Freshwater Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s chew the fat about Freshwater Bay. I’m looking at a flat, sad outlook for the next 16 days – the kind of run that makes you wonder if the swell’s gone on holiday. The surf is tiny and poor quality from now through the end of August, with nothing worth getting excited about. It’s a long, bleak stretch.

As of Saturday the 15th of August, there’s a pathetic 0.7 ft to 1.0 ft swell from the WSW, period around 7 to 8 seconds. Water temp is 70°, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year – about 7° above average, so you’ll be in shorts. Wind is cross-off then goes offshore in the afternoon, but with combined wave energy so weak (10 to 13), you’d be better off skipping rocks. Freshwater Bay needs a decent SW swell to work, and this is barely a whisper.

Sunday the 16th is glassy in the morning – wind is a faint 3 mph from the NNE – but the swell is still only 1.0 ft with short period. That glassy wind is pretty to look at, but with combined energy at 12, it’s just flat. The afternoon turns cross-onshore and messy.

Through the week the swell stays tiny, mostly under 1.0 ft, and the wind is a mess – cross, cross-off, or cross-on with moderate breezes. There’s a brief bump on Tuesday the 18th afternoon when the swell reaches 4 ft from the WSW with a period of 5 seconds (short period chop), and combined energy hits 66 – but it’s cross-shore with a cross-chop, lumpy and ugly. That’s the biggest wave height of the whole period, but it’s poor quality, and for a reef and point break that craves longer-period groundswell, this short-period junk won’t shape up.

Wednesday the 19th to Friday the 21st stay small and mostly cross-off or cross, with the occasional 2 ft to 4 ft pulse but always with period below 6 seconds. The combined energy maxes out at 92 on Thursday the 20th afternoon – still moderate – but the wind is a fresh 19 mph from the WSW, creating a lumpy cross-chop. Not worth paddling out.

From Saturday the 22nd right through to the end of the month, it’s grim. Swell drops to 1 ft or less, mostly 0.3 ft, with combined energy often in single digits. The only silver lining is some clean offshore wind days on 24th and 25th August – but with 0.3 ft of swell, it’s flat calm. On the 28th and 29th the direction shifts to the ESE and E, which is wrong for Freshwater Bay, and the period stays short at 4 to 5 seconds.

Honestly, there are no good surf options in this 16-day window. The spot is fairly consistent when a proper SW groundswell rolls in, but this blank run is normal for the area. Forecasts can change, but right now I’d find something else to do.

Rusty.

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