Courtown Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright team, Rusty here. Let's break down what we've got for the next couple of weeks.

Honestly, it’s a grim stretch ahead. The whole 16-day window is a write-off for any proper surf. We’ve got a long, flat spell running from the start all the way through to the morning of the 27th of August – over a week and a half with nothing worth paddling out for. The swell is tiny, the energy is pathetic, and the word from the forecasts is consistently "poor surf conditions".

For the first nine days or so, we’re stuck with ankle-snappers at best – all showing 0.3 ft to 0.7 ft of swell. The wind is often clean, with some offshore and cross-offshore conditions, especially on the morning of the 18th and 19th when we get moderate offshore breezes from the WNW and W, and the 17th has a light offshore from the WNW too. But it doesn’t matter how clean the water is when there’s no push. The combined energy barely cracks 20 to 30 (maximum of 34 on the morning of the 23rd), which is barely a ripple.

Then we get a slight uptick around the 27th of August. The morning of the 27th still has 0.3 ft, but the afternoon brings a sudden jump to 3.9 ft from the south at a short, weak 5 seconds. That’s messy, wind-affected slop. The combined energy jumps to 65 (moderate), but it’s a short-period swell and the wind is a fresh cross-off from the SSW, which will keep it clean but won’t save the quality. This is still rated as poor surf, and at 3.9 ft, it’s not beginner-friendly but it’s not proper.

The 28th of August morning is the best of a bad bunch. Swell holds at 3.3 ft from the SSW, period still short at 6 seconds, and combined energy hits 132 (moderate). The wind is a moderate cross-off from the SW, keeping the surface clean. That’s the closest we get to a surfable wave, but even then it’s a short-period, weak swell for a point break like Courtown. It’ll be inconsistent and unremarkable. The afternoon backs off a bit to 3.0 ft (energy 78, weak).

After that, it fades back into nothing. The 29th drops to 0.7 ft, and by the 30th and 31st, the swell flatlines completely with zero energy.

Courtown is a point break setup here. For a point, you want some period and direction, and all we’re seeing is short-period slop from the south and SSW – not the optimum S direction the break likes, though it's close. The water temp on the first record is 65.3°, which is 4.1° warmer than normal – that’s much warmer than average for this time of year, so the water will feel unseasonably balmy, but there’s nothing to ride in it.

No standouts. No hidden gem. Just a long, bleak run of flatness. Keep the board in the shed. If there's any consolation, it's that at these sizes and with clean cross-off winds, this coast would look more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. Forecasts can change, but right now, this is a total bust.

Stay dry, folks.

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