Freshwater and Harbord Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s look at what’s on offer for Freshwater and Harbord. I gotta be straight with you – it’s a pretty grim run for the next 16 days. The first few days are a write-off, and we’re looking at a big gap with no real surf to speak of. We don’t see any decent waves until the second week, and even then, it’s a struggle to find something worth paddling out for.

For the first several days, starting Tuesday the 8th, the swell is either tiny or just plain messy, with onshore winds and poor conditions. Wednesday the 9th through to Tuesday the 15th is a real struggle – swells are mostly under 3ft, and when we do see a bit of size, the wind is straight on it or howling cross-shore. It’s clean-up crew territory.

Now, we finally see a little pulse on Wednesday the 16th morning. There’s a 4ft SSE swell with a 7-second period, and the combined swell energy is moderate, reading 135. The wind goes glassy, which is the main story here – it’s clean. But the waves are "surfable but very ordinary," so it’s a last resort for a longboard or a foamie. That's as good as it gets for the first week and a half.

A few days later, on Friday the 18th, we get another short window. The afternoon shows a glassy session with a 1ft SSE swell but it’s got a long period of 18 seconds and combined energy of 135. That’s a lot of energy for a tiny wave, more of a weird drift than anything with push. Clean, but not worth rushing out for.

The only one that might get your heart rate up is Sunday the 20th afternoon. It’s not amazing, but it’s the best of a bad bunch. We see a 5ft NE swell, and the combined energy is 123. The wind is a cross-offshore breeze from the WNW, so it will be clean. But the period is short at 5 seconds, so it’ll be weak and fat. Still, for a beginner, this might be the only fun wave in the whole outlook. The water temp is 18°, which is about normal for this time of year.

Look, there is one very marginal highlight. The glassy morning on the 16th with that 4ft SSE swell. If you are desperate and have a log, that’s the cleanest surf we’ll see, with calm winds. It’s just not going to have any punch.

Overall, this is a blank run for the area. It happens. Forecasts can change, but for now, keep the board in the car and the expectations low.

Rusty.

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