Crystals Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here, and I’ve gotta be straight with ya – it’s a pretty bleak run of surf coming up for Crystals. We’re looking at a solid 16-day window, but the first week to ten days is mostly flat and messy, and even when there’s a little bump in the second week, the conditions just aren’t cooperating. Let’s break it down.

Right now, and for the next several days, there’s practically nothing worth paddling out for. Through the end of August, we’ve got tiny little swells – 0.7 ft to 2 ft – with short periods under 12 seconds, and the water temp at Crystals is sitting around 79°, which is 5° warmer than normal for this time of year, so it’s a good deal warmer than you’d expect. But that doesn’t help the waves. Saturday the 22nd has a weak 2 ft swell from ENE with a 6-second period, and a cross-on wind from ESE at 9 mph, turning it into a choppy mess. Sunday and Monday of that weekend are cleaner with cross-off winds, but the swell is barely a ripple – 1.0 ft to 1 ft – so it’s more of a swim than a surf.

Through the rest of August and into early September, it’s a string of days with poor surf conditions. There are a few mornings with glassy or clean winds, like Wednesday the 26th morning – dead calm, glassy water – but only 1 ft of weak, short-period swell (combined energy 39). Not happening. Thursday the 27th is cross-shore and choppy. Even Friday the 28th has gentle offshore winds and clean conditions, but still only 2 ft–2 ft with 9-second periods (combined energy 41–52). It’s just not breaking properly.

Then we hit the last days of August and first of September, and things try to pick up a little. Sunday the 30th morning sees a 4 ft swell from NE, but it’s a windswell with a pathetic 5-second period, onshore wind ENE at 16 mph, and a poor surf rating. That’s a no-go. Monday the 31st has 4 ft from ENE (5 seconds) – combined energy 114 – but again, cross-winds making it choppy. Tuesday September 1st is a bit cleaner with cross-offshore winds, and the afternoon has a 2 ft swell from SE with a 13-second period (groundswell), combined energy 223. That sets up a cleaner face, but it’s still small and inconsistent, and the break at Crystals is a beach/jetty setup – long-period groundswell like that tends to break too straight on beaches, so it’s not ideal.

Wednesday September 2nd morning offers the best look in the whole period: 2 ft from SE, 12-second period, combined energy 252, with light cross-offshore winds from WSW at 9 mph and clean conditions. It’s the closest thing to a surfable wave, but even then, the score is weak – just “surfable but very ordinary”. After that, the end of the first week of September drops back into poor quality with onshore and cross-on winds, and the swell stays below 4 ft but with choppy, lumpy conditions.

Honestly, there’s no standout here. Nothing worth calling a “best on offer.” For an intermediate surfer, even the slightly bigger days are too choppy or poorly directed. Beginners should steer clear of anything over 5 ft, but that’s not even an issue – we never get there. The few cleaner windows are too small to ride. If you’re into kitesurfing, those Sunday the 30th and Monday the 31st setups with onshore wind and 4 ft–4 ft windswill might be more interesting, but for paddle surfing, this is a flat spell.

It’s a tough stretch, but that’s how it goes sometimes. Forecasts can change, and it won’t stay poor forever.

Rusty.

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