D and W Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, grab a coffee, ’cause I’m gonna be straight with you – this is a tough stretch for D and W. The surf window is a bit of a ghost town, so let’s walk through it.

The whole 16-day run is pretty flat, with a few tiny pulses but nothing that’s really going to get the heart rate up. The first few days, starting Wednesday the 26th of August, are basically a write-off. We’ve got small, weak swell from the southwest, with period readings that are long but the wave height is barely a ripple, and the wind is on it or cross-on, messing up any chance of a clean face. The combined energy is weak to moderate (174), but it’s just not coming together. This pattern holds through the rest of August and into the first week of September. There are a few spikes of energy, like the Sunday the 30th of August, with 1.3m (about 4ft) of west swell and a short period, but the onshore wind keeps it messy. The early mornings on the 29th and 30th of August see a little cross-on wind, which is slightly better, but we’re still talking about knee-high, weak waves. It’s not what you want to drive for.

The water temperature is unusually warm, about 22° (72°F), which is 4° (6°F) above normal for this time of year – that’s a real anomaly, but it doesn’t help the waves. For the first week, there’s just nothing worth the rubber.

Then we hit a big gap. From the 31st of August through to the 5th of September, the swell drops off even more, with combined energy dropping into single digits and the wave heights barely reaching 0.5m (2ft). It’s frustrating, but it’s the reality for this spot in a quiet spell.

The only flicker of something is on the afternoon of the 5th of September (Saturday) and the morning of the 6th of September (Sunday). We get a 0.6m (2ft) swell from the southwest with a long period of 13 seconds and moderate energy (114). The wind is cross-on, so it won’t be perfect, but it’s the best we’ll see. The break is a beach/jetty setup, so it’s not a classic point or reef, but the long period could give it a little more shape than the short-period junk we’ve been seeing. If you’re desperate, that’s your window, but keep expectations low.

The rest of the second week, from the 7th to the 10th of September, fades out again. Small, weak, and onshore. There’s a Sunday the 8th of September afternoon with a 0.5m (2ft) southwest swell and a very long period of 18 seconds, but the combined energy is moderate (185) and the wind is cross-on, so it’s a tease at best. For a beach setup, that long period might make it break too straight, so it’s more of a novelty than a main event.

Overall, this is a blank run that’s pretty normal for the area when the swell window is quiet. There’s no standout quality, no clean lines, and no real power. The best you can do is the 5th and 6th of September, and even that’s a gamble. Honestly, for a beach/jetty break with this wind and small swell, it might be more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddler, but that’s not our game.

Keep the log waxed, but don’t hold your breath. The forecasts can change, but right now, it’s a waiting game.

Rusty.

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