Coombesgate Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, grab a coffee, this is a long one. I’m looking at the charts for our stretch and, I gotta be straight with you, the next couple of weeks are looking like a bit of a write-off for decent paddle surfing. We’ve got swell rolling through, sure, but the wind is just wrecking it. There’s a painful gap right at the start, with no worthwhile surf on offer until we get past the first week.

We’re kicking things off at Coombesgate Beach. Now, the water is sitting at 67°F , which is much warmer than normal for this time of year – that’s a anomaly of 5°F , so it’s a weird one.

Tuesday the 25th and Wednesday the 26th? Forget about it. We’re talking tiny little waves, like 0.7ft to 1ft from the west with short periods, and the energy is pathetic – barely 10 to 27 in the combined energy. The wind is okay, cross-offshore, but there’s just no swell to work with.

It’s not until the 29th of August that we see a pulse of swell, but it comes with a brutal cross-onshore wind. On Saturday morning the swell jumps to 7ft from the WSW with a period of 7 seconds. The combined energy jumps to 371, so it’s got some moderate grunt, but that 22 mph cross-onshore wind is going to make it a lumpy, bumpy mess. We get a little bigger on the Saturday afternoon, 7ft with energy hitting 469, but the same story – onshore and ugly. This trend continues through the first few days of September. We see a couple of strong pulses: on the 1st of September the swell hits 8ft from the WSW with energy roaring up to 844, and then even bigger on the 5th of September with 8ft again and energy going off the charts at 985 and 1408. But nearly every single one of these swells is met with a moderate to strong cross-onshore breeze. It’s frustrating.

There is one tiny moment that stands out as the absolute best of a bad bunch. Look at the morning of September 7th. We’ve got a 8ft west swell, with a combined energy of 1062 – that’s strong, powerful stuff. What makes this interesting is the wind. We have a NNE wind blowing 19 mph , and it’s cross-offshore, which means the conditions are listed as clean. The swell period is a short 8 seconds, so it’s windswell more than groundswell, and for a beach and reef setup that can make it a bit walled up. But for an expert surfer, this is the only window in the whole forecast where you’ve got size and clean conditions. It’s still a bit uncertain being that far out, but if you’re after the most power, this is your only look. For beginners, forget it – 8ft is too much, and this is strictly expert territory.

After that, the 8th of September morning cleans up with a light SSE wind, but the swell drops right back to a tiny 3ft with weak 125 energy. Then it just blows out again.

So here’s the verdict: If you are a seasoned charger who doesn't mind a wild paddle and wants the biggest, cleanest wave on offer, you set your alarm for the early morning of Monday the 7th of September at Coombesgate Beach. The rest of the run? Honestly, with these consistent onshore winds and that size of swell, this setup looks far more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. It’s a tough stretch, lads. Forecasts can change, but as it stands, we’re in for a dry spell.

Rusty.

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