5th Street Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, let’s talk about the local surf outlook for 5th Street. I’ll be straight with you – it’s a tough run ahead. The guidance doesn’t have a single standout session across the entire 16-day window, so we’re looking at a real dry spell. The water temp is sitting around 75° at the start, which is about normal for this time of year, not that it’ll make up for the lack of waves.

The overall pattern is grim from the get-go. We’ve got small, weak swell – mostly around 1 to 2 ft – with short periods that never crack 8 seconds. The combined energy is weak, barely cracking 46 (46) at its best, and it’s all sliding in from the SSE or SE. The wind is a mixed bag but often messy, with cross-on and onshore breezes chewing up what little shape there is. There’s a brief window on Thursday the 30th morning with a moderate offshore from the NW, but the swell is just 2 ft and 8 seconds – it’s clean but tiny, and the wave comment says poor surf conditions. That’s the story for the whole week.

The gap between decent surf is basically the entire forecast. From Thursday the 30th right through to Wednesday the 13th of August, it’s the same story: knee-high dribble, choppy, or just flat. There’s a little blip on the morning of Wednesday the 12th of August, where we see a 3 ft swell from the east with a 4-second period – that’s pure wind swell, bumpy, and the combined energy is only 36 (36). The wind is light and cross-off, so it’ll be clean, but the wave quality is still rated poor. Not worth wetting a wetsuit for.

If you’re desperate, the cleanest windows are the mornings of the 5th, 6th, 9th, and 11th of August, when the wind goes light offshore or cross-off, but the swell is barely a ripple – 0.7 ft to 2 ft. The afternoon of the 11th of August has a risk of thunderstorms, but it’s clean with a 1 ft SSE swell. Honestly, it’s more of a paddleboard session than a surf. The crowds at 5th Street can be around sometimes, but with this level of surf, you’ll have the place to yourself.

Forget about any big swell – nothing over 5 ft shows up, so beginners wouldn’t be in trouble, but there’s nothing to catch either. The long gaps in quality are pretty normal for this area during a quiet spell. It’s a beach and jetty setup, and with the weak, short-period swell and onshore winds, the setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing on a few afternoons, like the 4th and 10th of August when the wind is up.

To sum it up: there’s no standout session. The best on offer is a clean, tiny wave on a few mornings, but it’s not surf you’d drive for. The second week is even quieter, with swell dropping to 0.7 ft-1 ft. Keep an eye on the forecasts, but for now, wax the board and wait.

Rusty.

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