Fausse Passe Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let's get into it. The next couple of weeks are a real mixed bag around here, so let’s take it session by session.

Right off the bat, the surf is practically flat. The 9th and 10th are a total write-off with tiny, poor surf and cross-shore winds messing things up. It’s a waiting game.

Things start to stir a bit on the morning of Monday the 11th. We get a small pulse of southwest swell, about 1ft, with a proper 16-second period on it. The wind is light offshore at Fausse Passe, so it’s clean but tiny. The energy is weak (71), so you’re not getting anywhere fast. The afternoon goes glassy, but the swell drops away. It’s more of a chance to get wet than to actually surf.

The 12th has the best wind of the early week – a clean offshore breeze in the morning, but again the swell is small and weak. The energy is moderate (103) but the wave height is still marginal.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. We have a gap in the quality surf, but the ocean starts to wake up. From the 13th through the 19th, the swell builds but so does the wind. It’s a lot of energy, some of it very strong, but the local winds are howling and gusty, mainly cross-off. For a break like this, that’s going to put a lot of chop on the surface.

The 16th and 17th see the swell kick up a notch with some longer-period energy, but the wind is a solid 20-28 mph. It's making things messy. There’s a huge amount of energy in the water (over 1000), but it’s not rideable for us. With that much wind and a cross-off angle at a reef, it’s way too lumpy.

You have to sit tight through a pretty bleak stretch, watching the swell charts and wishing the wind would play ball. The 18th and 19th are just frustrating – the swell is there, with some real size, but the wind is near gale-force. It’s angry and blown-out. Honestly, that looks more like a day for the kite crew than for us paddle surfers.

But then, on the morning of Thursday the 20th of August, it looks like we finally get a window. The wind swings around to the east, a moderate offshore breeze, and the forecast shows 3ft of south swell with a lovely 18-second period. The energy is solid (534). This is the standout morning. The conditions should be clean and the long-period swell will wrap in nicely. That's the one to circle on the calendar. It’s still over a week out, so don’t hold your breath, but it’s a very promising call.

Right after that, on the afternoon of the same day, it gets blown out again with a near gale from the south and a combo of swells producing a messy 8ft. The rest of that week is poor quality – a lot of stormy, onshore slop with some size.

The weekend of the 23rd and 24th sees a cleaner outlook. By Sunday the 23rd, the wind drops to a light breeze. The swell is a bit raw and lumpy – around 7ft from the south with an 11-second period – but the energy is pumping (1986). It’ll be big and powerful but the onshore element might make it a battle. Not perfect, but much better than what we had.

So, to sum up: it’s a rough few days to start, a whole lot of windy mush in the middle, but that Thursday morning on the 20th is the one to go for – clean, offshore, and a proper south groundswell. Keep your fingers crossed for that one.

Rusty.

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