Depressions Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here. Look, I’ve been staring at the charts for Depressions and I gotta be straight with you – it’s a pretty grim run for the next couple of weeks. There’s a real gap here, with nothing worth paddling out for until we get into the second week, and even then, it’s all marginal.

The water is sitting at 69°F right now, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year, a real anomaly of 6°F. That’s unusual, but it won’t help the waves.

We kick off on Sunday the 23rd of August with a tiny 1ft swell from the southwest, but it’s onshore and the conditions are just poor. That’s the story through the whole of next week. The energy is weak to moderate (163–376), but the wind is always from the wrong angle, and the wave comment is either "poor" or "marginal". Tuesday the 25th sees a slight bump to 2ft, but it’s still cross-on and messy. Not worth getting wet.

Wednesday the 26th through Thursday the 27th sees a shift to a SSE swell around 2–3ft with a period of 12 seconds, and the wind is light and onshore. The energy is moderate (335–376), but it’s still tagged as "marginal". The waves are small and the wind is just enough to put a crinkle on the surface. No standout there.

The real blank stretch runs from Friday the 28th of August all the way through to the end of the month. We get a pulse of WNW swell, but it’s short period (8–9 seconds) and the wind is cross-on or onshore. The energy builds from 199 to 519, but the wave quality is consistently "poor". On Sunday the 30th, the swell hits 5ft in the morning, but it’s cross-on and messy. The afternoon sees it jump to 6ft, but the period drops to a pathetic 6 seconds, making it a choppy, wind-blown mess. At 6ft with that period and cross-on wind, this is more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. Not a surfer’s wave.

Monday the 31st drops back to 3ft, and it’s the same story. We go into September with more of the same. Tuesday the 1st of September brings a SSE swell at 2ft, but the wind picks up to 12 mph in the afternoon, adding chop. Wednesday the 2nd sees a 6ft WNW swell, but again, the period is a short 6 seconds and the wind is moderate cross-on. That’s another kite-surfing setup.

Finally, we get a glimmer late in the window. On Thursday the 3rd of September, the morning shows a 4ft WNW swell with a 9-second period, and the wind is light and onshore. The energy is moderate (489). In the afternoon, the swell builds to 5ft with a 9-second period, and the energy jumps to 784 (moderate-to-strong). The conditions are still "marginal", but this is the closest we get to a promising window. The swell direction is WNW, and the optimum swell direction for Depressions is WSW, so it’s not a perfect match. The wind is light onshore, so it'll be clean but not glassy. For a beginner spot, 5ft is right on the edge of being too big, but it’s still manageable.

Friday the 4th of September sees a shift to a 2ft SW swell with a long 17-second period. The wind is glassy in the morning with a slight air, and the energy is strong (597). That long period (over 15 seconds) means better shape, but at a place like Depressions, a beach break, that long period can make the waves break too straight. Still, with glassy conditions, it’s the best-looking morning of the whole forecast. The swell direction is SW, which is close to the optimum WSW. The water is still that warm anomaly.

Saturday the 5th and Sunday the 6th of September see similar SSW swells around 2–3ft with periods of 15–16 seconds, but the wind picks up in the afternoon, adding chop. The morning of the 6th is a good call with a slight air and light wind.

The best on offer is the morning of Friday the 4th of September. That 2ft SW groundswell with a 17-second period and glassy conditions will produce the cleanest, most lined-up waves of the whole period. The combined energy is strong (597), so there’s some push, but the size is small enough for the beginners that Depressions is built for. It’s a standout, but it’s a long way off. The morning of Thursday the 3rd of September is the second-best call, with that 4ft WNW swell and light onshore wind, but it’s not as clean.

We’re looking at a long stretch of nothing until those last few days. It’s frustrating, but forecasts can change. For now, keep your board waxed and your eyes on the 4th of September.

Rusty.

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