Donkin Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here, looking at what’s coming our way for the next couple of weeks. We’ve got one spot to focus on, so let’s get into it.

The immediate few days are a bit of a tease with some waves around, but the conditions are a bit messy for a proper go. The water is sitting at 55°, which is a good couple of degrees chillier than we’d expect for this time of year, so you’ll want the thick rubber. Donkin Bay (reef and point) will be the spot to watch. The initial swell is from the WSW, with a period around 12-13 seconds, carrying moderate energy (260). That’s a little background groundswell, but the morning winds are from the NE at 12 mph, which is a cross-off, keeping the surface reasonable. It's not the prime window yet though.

Come early next week, Monday morning (4th August) sees a similar story: around 4 ft of SW swell at 12 seconds, but the ENE breeze at 12 mph is a cross-off and the surf looks average. The real standout for the first week, and honestly the best call of the whole forecast, is the Friday morning (7th August). Get this: 8 ft of solid, long-period SW groundswell (14 seconds, 2218 energy – that’s strong) and a clean ESE offshore at only 3 mph. It’s going to be clean, powerful, and lined up. That's the one to circle on the calendar. It’s big enough to be for experienced surfers only, don’t get caught inside if you’re not ready.

The weekend of the 8th and 9th sees size jump way up, with swell hitting 15 ft on Saturday. The wind is cross-shore and strong; the power reading is off the charts (8649 – very strong energy), but for a reef and point setup, this is going to be too big and unruly for a safe session. Leave that one for the big-wave chargers or the kite crew.

We have a bit of a lull in the middle of the week after that, with smaller swell around 4 ft to 2 ft and mostly clean but weaker energy.

The second week looks promising again. On the morning of Thursday the 13th, we get a sneaky groundswell pulse of 3 ft from the WSW, but the period is a massive 19 seconds – that’s very long energy, giving it a real push (1005 energy). It’s a light SSE cross-off at 6 mph, expecting excellent conditions for capable surfers. This one will be a long period groundswell, best on the point. The real standout later in the run is Saturday afternoon (15th August): 6 ft of WSW swell at 14 seconds, clean cross-off light breeze, and a strong energy reading of 1564. It’s a solid, clean option.

Finally, Sunday morning (16th August) also delivers: 8 ft, 15-second intervals from the WSW, very strong energy (2414), with a cross-off breeze. That’s another one for the experienced crew.

Overall, the best of the best for paddle surfing is undeniably that Friday morning (7th) – the combination of size, light offshore wind, and strong, long-period energy is hard to beat. For the second week, the Saturday afternoon (15th) and Sunday morning (16th) are the promising calls, though things can shuffle this far out.

Stay safe and read the tides.
Rusty.

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