Coombesgate Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right then, let’s have a look at what’s on the cards for our little stretch of coast. The whole 16-day window is a bit of a mixed bag, to be honest. There’s some swell on the way, but the wind is a proper pain in the arse for most of it. You’ll need to be patient and pick your moments.

The spot we’re looking at is Coombesgate Beach, a beach and reef setup that’s fairly consistent but can get a bit of a crowd. The water’s sitting at 67°, which is *much warmer than normal* for this time of year – a solid 5° above the long-term average. That’s a wild anomaly, feels more like a late summer swim than a late August surf session.

Right, the first few days are a write-off. The 26th and 27th have tiny, weak swell (energy levels of 29 and 10) with cross-off winds. It’s clean, but there’s just nothing to ride. Things start to pick up on the 28th with a bit more size, but that wind swings cross-on and gets nasty, making it a lumpy, choppy mess. The swell energy is moderate (152) but the quality is poor.

The 29th sees a bit more push, with swell hitting 5 ft in the morning, but the wind is howling. By the afternoon, we’re talking 6 ft of swell from the WSW, but with a near gale (31 mph) blowing straight onshore. That’s blown out, ugly, and a pass for me. The energy is ramping up (436) but it’s unusable.

The 30th and 31st are similar stories. The morning of the 31st has a solid 8 ft swell from the west with a 9-second period, but it’s blowing onshore. That’s a lot of water moving around, but you’d be fighting a losing battle against the wind. The wave energy is very strong (1044) but it’s not doing us any favours.

After that, the swell drops back down, but the wind stays stubbornly cross-on or onshore through the first week of September. The mornings of the 4th and 5th have some cleaner *on*shore wind, but the swell is small and weak. The 5th afternoon has a 4 ft swell with a decent 10-second period, but the cross-on wind makes it choppy.

Now, let’s talk about the one true standout. Wednesday the 9th of September is the morning to circle. We’ve got a 4 ft swell from the WNW, with a 7-second period (short period, so not a groundswell but it’s something). The wind is a light offshore from the ESE (12 mph), and the conditions are described as “moderate offshore and clean.” The energy is moderate (138). This is the best on offer. It’s not perfect, but it’s the only window where the wind is in our favour and there’s enough swell to have a few fun ones. It’s still a week and a half away, so keep an eye on it, but it’s the closest thing to a green light we’ve got.

The 10th has a clean offshore wind again, but the swell has dropped right back to 2 ft, so it’s too small to be worth a paddle.

Between the 29th and the 9th, there’s a solid 10-day gap of nothing worth getting excited about. It’s a long stretch of poor surf conditions. The wind is the villain here, and it just doesn’t let up. For a beach-and-reef setup, with that kind of strong cross-on wind and decent swell, it’s honestly looking more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer on a few of those days, especially the 29th, 30th, and 31st.

So, the long and short of it: the 9th of September morning is your best look. Everything else is a struggle. It’s a frustrating forecast, but that’s the coast sometimes.

Rusty.

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