Depressions Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, it’s Rusty here. I’ve had a good look at the charts for our stretch of coast, and honestly, it’s a bit of a quiet spell for the next couple of weeks. There’s no real swell on the horizon, and the wind’s not doing us any favors for most of it. We’re looking at a long stretch of small, messy waves with a few fleeting windows where it might just clean up enough to be worth a paddle. Don’t get too excited, but there’s a couple of mornings where the ocean might just give us a little something.

The first week is pretty much a write-off. From Saturday the 8th through to around Wednesday the 12th, we’ve got tiny swell, nothing over 2 ft, and the wind is mostly onshore or cross-onshore. The energy is weak, with readings sitting in the 140-237 range. The water temp is about average for this time of year, so no surprises there. You’d be fighting a losing battle for an unbroken wave.

The first real glimmer of hope comes on Tuesday morning, the 11th of August. It’s not big – a 1 ft SSW swell with a 14-second period, but the wind goes glassy. That’s the one thing that’ll make it feel better than it is. The energy is still weak at 154, so it’s more about a clean, small wave than any power. It’s surfable, but you’ll be working for every little crumb.

After that, we slip back into the doldrums for a few more days. The swell stays small, the wind gets messy again, and the energy readings climb a bit but without any real size to back it up. By the 14th and 15th, the energy is pushing into the 300s, which is at least moderate, and the swell bumps up to 3 ft. Still, the wind is mostly cross-onshore, so it’s not going to be pretty.

Now, there’s a bit of a change on Monday the 17th of August in the afternoon. The swell jumps to 5 ft, but it’s from the WNW with a short, junky 6-second period, and the wind is up to 9 mph cross-onshore. That’s a mess. All that energy (364) is going to be blown-out and lumpy. For a beach break, that’s more of a kite-surfing day than a paddle-surfing day. The same goes for Tuesday the 18th afternoon when we see another 5 ft WNW windswell with that same short period. It’s all noise and no shape.

The rest of the window, from the 19th through the 23rd, just fades back into small, weak surf. The swell drops back to 2 ft to 3 ft, and the energy falls off. The wind is mostly onshore, which keeps the surface bumpy. There’s nothing there that’s going to get you out of bed early.

So, here’s the bottom line. The standout, if you can call it that, is the Tuesday morning glass-off on the 11th. It’s the only time the ocean truly cleans up. The conditions are promising for a small-wave session, but it’s not going to be epic. The 15th of August has a bit more size (3 ft) but the wind is messing with it. That’s about it. The second week looks even less promising, so keep your expectations low. It’s a classic winter flat spell. But hey, it never stays poor for long around here. The forecasts can change, so keep an eye on it.

Rusty.

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