Depressions Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, let’s talk about what’s on the cards for our local stretch.

First off, the water is absolutely balmy – 70° and a whopping 7° warmer than usual for this time of year. That’s a rare treat, so you’ll be shedding the rubber for sure.

Right, the honest truth is there’s nothing epic on the horizon. The first day we’ve got to work with is Wednesday, the 26th of August, but it’s a real softie. We’re looking at a 3ft SSE swell with a period of 12 seconds, and the combined energy is weak at 322. The wind is a light onshore from the SSW, which is okay for a beginner wave but not exactly turning heads. It’s a marginal call at best.

Thursday the 27th starts with some hope. The morning is glassy – a proper clean sheet of water – but the swell is tiny, a mere 2ft from the S. The combined energy (211) is weak. It’s surfable if you’re desperate for a splash, but the conditions are very ordinary. By the afternoon, the wind shifts cross-on from the W, and it all falls apart.

We’ve got a long gap of poor to marginal conditions stretching through the end of August and into the first week of September. The swell is small, directions are all over the place, and the wind is rarely kind. The best you’ll see is a few mid-week glassy moments on the morning of Wednesday the 2nd of September, but again, that’s with a 2ft S swell. It’s barely moving.

Now, there is a pulse of energy that shows up on Thursday the 3rd of September. The combined energy jumps to 602 (moderate) in the morning, with a 4ft SSW swell at 14 seconds. That’s a longer period groundswell. The wind is a light onshore from the SW, which is marginal but not a total write-off. The afternoon sees a 4ft SSW swell with a period of 12 seconds and a cross-shore wind from the NW, which is a better wind angle. The energy is up to 662 (moderate). This is the high point of the whole 16-day window, but it’s still being called “marginal” with questionable tide conditions. If you’re an intermediate or above, this is your best bet. It’s a long way out though, so keep an eye on it.

After that, it’s back to the same old story of small, weak swells and onshore winds through to the 10th of September. The second week is a bit of a write-off, with nothing to get excited about. The swell is too small and the wind is consistently onshore or cross-on, making it choppy and messy. For a beach-and-reef setup like this, the bigger but wind-affected swells (like the 6ft on Saturday the 29th of August) would be more interesting for kite surfers looking for grunt than for paddle surfers looking for a clean face.

Look, “Depressions” is fairly consistent, so it won’t stay this poor forever, but for the next 16 days, the pickings are slim. Stick to the Thursday the 3rd of September and hope it cleans up.

Rusty.

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