Cowries Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let's get into it. I'm Rusty, and I'm looking at the charts for Cowries over the next couple of weeks.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you: this forecast is a tough one. We’re looking at a long, dry spell of nothing much for the first ten days or so. Friday the 21st kicks things off with a tiny, weak 3ft swell from the ENE, period around 7 seconds. The water temp is sitting at 65°, which is pretty much what you'd expect for this time of year. The morning is clean with a light cross-off, but it’s just ordinary, weak stuff with barely any energy (59). Friday afternoon goes glassy with a 3ft NE swell, but again, it’s not doing much.

From Saturday the 22nd all the way through Thursday the 28th of August, it’s mostly a bust. We get some small pulses of swell, but the wind is a constant issue – cross-on, choppy, messy. There are a few moments of clean conditions from the 26th and 27th with a south wind, but the swell is just too small and weak to get excited about. The energy readings during this stretch are mostly in the 100-200 range (moderate), but the wave quality is just poor.

Now, I see a little flicker of hope on Friday morning the 28th. The wind goes dead calm, glassy as a mirror, with a 2ft ENE swell. It’s still small, but that clean surface would be nice for a longboard cruise.

But listen, the real standout, the one that’s actually got my heart beating a little faster, is Sunday the 30th of August. We’re seeing a real pulse of energy come in. Sunday morning, the swell jumps to 6ft from the E, period 8 seconds, and the combined energy rockets up to 695 – that’s strong wave energy. And with the wind glassy from the ENE? That is the session to circle on your calendar. It’s going to be clean, punchy, and fun. It’s not a giant, so it’s fine for most, but that kind of energy on a reef-and-point set-up at Cowries will be quality. The afternoon will still have size (6ft) but the wind goes a bit cross-on, so the morning is the winner.

Monday the 31st holds a bit of that energy (364) with a 6ft E swell and clean cross-off wind in the morning, which is another solid option, but by the afternoon a strong SSE breeze and rain will trash it.

After that, the first few days of September look pretty ordinary again. Small, weak, and mostly windy. There is a tiny clean, glassy window on Wednesday morning the 2nd, but it’s only 2ft. The long-range call for the 5th of September shows a glassy morning but again, tiny.

So, the bottom line? This is a waiting game. You’ve got a gap of about nine days of average to poor surf before things get interesting. Don't bother paddling out until the 30th. That Sunday morning, the 30th of August, at Cowries is the clear winner. Get on it early.

Rusty.

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