Douglas Point Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here with a look at what’s coming up at Douglas Point over the next couple of weeks.

The pattern over the next 16 days is a mixed bag. There’s swell on the way, but the wind and tide windows are going to be your main hurdles. For the first week, most days are either cross-onshore or choppy, which makes the wave faces a bit messy. The standout window looks to be Monday the 31st of August into the first few hours of Tuesday the 1st of September, and again sometime around the 6th and 7th of September—which is more than a week out, so hold that thought.

Starting off Wednesday the 26th of August, it’s a bit of a write-off. Swell is around 8 ft from the SW with a 13-second period, but the wind is cross or cross-onshore, and the combined swell energy is moderate (2372). The water temp at this spot is 58°, which is about average for this time of year, so nothing crazy there. Thursday the 27th cleans up a little with a cross-offshore breeze, but the swell drops to 6 ft in the morning—still manageable—and by afternoon it’s back up to 8 ft. Wind is moderate though, so not perfect. Friday the 28th sees a solid pulse of 12 ft swell from the WSW with a very long 17-second period in the morning, and combined energy jumps to 7282—moderate to strong. The wind is light cross-onshore in the morning, but in the afternoon it shifts to a light SSW offshore, which is promising. Still, the marginal surf comment suggests tide or something else is fighting it.

Saturday the 29th and Sunday the 30th stay around 8 ft to 10 ft from the SW, but it’s mostly cross-onshore with light breezes, so the surface will have those little wind ripples. Not the cleanest.

Now here’s the best of the first week—Monday the 31st of August. The morning shapes up nicely: 12 ft from the SW, 15-second groundswell period, combined energy of 5786, and a light offshore from the N. That’s clean, lined-up, and set for intermediate and above surfers. The afternoon holds at 10 ft with a cross-offshore breeze, so it stays rideable. That’s your pick for deep August. Tuesday the 1st of September gets wrecked by strong NW winds at 22 mph in the morning, so the day’s blown out pretty quick after that.

There’s a gap from Tuesday afternoon right through to Thursday the 3rd of September—nothing recommended, just messy or gusty conditions. But we’ve got another promising window starting Friday the 4th of September: 13 ft from the WSW, 14 seconds, combined energy 6107, but the wind cranks up to 19 mph from the WNW, so only early might be okay. Saturday the 5th of September blows hard—25 to 28 mph cross-shore—with swell bumping up to 16 ft and combined energy at 20731. That’s way too big for most and messy for paddling. More of a kiter’s day than a surfer’s.

Then come Sunday the 6th and Monday the 7th of September—this is the second standout. Swell holds at 16 ft to 18 ft from the SW, 13 to 14-second period, with combined energy in the 9000 to 10000 range—strong. The winds are light to moderate cross-shore, so the surface won’t be glassy, but it’s manageable for experienced surfers. These are expert-level waves, pushing the 8 ft limit into big territory. Tuesday the 8th of September keeps the pulse at 13 ft with a very long 17-second period, but the wind is onshore from the S, so shape will be a bit lumpy. Wednesday the 9th cleans up with a NNW offshore breeze at 16 mph—8 ft, 16-second groundswell, combined energy 3616—good for the reef setup at Douglas Point, which likes that SSW optimum direction. Thursday the 10th of September gets wild again—26 ft from the WSW, but the wind is strong and cross-offshore; combine that with combined energy of 21658, and it’s way too big for this reef.

So, bottom line: your best bet is Monday the 31st of August morning, with clean 12 ft SW swell, light offshore wind, and moderate energy. The second standout is the first half of the second week, especially the 6th and 7th of September, but it gets big and a bit cross-shore—still a solid session for anyone who can handle overhead-plus waves. If you’re less experienced, the 6 ft morning on Thursday the 27th of August is the only mellow-ish window in the whole run.

Stay safe, watch those tide–swell combos, and I’ll see you in the water.

Rusty.

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