Deadman's Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, it’s Rusty. Deadman’s is a tricky little reef break, inconsistent and exposed to the open ocean, so it doesn’t fire often. Right now we’re looking at a pretty drawn-out run – there’s surf scattered across the next two weeks, but nothing that screams epic. Combined wave energy is middling, hanging around the 400–700 (moderate) range for most of the period, with a few brief spikes. The standout moment comes later into the second week, so we have to be patient.

Things start off Thursday 13 August with a light cross-on breeze and a short-period 5ft NW swell. It’s a bit messy with wind ripples and the energy reads 525 (moderate). Not worth paddling out for. Friday 14th sees a tiny 2ft SW groundswell, 15-second period and clean offshore wind in the morning, but the swell is just too small to do anything with. Saturday 15th afternoon is the first real highlight – glassy conditions, 3ft SSW groundswell with a 16-second period, and energy at 565 (moderate). That’s a clean setup, but the size is marginal. Over the next few days we get similar knee-to-waist high SSW groundswell, periods 14–16 seconds, mostly under light cross-shore breezes. The afternoon glass-offs on Sunday 16th and Monday 17th are tidy, but you’re still only looking at 3–3ft waves. Tuesday 18th gets blown out by a 19 mph cross-offshore wind, so that’s a write-off.

Now, the best on offer – mark Saturday 22 August afternoon. Glassy conditions, a 5ft NW swell with a short 8-second period, and combined energy of 420 (moderate). That’s the biggest clean window in the whole outlook. The wind is dead calm, so the reef will be smooth and the waves will have a bit of push. It’s not a long-period groundswell, so expect shorter, punchier walls rather than big open faces – suits a reef break like Deadman’s just fine. After that, Sunday 23rd and Monday 24th serve up similar 4–5ft NW swell, but with light cross-onshore or cross-shore winds, so not as clean. The final note on Friday 28 August morning we get a 5ft NW swell with a clean cross-offshore breeze, energy at 692 (moderate), but that’s a full week out so keep an eye on it.

Overall, the second week looks a little more promising than the first, but there’s no huge swell here. Best session is that Saturday 22nd afternoon glass-off.

Rusty

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