Coombesgate Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get this straight. I’m Rusty, and I’ve looked at the charts for the next 16 days. Honestly, I’m scratching my head here. The entire 16-day window is a flat spell with no quality surf on offer. The models are stubbornly showing nothing but tiny, weak waves and poor conditions across the whole period. For a spot like Coombesgate Beach, which is a beach and reef setup, this is a tough run. There’s no standout day, no session to get excited about. It’s a blank run, and for this area, that’s not totally unheard of when the swell windows shut down.

Let’s start from the beginning. Right now, Sunday morning, August 23rd, we’ve got a pathetic 1 foot of swell from the west, with a period of 9 seconds. The energy is weak (22), and the wind is a cross-off from the east at 12 mph, so the water is clean, but the waves are just too small. Water temperature is 66°, which is 5° warmer than normal – that’s much warmer than usual for this time of year, a real anomaly. The afternoon goes even worse, dropping to 0.7 feet.

Monday, August 24th, is more of the same: 0.7 feet in the morning, with a fresh offshore breeze from the east at 22 mph, so it’s clean, but it’s basically a lake. The energy is a measly 23. The afternoon offers 0.3 feet. Tuesday, 25th, sees 0.7 feet and 1 foot, with the afternoon showing a gentle offshore from the southeast at 9 mph, but the swell is just too small to do anything.

Wednesday, 26th, the morning has 1 feet, and in the afternoon we get a glassy moment – wind from the north-northwest at 3 mph, flat calm, but the swell is still only 1 feet with a short 8-second period. That’s a tease, not a session. Thursday, 27th, pushes up to 2 feet in the morning, but the afternoon brings a risk of thunderstorms and a cross-on wind from the southwest at 9 mph, making it choppy.

Friday, 28th, the swell builds a bit – 2 feet in the morning, then 4 feet in the afternoon with a short 5-second period, but the wind is a fresh cross-on from the west-southwest at 22 mph, so it’s lumpy and messy. Not worth paddling out.

Saturday, 29th, is the biggest swell we see in the whole run, but it’s a disaster. The morning has 8 feet from the west at 7 seconds, with a strong onshore wind from the west at 25 mph. The energy jumps to 568 (strong wave energy), but the wind is howling onshore, making it a washing machine. The afternoon is the same size, 8 feet, with a strong cross-on, energy at 585, but it’s messy and dangerous. This is over 8 feet and onshore – only for experts, and even then, it’s ugly. For a beach and reef setup, this looks more like a kite surfing session than a paddle session.

Sunday, 30th, drops back to 4 feet with a moderate cross-on, choppy. Monday, 31st, sees 6 feet in the morning and 7 feet in the afternoon, but both are onshore winds from the west and west-northwest, with energy at 246 and 418. Again, these are big, messy waves, not clean.

The rest of the week into September is a slow fade. Tuesday, September 1st, has 4 feet and 3 feet, but cross-on winds make it choppy. Wednesday, 2nd, drops to 2 feet. Thursday, 3rd, is back to 1 foot and 0.3 feet. Friday, 4th, shows a pulse of 2 feet with a strong cross-on at 28 mph and energy of 116 – still poor. Saturday, 5th, offers 3 feet and 3 feet with onshore winds. Sunday, 6th, sees 4 feet with a clean cross-off from the southeast at 19 mph, energy at 180, but the period is a short 6 seconds, so it’s weak and wobbly.

To be straight with you, there is no good surf in this 16-day window. The waves are either too small, too windy, or too messy. The only silver lining is that Coombesgate Beach is fairly consistent overall, so this kind of dead run is a bit unusual, but it happens. Forecasts can change, but right now, I’d leave the board in the car and find something else to do.

Rusty.

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