Duckpool Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here again, same look at Duckpool Bay but in feet and miles. Straight up, it’s a tough watch. There’s swell on the charts, but the wind is just trashing the quality. This spot needs it clean, and that’s not happening much.

Friday, August 28th, starts poor: a 4ft swell from the WSW, but a 19 mph cross-onshore wind making it lumpy. Energy is low (99). Not worth getting wet. That afternoon, it gets bigger – 5ft – but the wind picks up to 22 mph and it’s still lumpy.

Saturday the 29th is more of the same. Morning has a 5ft swell, cross-shore chop with 19 mph wind. Afternoon sees the swell jump to 7ft from the WSW with an 8-second period, and the wind goes onshore at 25 mph, creating a lot of power (combined energy of 512) but it’s messy. The water temp is about normal for this time of year.

Sunday the 30th brings a better 9-second period with a 5ft swell in the morning but still cross-shore wind. Energy is moderate (442). The afternoon gets bigger at 7ft, but again it’s cross-onshore and lumpy.

Monday the 31st is when it gets serious. The morning has a 10ft swell from the west with a 10-second period, and the wave energy is very strong at 1446. The wind is cross-onshore at 19 mph. This is only for experts – that size with onshore wind is a washing machine. For a beach break, that long period (10 seconds) will make it close out and punchy. The afternoon stays onshore with less energy.

From Tuesday, September 1st to Thursday the 3rd, we’re stuck in poor conditions. Swells bounce between 4ft and 7ft, but the wind is always cross-onshore or onshore, often strong. Friday the 4th and Saturday the 5th are similar, with the wind against us. On Saturday the 5th, the swell drops to 3ft but with a longer 11-second period – still cross-onshore. That longer period at a beach break can make it a bit walled.

Here’s the one bright spot. On Sunday, September 6th, the wind finally shifts to cross-offshore from the NNE at 13 mph. The morning is small – 3ft – and clean. The afternoon picks up to 5ft from the WSW with a 6-second period (short period, so less push, but rideable). The wave energy is moderate (203), and conditions are described as clean. This is your best session of the whole two weeks. It’s not perfect, but it’s clean and surfable. The crowd rating says “sometimes” busy, so expect a few others out.

After that, Monday the 7th is small and cross-shore. Tuesday the 8th is tiny and mostly flat. Wednesday the 9th and Thursday the 10th of September see the swell come back hard – up to 10ft and 12ft – but the wind is howling, up to 34 mph on Thursday. That is blown-out and dangerous for a paddle board. That much power and onshore wind is for the kiteboarders.

Friday the 11th and Saturday the 12th are the end of the run, with the swell fading and the wind still strong and onshore. Not much to hang your hat on.

So here’s the call: there’s no classic standout, but if I had to pick one, it’s the afternoon of Sunday the 6th of September at Duckpool Bay. Clean wind, 5ft of swell. The rest is a waiting game.

Rusty.

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