Emerald Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let's talk about what's on offer for the next couple of weeks.

It's a bit of a slow start for the region. We're looking at a solid week of pretty ordinary, small surf before a decent window of cleaner conditions arrives. The wait is worth it for a brief spell, but don't expect any epic groundswells.

Honestly, the first few days are a write-off. From Saturday the 22nd through to the morning of Wednesday the 26th, we've got tiny, disorganised waves with a lot of onshore and cross-onshore breezes. The swell is struggling to hit 3 ft most of the time, and the energy is weak at best (47 to 127). The combined energy is sitting in the double and low triple digits, which points to a fatigued ocean. You'd be grinding for nothing.

The first real glimmer of hope comes Thursday morning, the 27th of August. The wind swings to a clean offshore from the SSW at 12 mph, and we get a consistent pulse of 5 ft ENE swell with an 8-second period. The combined energy jumps to 290 (moderate), and the comment says "expect good surf conditions." This is by far the best on offer in the whole forecast period. Emerald Beach (point) is the spot. The swell direction is NE, which matches the optimum. The water temp is sitting at 68°, which is about average for this time of year, so no need to dig out the steamer just yet.

The Thursday afternoon will still be fun, dropping a touch to 4 ft and a cross-off breeze, but the morning is the winner. Friday the 28th also has a chance early with a glassy 3 ft ENE swell, but the energy drops off quick.

After that, it's back to the small stuff. The rest of the forecast through the first week of September is marginal. We get some clean offshore mornings from the 29th of August through to the 2nd of September, but the swell is tiny – 2 ft to 3 ft, with weak energy. The crowds are noted as "often" at this break, so when it's this small, it'll be a mellow crew out there.

The long-range stuff into the first week of September looks even more uncertain, with nothing but small, onshore wind conditions. It's a couple of weeks of waiting for that one Thursday morning, which is your standout. For the pros, nothing here is over 8 ft, so it's all in the beginner to intermediate range. For the kites, the stronger onshore days on the 25th and 26th of August might be more interesting than anything we can paddle.

Stay tuned, and keep an eye on the long-range forecasts.

Rusty.

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