Duckpool Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's coming up for Duckpool Bay.

Honestly, looking at the next couple of weeks, it’s a pretty lackluster run for us. We’ve got a solid 16-day window ahead, but the first week is going to be a tough slog with barely anything to get excited about. The surf doesn’t really start offering anything that’s actually worth paddling out for until the very end of the run, and even then, there are some serious caveats.

We start off on Sunday, August 23rd with tiny swell, only 1 ft from the SW. The wind is cross-shore and it’s just poor. The water is sitting at 66°, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year – that’s an anomaly of 4°, so it feels like a warm bath, but the waves are a no-go.

The next few days through Monday the 24th and Tuesday the 25th stay tiny. We get some clean, offshore winds, but the swell drops even smaller. The combined wave energy is in the teens and twenties (16-45), which is weak. It’s just not enough to ride.

Wednesday the 26th offers a glimmer. The swell is still small at 2 ft, and the period is short, around 8 seconds. But the big news is that in the afternoon we get glassy conditions with a light NE breeze. It'll be surfable, but very ordinary.

The end of the week and the following weekend get blown out. From Thursday the 27th through to Monday the 31st of August, winds turn onshore from the west and southwest, getting stronger. The swell height bumps up, from 3 ft up to 7 ft on Saturday, but it’s messy and choppy. The combined energy climbs into the moderate range of 155 up to 355, but without clean conditions, it’s just a washing machine. Not worth it.

Heading into the first week of September, the onshore winds persist. The surf stays poor with a lot of chop. We get a rain shower on Tuesday, September 1st, with a 5 ft swell, but it’s just lumpy and onshore. The pattern doesn't let up.

Now, the best on offer comes right at the very end of the forecast period. On Sunday, September 6th, the swell gets big. On Sunday morning we are looking at an 8 ft swell from the west, with clean conditions thanks to a cross-offshore breeze from the NNE. The combined wave energy hits a massive 1038 – that’s strong. In the afternoon, it gets even bigger, hitting 10 ft from the same direction, with the wind swinging to a very light NNE breeze, making it clean and glassy, and the energy is a staggering 1090. The problem is, for Duckpool Bay, 10 ft is just too much. The report says it's too big for this break, and that’s only really for experts at 8 ft anyway.

So, there you go. A long stretch of flat and messy conditions leading to one big, clean day that is likely too powerful for the spot. It's not looking good for a paddle. With the consistent onshore winds and the swell building, the setup around here looks more interesting for a kite session than a paddle surf. That big Sunday could be one for the tow crew or a very select few if you’ve got the nerve and the right board, but for the average surfer, the next 16 days are a write-off.

Stay patient.

Rusty.

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