Depot Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Righto, let’s have a look at what’s in store for Depot Beach. The next 16 days look pretty ordinary overall, to be honest. There’s one standout that’s got me keen, but for the most part, you’ll be picking through fairly average conditions.

Right now, the water is sitting at 64°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year. That’s a nice little bonus.

The first decent chance doesn’t roll in until Friday morning, August 21st. We’ve got small, weak swell from the NE at 3ft, but the period is a short 7 seconds, so it won’t have much push. The combined energy is weak (72). The real saviour here is the wind – glassy conditions in the arvo with a light NW breeze. It’ll be clean, but nothing to write home about. Saturday the 22nd drops right off to tiny 1ft with glassy morning winds, but it’s barely surfable. There’s a bit of a gap here through the weekend, with onshore winds and messy conditions.

Come Sunday the 23rd, we get a pulse of S swell at 2ft, but it’s a 13 second period – that’s a nice long groundswell, which would usually mean better shape. But the wind is cross-onshore and the energy is only moderate (150). It’s just not coming together. Monday and Tuesday offer some small, clean-ish waves in the 2ft to 3ft range, but the energy is low and the swell direction is all over the shop.

Wednesday the 26th arvo is a really nice moment – glassy conditions with a 3ft NE swell, 8-second period, and combined energy (174). It’s clean, but the waves are still only fair. Thursday the 27th gets a bit of a bump in energy (258) but the wind is strong and cross-off, so it’s messy.

Now, the real one to watch is Saturday, August 29th. We’ve got a solid S swell pushing in at 6ft by the afternoon, with a short, punchy 6-second period. The combined energy is strong (304). The wind is cross-off from the WNW, so it’ll be clean. This is the pick of the period for more experienced surfers – it’s too big for beginners, but for the crew who can handle it, there’s some proper power. The wave comment says “marginal surf forecast” but the conditions look clean.

Sunday the 30th holds some size at 6ft with even more energy (465), but the wind is cross-off from the SSW, keeping it clean. Same deal – it’s for the experts only. The swell direction is ENE, which is not the optimum SE for this break, so the shape might be a bit wonky.

After that, the first week of September looks pretty poor. Onshore winds and messy conditions dominate. There’s a brief moment on Wednesday, September 2nd, with glassy conditions and a 2ft NE swell, but it’s tiny. The one bright spot is Thursday, September 3rd. The morning has a 5ft NE swell with a 7-second period, clean cross-off wind from the NNW, and combined energy of 245. The wave comment says “expect good surf conditions” – that’s the call. It’s the only real standout in the second week.

So, to wrap it up: the best on offer is Saturday, August 29th for the bigger, cleaner S swell, and Thursday, September 3rd for a solid, clean NE swell. The rest is mostly small, weak, or messy. Keep your expectations in check.

Rusty

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