Duckpool Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s take a look at what’s on offer for our local stretch. I’m gonna level with you straight up: for the first ten days or so, it’s a tough watch. The swell is small, the wind is messy, and most of the time the conditions are just plain poor for a decent paddle. The water temperature is running at 66°, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year, so at least you won’t need the thickest wetsuit.

We start off with a bit of a nothing period. From Wednesday 12 August right through to the end of that week, there’s barely a window. On the 12th we’ve got a weak 3ft WSW swell at a short 10 seconds, but it’s cross-shore and the wave energy is low (151). Thursday and Friday see a slight bump to 4ft from the west, but again the wind is on it or cross-onshore, making for choppy, poor quality waves. The weekend is even smaller and lumpier, with Saturday morning showing a 2ft swell and a fresh 19 mph cross-shore wind that’s just no fun. By Sunday morning, the swell drops right off to 1ft with next to no energy (34). That run of flat-to-poor conditions lasts right through until about Monday 18 August.

There is a bit of a pulse on Tuesday 18 August morning, with a 3ft west swell, but it’s onshore and choppy again. Wednesday 19 August brings the swell up to 5ft from the west, but it’s short-period windswell at just 6 seconds, and the wind is cross-onshore. Still poor. Thursday 20 August sees the biggest swell of the first half – 7ft from the west – but with a fresh 19 mph cross-onshore wind, it’s lumpy and messy. That kind of size with that wind is more likely to interest the kite crew than paddle surfers.

After that, things drop back down until we finally get a proper standout. The best on offer, and I mean the only real standout in this whole outlook, is Monday 24 August. That morning we’ve got a solid 6ft west-southwest swell, with a clean cross-offshore breeze from the SSE at 6 mph. The wave energy is strong (422), and the conditions are described as clean. By the afternoon it gets even better: the swell holds at 5ft from the west, the wind stays light and cross-offshore from the southeast, and the energy jumps to a very strong 598. This is the window you want. The break itself, Duckpool Bay, is exposed to west swell and inconsistent, so it won’t always fire, but when it does, and with those light offshore winds, it’ll be worth the wait. Expect clean, well-shaped waves for the more experienced intermediate surfer. Crowds are sometimes a factor here, so you might have a few others with the same idea.

After that, it gets messy again. Tuesday 25 August goes back to onshore wind and poor surf. Wednesday and Thursday the 26th and 27th see small, short-period swell and strong winds, with nothing worth chasing.

So, to sum it up: a long, flat and poor first ten days, one absolute gem of a day on Monday 24 August with clean, chest-to-head-high west swell and light offshores, then back to the doldrums. Keep an eye on that Monday, but the rest of the run is a write-off for now.

Rusty.

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