Emerald Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get stuck into what’s cooking for the next couple of weeks at Emerald Beach. This is a bit of a slow burn, and we’ve got to be patient.

The opening days are just a tease. There’s some swell around, but it’s nothing to write home about. We’re starting off on Monday the 17th with light rain and a southerly breeze. It’s clean, with the swell sitting around 5 ft from the ESE, but it’s short-period stuff at 7 seconds. The energy is moderate (217), but it just doesn’t have the push to make it truly fun. It’s surfable, but you’ll be working for it.

Tuesday the 18th is much the same – a little cleaner with that SSE wind, and the swell ticks up a bit in energy (348), but the size stays around 5 ft to 5 ft. The real story starts to build on Wednesday the 19th. That morning, we get a light offshore from the south, the swell jumps to 5 ft, and the period stretches to a solid 10 seconds. That’s a proper groundswell. The energy is getting strong (554). This is the first real standout. If you’ve got a flexible schedule, Wednesday morning is where it’s at. It’s going to have some proper shape and power, and with that offshore wind, it’ll be clean.

The rest of the week goes downhill fast. Thursday the 20th gets messy with onshore northerly winds. Friday is worse – poor conditions. This leads into a flat spell. The weekend of the 23rd and 24th is just small and weak. You’ll see some glassy conditions on Saturday morning (22nd) with tiny 3 ft waves, but the energy is pitiful (56). Sunday the 23rd is glassy too, but the same story – tiny, weak swell. It’s more of a paddle and a tan than a surf.

Then we hit a real dead zone. From the 24th right through to the end of the month, it’s a whole lot of nothing. Onshore winds and tiny, weak waves. The energy readings are pathetic, mostly below 100, with only a few blips. It’s a proper blank run. Don’t even bother looking at the forecast for the first few days of September – it’s more of the same poor conditions.

I will say, there’s a little flicker of hope very late in the window. On Thursday the 27th of August, the afternoon looks interesting. The wind goes clean cross-off from the SSE, and we get a 4 ft NE swell with a period of 9 seconds. The energy jumps to 200. It’s not huge, but it’s clean and might offer a few fun runners. It’s a long way out, so temper expectations, but it’s on the radar.

Honestly, the only real standout is Wednesday morning, the 19th of August. That’s your best bet for quality waves. The water temp is sitting around 67°, which is about spot-on for this time of year, nothing weird there. It’s a point break so the longer period swell should wrap in nicely. Just know that the crowds are often around here, so if the swell hits, you won’t be alone.

The rest of the window? Brutal. But that’s the way it goes sometimes.

Rusty.

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