Etang-Sale Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. We’ve got a proper stretch of surf ahead, but it starts with a bang and fades into smaller, cleaner windows later. The first few days are for the experienced crew only, then it settles into something a bit more manageable for the rest of us.

The main event kicks off Friday morning, 28th August, at Etang-Sale (reef). This is a big, powerful SSW groundswell with a period of 16 seconds and combined wave energy hitting a massive 9570 – you’ll feel that in your chest. Faces will be a solid 13ft to 15ft. The wind is blowing fresh offshore from the SE, so the wave faces will be clean, but paddling into these things is going to be a battle. This is strictly for advanced surfers only. By Saturday morning, 29th August, we’re still in the thick of it with a 13ft SSW swell, but the wind picks up to a strong 25 mph offshore, making it even harder to get into the set waves. It’s clean but angry.

Sunday morning, 30th August, everything changes. The swell drops to a more user-friendly 8ft from the south, and the wind goes glassy – dead calm. This is the standout of the whole period. The wave energy is still moderate at 3726, and with the 14-second period, you’re getting proper groundswell lines wrapping into the reef. It’s clean, it’s accessible for strong intermediates, and the offshore direction (SE) lines up perfectly with the optimum swell direction (SSW) for this break. For a reef, this is about as good as it gets for a few hours.

Monday morning, 31st August, sees the swell down to 5ft with light cross-onshore wind, nothing special. But Monday afternoon throws up a fun little curveball – a 8ft short-period ESE swell (9 seconds) with glassy conditions. It’s not powerful, but if you want something different, it’s clean.

From Tuesday, 1st September, through to the start of the second week, the swell really drops off. We’re talking 1ft to 3ft for several days – that’s a proper lull. There’s not much to recommend until Saturday morning, 5th September, when a new 5ft SW groundswell rolls in with a very long 17-second period and moderate offshore wind. The combined energy is back up to 1995. Still, for a reef break, that long period can make the wave a bit too straight at certain tides, but it’s clean.

Then Sunday morning, 6th September, we get a 4ft SW swell with moderate offshore wind and excellent conditions. But the real call for the second week is Monday morning, 7th September – a 7ft SSW groundswell with a 17-second period and moderate offshore wind. The wave energy is strong at 3535, and the wind is clean. This one has real punch for a solid session. After that, things settle into a run of 4ft to 6ft SSW swells with gentle to moderate offshore winds, which is consistent but not epic.

The standout in the second week is that Monday, 7th September morning session – it’s the only one that brings back the power and the clean conditions together.

Water temps are about average for the time of year, so you won’t need anything special in the wetsuit department.

Rusty, signing off.

Read more