Hideaway Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, surfers, Rusty here with the long-range look at Hideaway. This is a tricky little reef, and it's a real specialist spot. It's a rarely breaks kind of wave, so we need patience and a sharp eye on the charts. The water is sitting at a warm 78°, which is pretty normal for this time of year, so no nasty surprises there.

The next couple of weeks are a bit of a mixed bag, with a lot of marginal conditions and onshore winds messing things up. The core issue is that the optimum swell direction here is from the south, but we've got a lot of east in the wind, creating a persistent cross-shore chop. The real energy kicks in for a few days, but it's hard to get clean.

The best opportunity looks like it's on Friday, August 21st. The afternoon session will be your best bet. We've got a moderate 6 ft swell rolling in from the SSE, with a period of 12 seconds. The wind eases to a 15 mph cross-offshore breeze, which will clean things up nicely. The combined energy is a solid 1488, so there's plenty of power in the water. It's a standout for the cleaner conditions, but the swell direction is a bit east of the ideal south, so it might not be as perfect as it could be. Still, for this spot, that's about as good as it gets in this window.

Saturday the 22nd holds a bit of that clean energy in the morning, with a 4 ft SSE swell and a lighter 9 mph cross-off breeze, but the energy drops to 681. It's a nice backup.

After that, things get pretty grim. From Sunday the 23rd all the way through to the end of the month, the forecast is mostly poor with cross-shore winds and weak, choppy surf. There's a small window around Wednesday, August 26th, where the swell pulses up to 5 ft from the SSW with a very long 16-second period, showing strong energy at 1066. But that's ruined by a fresh 19 mph cross-shore wind, making it a lumpy mess. That long period, groundswell nature is best for this reef, but the wind is a killer.

Then we hit another quiet patch. The first week of September is more of the same: small, weak swells and poor conditions. But there's a glimmer on Thursday, September 3rd, where we see a 4 ft SSW swell, a 14-second period, and a clean 12 mph cross-offshore wind. The energy is a solid 945. It's a long way out, so call it a promising but uncertain prospect. The final hope is on Friday, September 4th, with a 4 ft S swell and a 16-second period, picking up 1007 energy, but it's accompanied by a gentle cross-shore wind that might just leave a little bump on the surface.

Truth is, Hideaway is a fickle beast. For a spot that rarely breaks, you need everything to line up. The best of the run is that Friday the 21st afternoon, but if you're a patient soul, that Thursday the 3rd of September might be worth a look. Don't expect much crowd trouble, because most of the time it's a flat, choppy mess. Keep an eye on the charts, but don't hold your breath.

Rusty.

Read more