Fort Cronkite Rodeo Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on the cards for Fort Cronkite Rodeo Beach.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you – this is a tough one. The whole 16-day window is looking pretty grim. The first solid recommendation doesn't even pop up until the very end, and even then it’s marginal. Most of the time, the wind is just wrong, blowing onshore or cross-onshore, chopping up whatever small swell is trying to roll in. It’s a long stretch of “poor surf conditions” with only a couple of days that even get a “marginal” nod.

The water is sitting at 63°F which is a massive 5°F warmer than usual for this time of year. That’s a really unusual anomaly, so the water’s gonna feel noticeably warm.

We start with nothing. The first few days are all small, weak swell with that rotten wind. Monday the 17th is a write-off with 3ft of SW swell but a 20 km/h WSW wind blowing straight on. The combined energy is only 313, which is weak. That’s the story for days.

The only real glimmer is way out there, on the morning of Monday the 31st of August. We’ve got a 7ft swell from the WNW, with a period of 8 seconds, and a light offshore breeze from the SW at 15 km/h. The combined energy is a strong 1055. That’s the biggest swell of the whole period, and with that offshore wind, the waves should be clean. But 7ft is getting into the territory where it’s not for beginners, and the 8-second period means it’s a bit of a windswell, so expect it to be a bit lumpy and less organized than a long-period groundswell. Still, for a spot that’s been starved of options, that’s your best bet. It’s a long way off though, so don’t book your flights just yet.

Before that, the morning of Thursday the 27th of August has some potential. It’s got 6ft from the NW with a short 7-second period, and a light offshore wind. The energy is a solid 581. The conditions are described as “marginal”, but it’s the only other time the wind is clean and the swell is a decent size. That morning might be worth a dawn patrol for a more experienced surfer willing to gamble on a short-period, choppy wave.

Aside from those two mornings, it’s a total washout. The wind is relentless, and the swell is either too small, too short-period, or just poorly directed. The last few days do show some bigger energy values (714, 873, 808) on the 29th and 30th, but the wind is either onshore or cross-onshore, making it a choppy mess. The morning of the 30th has a slight 5 km/h wind, but it’s cross-onshore, so it’s not clean.

Bottom line: There are two windows to keep an eye on – the morning of the 27th of August for a gamble, and the morning of the 31st of August as the standout, but it’s a long way out. For the rest of it, the surf is poor, the wind is our enemy, and honestly, the setup looks more interesting for a kite session than a paddle session. Keep the board in the car and check the forecast again closer to the end of the month.

Rusty.

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