Freshwater and Harbord Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s be straight up—this stretch is a tough one for us at Freshwater and Harbord. We’re looking at a long, quiet run with barely a whisper of surf for most of the next two weeks. The first proper wave worth paddling for doesn’t show until the very end, so we’ve got a big gap of nothing special in between.

The water temp is sitting at 63°, which is about 2° cooler than average for this time of year—not a massive shock, just a bit nippier than usual. Nothing to write home about.

Alright, from the top: Sunday the 30th of August morning, we get a tiny 2ft swell out of the southeast with a period of 10 seconds, and the combined energy is moderate at 123. The wind is light offshore from the WNW, so it’s clean, but mate, this is barely a ripple. It’s surfable for a learner on a foamie, but it’s ordinary. Don’t get excited. Then we go into a dead zone. From Sunday afternoon all the way through to Saturday the 12th of September, the score is zero across the board. That’s nearly two weeks of flatness, wind-affected junk, or tiny slop that just isn’t worth mentioning. You’ll see some cross-off breezes and clean conditions on some mornings, but with swell heights mostly between 0.7ft and 2ft and combined energy often reading under 100 (weak), it’s a non-event.

There’s a blip on Monday the 7th of September afternoon when the swell bumps to 6ft from the northeast, period a short 6 seconds, and the energy jumps to 353 (strong). But the wind is howling at 22 mph from the northeast, and it’s cross-off so it’s clean-ish on the face but lumpy. That’s a messy, windy mess, and for a sheltered, beginner-friendly break like this, it’s more of a battle than a session. Not recommended.

The only standout in this entire 16-day window is Saturday the 12th of September. Saturday afternoon brings a 5ft southeast swell, period 9 seconds, and the combined energy hits a solid 412 (strong). That’s the biggest energy we see. But here’s the catch—wind is onshore from the southeast at 12 mph, so it’ll be lumpy and choppy. The swell direction is southeast, which isn’t the optimum ENE for this spot, so it’s wrapping in a bit awkwardly. Sunday the 13th of September afternoon bumps up to 6ft from the south, period a short 6 seconds, energy 268 (moderate), but again onshore cross-on wind. This setup is more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, to be honest.

So, if you’re desperate, the best on offer is Saturday the 12th of September afternoon at Freshwater—5ft south-east swell, but it’s onshore and messy. Not a classic, but it’s the only time the ocean wakes up. After that, it drops back to flat again.

Keep an eye on the forecasts, mate, because it tends not to stay this poor for long. But for now, save your wax.
Rusty.

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