Fortress Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here again. Let’s look at the same outlook in feet and Fahrenheit.

Well, I gotta be straight with you – the next 16 days are a real mixed bag, and mostly a quiet one. The real standout action is a couple of days with bigger, cleaner energy, but you gotta pick your window carefully.

Overall Pattern

For the bulk of this period, we’re staring at weak, short-period leftovers from the south and southeast. The combined wave energy is mostly in the doldrums, with readings like 17 (weak), 27 (weak), and even dropping to 6 (very weak) on the 15th. There’s nothing to get excited about for days on end. The water temp here at Fortress (reef) is about average for the time of year, no drama there.

The first real pulse of something surfable shows up on Monday the 17th. Monday morning brings a jump to 4 ft from the south with a 153 (moderate energy) reading. The wind is a fresh offshore from the north (30 km/h) which keeps the surface clean. This is the best session of the whole outlook. It’s a bit punchy at 4 ft, but with the offshore breeze, it’ll be lined up nicely. The period is short though (7 seconds), so it won't have the grunt of a groundswell, but it’s the top of the heap.

After that, it fades fast. Tuesday the 18th drops back to 2 ft and weak energy (66), with onshore wind messing it up. We then hit a dead zone with poor surf and no scores until Thursday the 20th.

Thursday the 20th offers a slight bump. The morning shows 3 ft from the south (energy of 85) with a light offshore from the WNW at 5 km/h – clean but ordinary. It’s a notch above fluff, but not a standout.

Then we go into another long gap. From Friday the 21st through to Saturday the 29th, it’s consistently tiny – mostly 1.0 ft to 2 ft – with onshore or cross-shore winds making it choppy or lumpy. The combined energy barely breaks 100 for most of it. The only flicker of interest is on Sunday the 23rd when we get 4 ft from the SSW and solid 30-35 km/h offshore wind, giving us clean faces but with a short 6-second period. That’s a windy, clean, but gutless wave – more of a windswell push than a proper surfing swell.

What to Actually Do

If you’re desperate for a paddle, the clear highlight is Monday morning, August 17th at Fortress. That 4 ft southerly swell with a 30 km/h north offshore is the best combo of size and clean conditions in the whole 16 days. The break is a reef, so with that swell direction (south) being slightly off the optimum (SE), it might not be perfect, but the clean wind makes it the best on offer.

The other one to keep an eye on is Thursday the 20th's morning – 3 ft from the south with light offshore wind. It’s a smaller, more mellow option, and it scores a "1" where the others score "0", which tells you it’s at least rideable.

Beyond this, we’re looking at very small, wind-affected waves right through until the end of August. The combination of small swell and poor winds makes this spot more of a wind-surf or kite-surf zone if the wind stays strong and cross-off. The last morning on the 28th has a glassy 3 ft from the ENE, but the period is short (5 seconds) and the energy is moderate (103), but I wouldn't drive far for it.

So, in short: Monday the 17th morning is your best bet. Thursday the 20th morning is a plan B. Otherwise, take a break.

Rusty.

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