Depressions Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s break down what Depressions has cookin’ for the next couple of weeks. Gotta warn you upfront—it’s a long, dry stretch before anything worth paddling for shows up.

From Saturday the 15th all the way through Monday the 24th, it’s pretty much a dead zone. Swell’s knee-high at best, mostly 1ft to 3ft from the SSW or WNW, and the periods are all over the place—some real short 6-second stuff, some long 18-second groundswell, but the wind is always on it or side-on. The energy is weak to moderate at best (302 down to 161), and every session is either flagged as poor or barely marginal. Not worth wetsuiting up for.

Then Tuesday the 25th of August rolls in, and that’s your moment. Tuesday morning is the real standout—glassy conditions with a clean 3ft SSE groundswell, a very long 16-second period, and the combined swell energy jumps to 662 (moderate). The water temp’s about average for this time of year, no drama there. That long period will give you some nice lines, though at a beach break it might straighten out a little, so choose your bank wisely. With the wind completely off, this is the session you’ve been waiting for.

Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday the 26th see the swell bumping up to 4ft to 4ft from the SSE, still with that 16-second period, and energy climbs to 796 then 910. But the wind turns side-on or onshore, so it’ll get a bit bumpy. Still plenty of push for a fun wave if you don’t mind a little chop.

Thursday the 27th and Friday the 28th keep the swell at 3ft to 4ft from the S and SSW, periods drop to 13–14 seconds, and energy stays solid (781 to 797, moderate to strong). Same story—onshore or side-on wind means it’s rideable but not clean.

Saturday the 29th is the biggest swell of the whole run—5ft to 6ft from the WNW, but only 9–10 seconds. Energy is strong, hitting 982 and 1076, so there’s serious water moving. But that size with a short period and cross-onshore wind makes it lumpy and messy. For paddle surfing, it’s a handful—this one’s more for the kite crew. Only the experienced should even think about it.

Sunday the 30th drops back to 2ft SW swell, energy down to 508, and it’s marginal again.

So here’s the short of it—save your energy for Tuesday the 25th morning. That’s the only clean, glassy window with proper waves. After that, it’s a slow slide back to small and choppy.

Rusty.

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