Freshwater and Harbord Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Righto, Rusty here. First things first, I’ve had a proper look at the charts and the run of conditions for the next couple of weeks, and I’ll be straight with you: it’s a bit of a slow burner for the Freshwater and Harbord area. We’ve got a long stretch of mostly flat, weak, or messy conditions before things finally start to fire up. The water temp is sitting around 63°, which is slightly cooler than average for this time of year, but nothing too dramatic.

First up, the forecast period kicks off but there’s nothing worth paddling out for. From Thursday the 20th of August all the way through the weekend and into the following week, it’s pretty grim. The swell is tiny, mostly under 3 ft, with weak energy readings (often below 100, with many mornings showing just 28 to 79 in the combined energy). The winds are occasionally offshore or glassy, which is nice, but the swell is just too small and short-period (around 5 to 6 seconds) to produce any proper waves. There’s a few mornings with light NW or W winds and glassy conditions, but the swell is barely a ripple. You’ll be sitting on a flat ocean. The best you can say is that the seabreeze kicks in most afternoons, but it’s onshore or cross-shore chopping up what little energy there is.

We’re looking at a solid gap of nearly a week of no real surf options. It’s a bit of a frustrating wait, but stick with me.

The first real sign of life comes on Tuesday the 25th of August. The swell nudges up a little, with combined energy climbing into the low hundreds (106 in the morning, 101 in the afternoon). The afternoon has a glassy wind and a clean 3 ft ENE swell, but the period is still short (9 seconds) and the conditions are just “surfable but ordinary.” It’s a small step, but not a standout.

The action really starts to build toward the end of the month. On Sunday the 30th of August, we’ve got a 7 ft NE swell arriving with a cross-off wind and combined energy of 440. The morning is clean, but the swell is still a bit raw and the period is short (7 seconds). The afternoon bumps up to 8 ft and 689 energy, still clean, but the conditions are described as marginal. This is for experienced surfers only, as the size is pushing into expert territory.

The real standout window is the final few days of August and into early September. Monday the 31st of August is looking promising. The morning has a 8 ft ENE swell with a 8-second period, cross-off NW winds, and combined energy of 828. That’s solid, clean power. The afternoon gets bigger, with a 12 ft ENE swell and 9-second period, but the energy jumps to 2863, which is very strong. Winds are still cross-off, but this is definitely for experts only. The direction is bang on from the ENE, which is the optimum swell direction for Freshwater and Harbord.

Tuesday the 1st of September is the pick of the whole period. The morning session delivers a 13 ft ENE swell with a 10-second period, and a combined energy reading of 4457, which is massive. The wind is cross-off from the W, keeping the waves clean. This is excellent surf for experienced surfers, but it’s too big for beginners. The swell is long-period groundswell, which will offer better shape and more power, but at a point break like Freshwater, that long period can make the waves a bit more lined up and shifty. It’s a proper swell.

After that, the swell drops off quickly. Wednesday the 2nd and Thursday the 3rd of September still have decent size, around 7 ft to 7 ft, but the winds turn onshore or cross-shore, chopping things up. By Friday the 4th of September, we’re back to small, clean but weak surf.

So, the best call for the whole outlook is Tuesday the 1st of September, early morning at Freshwater and Harbord. It’s a big, powerful ENE swell with clean offshore winds. Only for the experienced crew, but it’s the real deal. The Monday the 31st of August morning is also a solid option if you want a bit less size.

Keep an eye on the forecasts, as this is a long-range call and things can shift, but the potential is there for a proper session.

Rusty.

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