Crab Island Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty. Let’s talk about what’s on offer at Crab Island. This is a reef break, advanced-only, and it’s fairly consistent. It’s exposed to the west and the optimum swell direction is west. The water temperature is running at 63°, a touch warmer than normal for this time of year.

The overall outlook is a tough one. We’re looking at a long stretch of poor surf conditions with mostly onshore or cross-onshore winds and weak, short-period swell. The combined swell energy is weak for most of the run, with values like 98 (Monday morning), 53 (Monday afternoon), and 302 (Tuesday morning) – that’s moderate wave energy there, but wind is the killer. The wind is onshore from the west or southwest, blowing at 12 to 25 mph, making for messy, choppy conditions. The swell height hangs around 3 ft to 6 ft, with periods of 8 seconds or less, so it’s sloppy and weak.

The best of a bad bunch comes on Tuesday the 25th of August, in the morning. There’s a pulse of swell hitting 8 ft from the west-southwest with a period of 10 seconds, and the combined energy reads 963 – that’s strong wave energy. The wind is a cross-shore from the south-southwest at 12 mph, which is moderate. It’s still a marginal surf forecast, not clean, but it’s the only day where the swell size and energy are worth a look for an experienced surfer. This is too big for beginners, but for an advanced crew, it’s the closest we get to anything interesting. The direction is west-southwest, which is close to the optimum west swell direction, so there’s some shape potential.

The rest of the 16-day window is a write-off. There are long gaps – days and days – with no recommendations, just poor surf with onshore wind. The swell drops off to tiny, often under 2 ft, or stays in the 3 ft to 5 ft range with strong onshore wind. The wind is often from the west or northwest, blowing onshore or cross-onshore at 12 to 25 mph, making it a kite-surfing setup rather than paddle surfing. On Thursday the 27th of August morning, there’s a brief moment with offshore wind from the east-northeast at 3 mph, with a 2 ft swell from the west-northwest at 9 seconds – clean but tiny. Surfable but very ordinary, as it’s barely a ripple.

In the second week, things don’t improve. There’s a pulse on the 28th of August with 5 ft from the west at 9 seconds, but cross-shore wind from the south-southwest at 12 mph makes it choppy. The 30th of August has a 7 ft swell from the west at 8 seconds, but onshore wind from the west-southwest. The 31st of August and into September, the swell holds around 5 ft to 8 ft, but the wind is always onshore or cross-onshore, moderate to strong, so it’s messy and lumpy.

Bottom line: the only standout is Tuesday the 25th of August morning, with a 8 ft west-southwest swell and moderate cross-shore wind. It’s marginal, but for advanced surfers, it’s the best we’ve got. The rest of the window is poor, with onshore wind and weak swell. Don’t expect much.

Rusty.

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