Fortunes Rocks Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at the stretch ahead for Fortunes Rocks Beach. I’ll be straight with you – this isn't our finest run. The whole 16-day window is a tough one. There are no true standouts, just a handful of mornings where conditions are ordinary enough for a quick paddle if you’re desperate.

We start off rough. Friday the 28th of August is a write-off with poor surf and onshore wind. Saturday the 29th morning looks clean with a light NNE breeze going cross-off, but the swell is tiny at 2 ft from the SE, short period 7 seconds – not much push. That’s about as good as the first week gets. Sunday and Monday drop off even more into flatness and chop.

There’s a real dry spell from the 30th of August right through to the 3rd of September – days of tiny, weak waves and crummy wind. The combined swell energy barely gets above 50 (moderate energy is when it hits three digits). On the 2nd of September afternoon, we see a bump in period to 11 seconds and the energy hits 108, but the swell is only 2 ft and onshore wind kills it for clean faces.

The 3rd of September morning has a cross-off wind from the W at 9 mph, which cleans things up, and the swell bumps to 3 ft from the SSE, period dropping to 6 seconds. It’s a short-period windswell, so expect lumpy, dumpy little waves. It’s not good – just not awful.

Now, a tiny glimmer: the morning of the 4th of September finally rates “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions” with a score used internally of 1. That’s our “best” of the entire run. WNW wind at 9 mph is cross-off, so it’s clean. The swell is 2 ft from the SE, period 8 seconds. Combined energy sits at 64 – weak. It’s small and weak, but clean. If you’re jonesing, that’s the session to look at.

The 5th sees strong offshore NNW wind at 16 mph, but the swell drops to 1-2 ft – that’s blown out tiny stuff. From the 6th onward, it’s back to flatness and poor conditions until the 9th of September, when we see a rattle of energy: 2 ft from the SE with a 10-second period and energy jumping to 185 (moderate energy now). But the rating still says poor surf conditions – likely because it’s messy or the direction doesn’t line up. The 10th morning is clean again with cross-off wind and 1 ft, only rated “surfable but very ordinary.”

By the 12th of September, there's a rise to 3 ft from the S, but period is a dismal 5 seconds – pure windswell junk. Winds are light onshore or cross. Not worth the paddle.

The water temperature on the morning of the 28th of August was 66°F, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year (anomaly of 3°F). So you’ll be comfortable in a spring suit, but the waves won’t be.

In short: the whole 16 days is a flat, weak spell with only the 4th of September morning offering anything close to a clean, surfable wave – and that’s a stretch. For a wave-starved local, it’s a maybe. For anyone else, save the gas. Forecasts can change, but right now this is a poor run.

Rusty.

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