a series of small, poor-condition days.

So, to keep it straight: the first ten days are mostly a write-off, with the standout being the clean 5ft SSE swell on Friday the 28th. If you miss that, the glassy 4ft SE on Wednesday morning, 2 September, is your second chance at some quality. Beyond that, it’s not looking like anything special for a while.

Rusty out.

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