Cottons Point Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ll be straight with you – the next couple of weeks at Cottons Point are a bit of a mixed bag, and we’ve got a pretty slow start on our hands. The first few days are looking marginal, with small swell and a lot of cross-onshore influence, so it’s not exactly firing.

The first real nod for a surf comes on Tuesday, the 18th of August, with a small 2ft SSW groundswell rolling in. The energy is moderate (385), and we’ve got a light offshore breeze from the SW in the morning, which should keep the surface clean. The period is a very long 16 seconds, so those waves will have some real grunt and shape, but with that tiny size, it’s going to be a long wait between sets. The water is sitting at 72°, which is a whopping 5° warmer than usual – that’s a very unusual warm anomaly for this time of year, so you can leave the thick wetsuit at home.

Wednesday the 19th bumps up just a touch to 3ft, still from the SSW with that same long 16-second period, and the wind stays light and offshore on the morning. The energy climbs to moderate (451). Thursday morning the 20th holds at 3ft, but the period drops to 14 seconds, and the wind is still light offshore. It’s all very similar, small, but clean when the wind is right.

From Friday the 21st through to the end of the month, the swell really backs off. We’re talking 2ft to 2ft, and while the wind is often light, it’s mostly cross-onshore, keeping the surface a bit bumpy. The energy stays weak to moderate (194 to 400). This is a long stretch of nothing special – a good week to get the gear sorted.

Now, the best on offer in the whole 16-day window appears on the weekend of the 29th and 30th of August. Saturday morning the 29th sees a 3ft SSW swell, 16-second period, and a light offshore breeze from the SW. The energy is strong (519). That’s the best combination of size, period, and clean wind. Sunday morning the 30th is similar, with 4ft SSW swell, 15-second period, and light offshore wind (558 energy). These two mornings are the standouts – small but clean, with proper groundswell lines. The only downside is that Cottons Point is a reef and point break, so those long period swells can be a bit tricky, but the light offshore will make it work.

Crowds are possible here, so keep an eye out.

After that, the first days of September drop back to small, marginal conditions with cross-onshore winds. It’s a quiet end to the outlook.

Rusty.

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