Costellos Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into it for our little stretch of coast centred around Costellos.

Honestly, if you're itching to paddle out in the next week or so, you're going to be disappointed. We've got a long, quiet spell on our hands. For the better part of the first seven days, from Monday the 24th right through to Sunday the 30th, the swell is tiny and the winds are messy. The combined swell energy is barely registering, struggling to even hit three digits most days, sitting as low as 27 (weak energy) on the Sunday morning. It’s just not worth getting wet. The surf quality scores are a big fat zero.

There’s a slight flicker of life as we roll into September. On Tuesday the 1st of September, we finally see a bit of a pulse. The morning stays small and ordinary, but by the afternoon, the wave state cleans up. We’ve got a clean looking swell coming from the SE at 2ft, with a period of 14 seconds—a nice long period groundswell. The combined energy jumps to 208 (moderate energy) which is a decent sign, and with a light breeze from the NNW, it should be pretty tidy. This is the one standout in the whole 16-day window. The water temp is around 66°F, which is bang on average for this time of year—no surprises there.

Now, Costellos is a reef break. With that longer period, it can sometimes make a beach break close out, but on a reef like this, it should shape up nicely. It's inconsistent here, so don't expect a conveyor belt of waves, but when they come, the quality should be there. Crowds can be an issue at this spot—it gets "often" busy—so plan accordingly, especially since the pickings are so slim the rest of the time.

After that brief peak, the outlook turns sour again pretty quickly. The wind swings onshore from Wednesday the 2nd and stays lousy right through to the end of the forecast on Tuesday the 8th of September. The swell tries to build—pushing over 3ft and up to 4ft by Friday the 4th and Saturday the 5th—with combined energies rocketing up past 495 and even 568 (very strong energy), but the wind is a howling cross-onshore from the NE at 19 mph. It’s going to be lumpy, choppy, and messy. That’s kite-fodder, not surf. For us paddle surfers, it’s a write-off. There is a brief moment on Monday morning the 7th of September with SE swell at 2ft, a 12-second period, and glassy conditions, but the energy is just moderate and the size is small. It’s surfable, but nothing to write home about.

So to sum it up: your best bet, and almost the only real window, is Tuesday the 1st of September in the afternoon at Costellos. It’s a long way out, so treat the call with a pinch of salt, but it’s got clean winds, a solid groundswell direction, and the reef should handle it nicely. For now, leave the board in the car and watch the horizon.

Rusty.

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