Crab Island Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day crew, Rusty here.

Look, I’ll be straight with you – the next couple of weeks are a real mixed bag and there’s a fair bit of patience required. The forecast for Crab Island (Clare) is a tough one. Most of the time the swell is tiny, the wind is blowing the wrong way, or the conditions are just messy. The water temp is sitting at 63°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so you can leave the thickest wetsuit at home.

We kick off on Wednesday 26th with a tiny 2 ft west swell, period of 7 seconds, and the energy is weak at 29. Thursday 27th has a bit more size – 2 ft – but the wind is a moderate cross-offshore from the NE. It’s clean, but the waves are still small and weak. Friday 28th and Saturday 29th are even smaller, with messy onshore winds. Sunday 30th sees a slight bump to 3 ft from the WSW with a 10-second period, energy at 158, and the wind is cross-offshore from the SE – clean, but still not enough to get excited about.

Monday 31st is when the swell actually starts to show some teeth. By morning we’ve got 5 ft from the west, period 10 seconds, and the combined energy is moderate at 408. But the wind is howling onshore from the WSW at 15 mph, and it gets worse by afternoon – 6 ft but onshore at 22 mph, making it a choppy, messy mess. Tuesday 1st September is similar with 5 ft and cross-onshore wind, still poor. The pattern continues through Wednesday 2nd and Thursday 3rd – the swell is there, size up to 6 ft, but the wind is always onshore or cross-onshore, so the surf quality is just rubbish.

Friday 4th and Saturday 5th are a bit of a tease. Saturday morning has 7 ft from the west, period 10 seconds, and the energy is strong at 803. But again, the wind is cross-onshore from the SSW at 9 mph. It’s still poor, but it’s the closest we get to anything rideable.

Now, finally, a glimmer of hope. Sunday 6th September morning: the swell drops to 4 ft from the WSW, period 10 seconds, energy moderate at 279, but the wind swings to a light cross-offshore from the SSE at 6 mph. The surf is clean, and the comment says “expect good surf conditions” – it’s a 2/10, but that’s about as good as it gets in this window. Then Monday 7th September morning is the real standout. The wind is glassy – zero from the NNW – the swell is 4 ft from the WNW, period 10 seconds, and the energy is moderate at 353. The waves will be clean, lined up, and the lightest of breezes. This is the pick of the bunch. The swell direction is slightly west of the optimum west, but it’s close enough. The break is a reef, so that long period (10 seconds) will produce some nice shape. Crowds are often here, so expect company.

After that, Tuesday 8th and Wednesday 9th September are back to onshore wind and small, messy waves. Thursday 10th is tiny with a strong onshore gale – just a write-off for surfing.

The long-range stuff on Saturday 5th afternoon and Sunday 6th morning are the only two sessions that get a “marginal” or “good” rating, and even then, Saturday 5th is still cross-onshore. The real standout is Monday 7th morning – glassy, clean, and a solid 4 ft west-northwest swell. If you can get out then, you’ll have the best of it.

Rusty.

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