Cottons Point Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here, lookin’ over the charts for the next couple of weeks. Straight up, it’s gonna be a lean stretch for Cottons Point. The whole run is plagued with poor surf conditions – hardly any of these days are worth paddlin’ out for. You’ve got a big ol’ gap of bad waves from the start, clear through to the second week of August.

Alright, we kick off on Sunday the 2nd of August. The swell is tiny, just 2 ft from the SW, with a combined energy reading a weak 186. The wind’s blowin’ light and from the WSW, which is onshore, so don’t expect any sort of shape. Water temp’s a balmy 75°, which is a whopping 8° warmer than usual for this time of year – that’s very unusual, feels more like a bath than the ocean right now.

This same sort of rubbish keeps rollin’ through Monday the 3rd and Tuesday the 4th – same knee-high slop, onshore wind. The energy stays weak, mostly in the 100–200 range. Wednesday the 5th and Thursday the 6th aren’t any better, with swell stuck between 1 ft and 2 ft and that onshore wind messin’ up any chance of a clean face.

You finally see a bit of a pulse on Friday the 7th. The swell lifts to 2 ft from the SSW, and the period jumps to 19 seconds – that’s a very long period groundswell, so there’s energy there, with the combined reading at a moderate 447. But the wind’s still onshore from the SSW, so it’ll be bumpy. That long period might make it break a bit too straight out the back at this beach setup, too. Saturday the 8th is similar, 3 ft from the SSW, period dropping to 17 seconds, still onshore. It’s still considered poor surf.

The first flicker of hope comes on Sunday the 9th of August. The morning shows 3 ft from the SSW with a 15-second period, and combined energy at 358. The comment calls it “marginal” – not terrible, but not great. Wind’s still onshore. It’s the best you’ll see so far, but that’s not sayin’ much. The next few days, Monday the 10th through Wednesday the 12th, slide right back into poor, with onshore and cross-onshore wind, and swell barely over 2 ft.

Then we get to Thursday the 14th of August – this is the only real standout, and it’s still a maybe. The afternoon shows 4 ft from the SW with a 17-second period, and combined energy jumps to a strong 756. That’s proper juice. But the wind is onshore from the SW, so it’ll be a bit messy. The comment says “marginal,” so keep your expectations in check. It won’t be the cleanest, but it’s the biggest swell of the whole forecast period. Cottons Point picks up swell from the SW, so direction’s fine, but because it’s a reef and point, that long period should wrap in a bit better here than out on the beach. The crowds can be “sometimes” an issue, so if that marginal window cleans up, you might have a few others out.

Saturday the 15th of August holds similar size at 4 ft from the SW, with energy still strong at 626, but the wind goes cross-onshore from the W. That’ll put a bit of chop on the face. Still, it’s one of the only windows with waist-high waves.

After that, Sunday the 16th and Monday the 17th fade back to 3 ft–3 ft, with onshore wind taking the shine off again.

Honestly, mate, there’s no good surf on offer for the first week and a half. The only spot that looks remotely worth a look is the afternoon of the 14th of August, and maybe the 15th, but even then it’s marginal. If you’re in a wetsuit and desperate, you could paddle out, but I wouldn’t be settin’ your alarm. The water is freakishly warm, the swell is mostly weak, and the wind is rarely on your side.

Rusty

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