Crescent Head Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here, checking in from the Crescent Head zone. Look, we’re in for a bit of a mixed bag over the next couple of weeks, and honestly, you’re gonna have to pick your moments. The opening days are pretty ordinary, but there is a real standout window shaping up if you’re patient.

Alright, let’s start with the first decent pulse. Saturday morning, the 8th of August, we’ve got some tiny 2 ft surf rolling in from the SSE, with a period of 9 seconds. The wind is a light cross-off from the SSW, so it’s clean. The combined energy is weak, sitting at 100. It’s surfable, but it’s nothing to write home about – just a little knee-high slosh for a beginner.

The next few days are a write-off. Sunday the 9th through to Tuesday the 11th see poor conditions with onshore winds and cross-chop, and the swell is either too small or blown out. The energy picks up a bit on Monday morning with a 10 ft NNE swell and a massive 1594 combined energy, but that’s a messy, short-period 8-second swell with a strong cross-shore wind. That’s more of a kite-surfing setup than a paddle-surfing one, especially at a beach break.

The first real standout comes on Thursday morning, the 13th of August. We get a 7 ft swell from the SSW, period of 8 seconds, and a clean cross-off wind from the south-west. The combined energy is moderate at 766. It’s a bit on the bigger side for beginners, but the point break at Crescent Head should handle it. The wind is clean, and the swell direction is lined up nicely. This is the best on offer so far.

But the real magic window is Friday morning, the 14th of August. This is the highlight. The swell drops to a clean 5 ft from the SSE, with a 10-second period – that’s proper groundswell energy. The wind is glassy, dead calm from the south at 5 km/h. The combined energy is a solid 384. That’s your pick of the fortnight. The water temp is about 68°, which is average for the time of year, so no surprises there. Dawn patrol is going to be absolutely perfect – clean, peeling lines with no wind. Just expect that sometimes there might be a few others out, so don’t be surprised if you’ve got company.

After that, the surf drops off again. Saturday the 15th morning has a clean 3 ft, but the energy is weak. Saturday afternoon sees a weird 1 ft swell with a 23-second period – that’s a very long-period groundswell, but it’s tiny and the cross-shore wind will mess it up. That kind of period is better suited to a point or reef, but with only 1 ft, it’s not doing much.

From Sunday the 16th through to the 23rd of August, it’s a long, flat run of poor to marginal conditions. Day after day of small, weak surf with cross-shore winds and light chop. The energy rarely gets above 200, and the swells are short-period. There’s a bump on Saturday the 22nd afternoon with a 5 ft SSE swell and 507 energy, but it’s cross-shore and choppy – just a marginal option.

So, to wrap it up: the first real call is Thursday the 13th morning for a solid, clean 7 ft, but the absolute standout is Friday morning, the 14th of August – glassy, 5 ft SSE groundswell at Crescent Head. Get on it. Everything else is for the patient or the desperate.

Rusty.

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