Crab Island Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’m gonna level with ya – it’s a tough stretch ahead for Crab Island. This is a south-west facing reef break, and the next sixteen days are looking pretty grim for a proper surf. We’ve got a long, quiet spell right off the bat, so don’t bother paddling out for a while.

The water is sitting at 69°, which is much warmer than usual for this time of year – that’s a hell of a anomaly. But warm water doesn’t make up for the lack of waves.

For the first few days, it’s all small and messy. Wednesday the 12th has 2 ft swell from the WSW at 10 seconds, but with a cross-on ESE breeze at 12 mph, it’s choppy and poor. The combined energy is only 60 – that’s weak. Thursday the 13th is not much better: 3 ft swell but still cross-shore winds and a combined energy of 149, which is still not enough to overcome the crummy conditions. Friday the 14th drops off to 2 ft and less energy (84). The pattern continues through the weekend with tiny surf, and by Monday the 17th it’s barely a ripple at 0.7 ft.

We hit a bit of a spike on Tuesday the 18th. The swell jumps to 5 ft from the WSW, but the period is only 6 seconds – that’s short-period slop. The winds are a fresh cross-onshore at 22 mph, making it lumpy and ugly. Combined energy hits 156 (moderate), but with that wind and short period, it’s not worth your time for a surf. Honestly, that setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

Wednesday the 19th gives us the best of a bad bunch. Morning sees a 3 ft swell from the west with a 7-second period, but the wind swings offshore from the NNW at 12 mph. It’s the first time the forecast calls for “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions” with a score of 1 out of 10, so that’s the standout, if you can even call it that. The wind will keep it clean, but the energy is only 81, so don’t expect much push. It’s a brief window before it goes flat again.

After that, the rest of the month is a washout. There’s a little bump of 4 ft on Thursday the 27th from the west at 6 seconds, but the cross-on wind and combined energy of 115 still isn’t enough to save it. Conditions stay poor.

So, if you’re desperate, the only window worth even a look is the morning of Wednesday the 19th of August – it’s not good, but it’s the cleanest of a bad lot. For the rest, you’re better off keeping the board in the shed. Forecasts can change, but right now, Crab Island is a no-go.

Rusty.

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