Freshwater and Harbord Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s take a look at what’s on offer for Freshwater and Harbord over the next couple of weeks.

Honestly, it’s a pretty grim stretch. We’ve got a long run of days where the conditions just aren't coming together for a decent paddle. The water’s sitting at 63°F which is about average for this time of year, so nothing unusual there but not much else to get excited about.

The whole outlook is a real test of patience. From Tuesday the 18th to about Monday the 31st of August, it’s mostly small, weak, and messy. The combined swell energy barely nudges above 100 for most of that time – we’re looking at a lot of readings in the low double digits, which is barely a ripple. Winds are all over the shop, mostly cross or cross-on, with only a few brief windows of clean conditions but no real swell to work with. On Wednesday morning the 19th, it’s glassy with a tiny 3ft ESE swell, but it’s only 7 seconds period and the score is a dud. Thursday the 27th afternoon shows a moderate offshore from the WNW, but the swell is only 3ft from the NE – surfable but flat-looking.

The one true standout comes much later. Keep your eye on Monday the 31st of August in the morning. Freshwater picks up a 1ft SSE groundswell with a very long period of 15 seconds, and the combined energy jumps to 104 – moderate wave energy. The wind is light cross-off from the NE, so it’ll be clean. It’s small, but that long period means it’ll have some shape, especially on the peak. Best for a log or a longboard.

Then, Tuesday the 1st of September morning is the next interesting window. It turns glassy with calm winds, and the swell bumps up to 4ft from the SSE with a 10-second period. Combined energy hits 239 – solid moderate energy. It’s small but clean, and likely the best conditions of the whole outlook for a fun, uncrowded session. The direction is close to the optimum ENE for the break, so it should work. Crowds are “often” here, but for a Tuesday morning with nothing special on the charts, you might get lucky.

After that, it fades again. The second week looks pretty quiet, with no other real standouts.

So in short: you’ve got a long flat spell, then a small but clean window right at the end of the month into early September. The water’s average temp, the swells are small. If you’re keen, pencil in the 31st of August morning and the 1st of September morning for the cleanest little rides on offer.

Rusty.

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