FA's Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's be straight with you – the next couple of weeks for FA's are a real mixed bag of mostly small, wind-affected and generally messy conditions. To be honest, there's no classic "standout" session that screams at you, but we'll take what we can get and pick the best of a pretty average lot.

The water is running a touch cooler than usual for this time of year, about 82°, which is a bit colder than normal for the season.

The first real chance for a paddle comes on Thursday, the 6th of August. But honestly, it's rough. We're looking at a tiny 2ft swell from the ESE with a short 7-second period and a combined energy of just 40 (weak). The morning has a light cross-onshore breeze from the ESE, and with the risk of thunderstorms, it's not a pretty picture. The afternoon picks up a bit of onshore wind, still tiny. This one is a hard pass.

Friday the 7th sees a little bump in size to 4ft in the morning and 5ft in the afternoon, but the period is still short and the wind is straight onshore from the E or ESE. The combined energy climbs to 114 and 204 (moderate), which is a bit more push, but the onshore wind will chop it up badly. Still poor.

Saturday the 8th is more of the same: 4ft from the E/ESE, 8-second period, and a cross-onshore wind. The energy is in the 165-167 range, but the chop will be a real problem. The breaks are a beach and reef setup, so with onshore wind and chop, this is looking more like a kite-surfing session than a clean paddle-surfing one.

Sunday the 9th drops back to 3ft with a light cross-onshore, and the energy falls to 75. No good.

The one flicker of hope comes on Tuesday the 11th of August. We get a glassy morning with a tiny 2ft swell from the ESE (27 energy). The wind is light from the SSW, dead calm. The waves will be tiny, but if you have a log, this might be the cleanest, most user-friendly time of the whole period. It's a beginner-friendly break that's "fairly consistent," and while it's "often" crowded, on a Tuesday morning with these tiny waves, it might be quiet.

Wednesday the 12th and Thursday the 13th have clean mornings with offshore winds from the W, but the swell is even smaller (2ft and 1ft). The energy is a weak 26-28. These are your "if you're desperate" windows.

Looking further out, the second week from the 14th to the 21st of August is more of the same. We see a few mornings with glassy conditions or light offshore winds (like the 14th, 15th, 16th, and 17th), but the swell is consistently tiny (1ft to 2ft) with weak energy (11-74). The 18th of August has a spike in the afternoon with a 4ft swell from the SE, but the period is a pathetic 4 seconds and the wind is cross-onshore, creating a choppy mess. The 19th and 20th see a longer 9-second period, but the swell is still only 2ft and the winds are cross-onshore or onshore.

Overall, there's a real 10-day gap from the 11th of August onwards where the size is just too small to get excited about. The best bet is the glassy morning on Tuesday the 11th of August for a tiny, clean log session. If you're looking for anything with more punch, you're out of luck. The forecast can change, but for now, it's a waiting game.

Rusty.

Read more