Fausse Passe Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s cut through the chatter.

The next couple of weeks start with a bit of a tease. We’ve got some solid swell coming, but it’s gonna be too big and too messy at first. The real window opens later, and it’s worth waiting for.

Monday afternoon, August 17th, we see the first pulse, but it’s not happening. We have 1.7m of SSW swell at Fausse Passe (Reunion), but the wind is a fresh cross-offshore from the SE at 35 km/h. The water is a warm 22°, pretty normal for this time of year. The energy is strong, reading 2091, but the conditions aren’t lining up. Pass.

Tuesday, August 18th, is where it gets frustrating. The swell jumps – 3.0m in the morning and 2.5m in the afternoon, straight out of the south with a 12-second period. That’s a ton of juice, reading 3393, but it’s just too big for this break. It’s expert-only, and the tide isn’t helping. This is one for the big-wave crew, not for the rest of us.

From Wednesday, August 19th, through to the next Tuesday, August 25th morning, it’s a real mixed bag. We’ve got a drop in size, but the period gets short and weak. Wednesday sees 2.3m, dropping to 2.2m, but the period is a pathetic 8 seconds, so no punch. The energy drops off too. The rest of that week and into the weekend is worse – swell fading to under a meter, energy in the low hundreds, and wind onshore or cross-off. A long stretch of poor, marginal days where it’s not worth paddling out. This is the flat spell.

Then things turn. Tuesday morning, August 25th, we get a shift. A fresh offshore E wind at 30 km/h cleans things up, and we have 1.6m of SSW groundswell with a 15-second period. The energy’s back up to 1194. It’s still marginal, but it’s a sign of life.

The real standout, the one to aim for, is Wednesday morning, August 26th. This is the pick. The wind dies completely – zero km/h, absolute glass. We have a clean 1.6m of SSW swell with a long 15-second period. Energy is solid at 1143. This is clean, lined-up surf at an exposed reef break. It’s going to be perfect. This is the day.

Thursday morning, August 27th, is another excellent one. We have a slight air, westerly wind at 5 km/h, keeping it glassy. The swell is holding at 1.7m from the SSW with a 14-second period, energy at 1096. Right up there with Wednesday, just a touch less defined. The afternoon gets a little cross-onshore.

After that, the swell drops back. Friday, August 28th, and the weekend see the size fade to 1.0-1.2m. Mornings stay clean and glassy, making for some fun, small waves, but nothing with that mid-week power.

Sunday, August 30th, and Monday, August 31st, we get onshore winds and the surf becomes poor and choppy. Back to square one.

So, to sum it up: a lot of flat or messy water over the next week, but the magic window is Wednesday the 26th and Thursday the 27th of August.

Rusty out.

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