Crystals Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ll be straight with you – the next two weeks are a proper mixed bag, and for the most part, you’re going to be waiting. The first ten days are a write-off for any decent surf, but there’s a glimmer of something worth getting excited about right at the tail end if you can be patient.

We’re starting off dead quiet. Crystals (beach/jetty) is the only break on the table, and from Thursday the 20th of August right through to the end of the month, it’s pretty much all poor surf conditions. The swell is tiny for days – mostly around 0.7 ft to 2 ft – with weak, short-period windswell and a lot of messy onshore or cross-shore wind. The water temp is sitting at 77°, which is a notable 4° warmer than usual for this time of year, so you’ll feel that when you’re sitting out there doing nothing. Honestly, there’s no point paddling out; the combined wave energy is barely a whisper, often under 50 (22 to 58). The only slight reprieve comes on the 23rd and 24th with some clean offshore winds from the west, but with swell heights of just 0.7 ft to 1 ft and a very long 12-second period, it’s just not enough to break properly. You’ll be bobbing around on a lake.

That flat spell stretches all the way into the first couple of days of September. On Tuesday the 1st of September, we finally see a pulse of energy. The morning session sees glassy conditions with a light 3 ft swell from the ENE, period of 5 seconds, and a combined energy of 54. It’s only rated as “surfable but very ordinary,” so don’t get your hopes up. The afternoon builds to 5 ft from the east with a 6-second period, but a cross-shore wind messes it up, and it’s still no good.

The real standout – the only one worth circling on your calendar – is Friday the 4th of September. The morning at Crystals is glassy, absolutely flat calm wind (0 mph), with a 6 ft swell out of the ENE and an 8-second period. Now, 6 ft is getting a bit tall for beginners, but for the rest of us, it’s a sweet size. The combined energy hits a solid 704, which is strong, and the conditions are glassy – that’s the magic word. It’s a beach and jetty setup, and with that period, it’s a groundswell that will shape up nicely. The only caveat is the direction is ENE and the optimum swell direction for Crystals is NE, so it’s a little off-angle, but the glassy wind trumps that. The afternoon fades a bit with a cross-offshore wind picking up, but that morning window is your best bet in the entire 16-day run. It’s not often you get such clean conditions with decent power, and I’d be on it if I were you.

So, to sum it up: ten days of nothing, a couple of ordinary days early September, and then one real beauty on Friday morning the 4th. Patience pays off.

Rusty.

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