Crab Island Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty. Let's talk about what's happening at Crab Island.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you folks – the next week and a half is looking pretty grim for a proper paddle. For the first few days, from the 26th to the 30th of August, we’re dealing with small, weak, wind-affected junk. The swell is barely a ripple, coming in at 1ft to 5ft, with periods under 9 seconds, and the wind is mostly cross-on or onshore, making things choppy and lumpy. It’s a write-off for a surf. The water temperature is sitting at 68°F, which is a whole 7°F warmer than usual for this time of year – that’s a very unusual anomaly, so you might not even need a spring suit, but trust me, you won’t want to be out there for the waves.

We do have a bit of a gap before anything looks surfable. The first real flicker of hope comes on the morning of Monday, the 31st of August. We’ll see a jump in swell to 8ft from the WSW, with a period of 9 seconds, and the wind goes cross-offshore from the WNW. The combined energy hits 863 (moderate wave energy). It’s described as "clean," but the call is still only marginal. The swell is getting a bit sizeable, over 5ft, so it’s pushing into intermediate territory, and the short period means it’ll be a bit lumpy. Keep an eye on it.

The real standout, the one that’s got my heart beating a little faster, is looking like the morning of Saturday, the 5th of September. The sun’s out, the wind is glassy – that’s a 3 mph glass-off from the WSW – and we’ve got a solid 7ft of WSW swell. The period is still short at 7 seconds, but the energy is a healthy 394 (moderate wave energy). The conditions are called "good surf conditions." This is the one to circle on your calendar. It’s a week away, so don’t hold me to the exact minute, but the setup is promising. The swell is pushing 7ft, so it’s getting into the expert zone, and Crab Island is a reef, so that bigger, punchy stuff will be fun for the right crowd. The break is fairly consistent, but fair warning – it can get crowded here sometimes. The optimum swell direction is SW, and this swell is coming from the WSW, so it’s a solid match.

Beyond that, the 7th of September morning looks possible with a 4ft and glassy conditions, but it’s nothing to write home about. The rest of the second week fades back into small, windy slop. No other standouts.

So, to sum it up: sit tight, wait out the wind and the small stuff, and get ready for that Saturday the 5th morning. It’s the only real window of quality on the horizon.

Rusty.

Read more