Crash Boat Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here. Look, I've gotta be straight with you – the next couple of weeks are looking pretty grim for a proper surf. We've got a long, flat run ahead with barely a ripple worth paddling for until we get deep into the second week. The only spot that ever really shows any kind of pulse around here is Crash Boat, but even that's a tough sell for most of the forecast.

Right now, starting from Monday the 31st of August, it's tiny. You're looking at a weak 2 ft swell from the south, but with a poor 4-second period, it's just not doing anything. The wind is a light cross-shore at 3 mph, but the wave comment says it all – poor surf. The combined energy is a measly 12, so there's absolutely no grunt in the water. Water temp is a balmy 85° with a normal anomaly, so it's warm as bathwater but flat as a tack. This stretch of nothing hangs around for days. We go through Monday afternoon with an offshore wind but the swell drops to 1.0 ft, and all through Tuesday the 1st, Wednesday the 2nd, and Thursday the 3rd, we're stuck under 1.0 ft to 0.7 ft. It's a solid gap of about four to five days with absolutely nothing worth mentioning.

From Friday the 4th through to Monday the 7th of September, the swell completely flatlines at 0 feet for a couple of days, then we get a whisper of 0.3 ft and 1.0 ft. It's not even worth paddling out for. The winds do turn glassy on Saturday the 5th morning and again on Sunday the 6th morning, which is a tease, but there's just no swell to work with. The energy readings are mostly zeros and single digits, confirming how dead it is.

Now, around Wednesday the 9th of September, we finally see a bit of a pulse. A 2 ft to 2 ft northerly groundswell rolls in with a solid 11-second period, and combined energy jumps to 61 in the morning and 119 in the afternoon. That's the first sign of life in two weeks. The wind is clean offshore from the ENE at 3 to 12 mph, keeping the surface smooth. But even then, the wave comment still calls it "poor surf conditions" for Wednesday.

The only day that gets a sniff of a recommendation is Thursday the 10th of September morning. We get a 3 ft north swell at 10 seconds, combined energy hitting 135 – that's moderate energy, finally. The wind is a clean offshore at 6 mph from the ENE. The comment says "surfable waves but very ordinary conditions," scoring a 1 out of 10. It's not a stand-out, but it's the best we've got. Crash Boat is an inconsistent beach and reef set-up, sheltered from the south, and its optimum swell comes from the west, so this northerly pulse is far from ideal. The swell doesn't match the optimum direction at all. The long period (10-11 seconds) means the waves will have a bit more shape and energy, but at a beach and reef like Crash Boat, it can tend to close out a bit. This is really only for the advanced crew who know the break – the 3 ft is fine for everyone, but the quality is lacking. Crowds are "sometimes" a thing here, so you might have company for this tiny window of opportunity.

After that Thursday morning, it drops off again. Friday the 11th through to the end of the forecast period on Tuesday the 15th, we're back to 0.7 ft to 2 ft swells with low energy. The second week overall is just a lot of tiny swell and mostly offshore winds, but nothing that will get your heart racing. To be honest, for the whole 16-day window, there's only that Thursday the 10th morning that's even worth a look, and it's ordinary. If you're desperate for a paddle, that's your only shot. Otherwise, it's a long blank run, and for this area, that's fairly normal – it tends to go quiet for stretches.

Keep an eye on the forecasts though, things can change. Until then, I'm signing off.

Rusty.

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