Hideaway Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let's break down what we've got coming.

Honestly, it’s a pretty tough stretch for Hideaway. We’re starting with a week of slop, with the first few days offering nothing but crossed-up, bumpy conditions. The standout window is actually a bit of a sneaky one, and it's not for a while. Hold tight.

Tuesday, 18 August kicks things off, but it’s a write-off. We’ve got a solid 6.2ft SSW groundswell with a long 16-second period, which sounds promising, but the wind is a moderate cross-shore and the conditions are messy with a cross-chop. The combined wave energy is very strong (1963), but it’s just not clean enough to be fun for anyone but the most dedicated. This carries on through Wednesday, with the swell staying around 6.6ft to 8.2ft from the SSW, but the cross-shore wind keeps things lumpy. The swell is actually too big and raw for beginners right now.

By Thursday, 20 August, the swell drops, but the wind picks up to a fresh 18.6 mph cross-shore, making it a complete mess. The surf quality is poor. This pattern of windy, cross-shore slop continues right through to Monday, 24 August. The swell gets smaller and shorter-period, and the wind just won’t let up.

Now, look out for Friday, 21 August. It’s not a classic, but it’s a glimmer of hope. The wind eases and turns cross-offshore, giving us clean conditions. The swell is 5.2ft to 5.9ft from the SSE with a moderate period, and the wave energy is strong (1515-1614). It’s still “marginal” due to tide or other factors, but it’s the cleanest we’ve seen all week. Saturday, 22 August, keeps that cleaner theme with lighter winds and a smaller 3.3ft to 4.3ft SSE swell, but the energy drops right off.

Then we hit a dead zone. From Sunday, 23 August, through to the end of August, it’s mostly poor surf with tiny, weak swells and onshore or cross-shore winds. A few cleaner windows pop up on the mornings of Tuesday, 25 August and Wednesday, 26 August, but the swell is either tiny or has a very long period that can make a reef break like Hideaway a bit tricky. That 4.9ft SSW groundswell on Wednesday the 26th with a 15-second period has some energy (1299), but it’s only for the experts.

The real standout is looking at Thursday, 27 August morning. The wind is a light 6.2 mph cross-offshore, and we’ve got a clean 4.3ft SSW groundswell with a very long 15-second period. The conditions are flagged as "expect very good surf conditions." The combined energy is moderate (792), but that light offshore wind on a reef break with a long-period swell from the south (which is Hideaway’s optimum direction) is a beautiful combination. It’s the best bet of the whole run, but it’s still over a week away, so don’t bank your whole week on it just yet.

Further out, Wednesday, 2 September shows another clean morning with a 5.6ft east swell and light offshore wind. It’s flagged as "expect very good surf conditions" too, but that’s a long way off. The rest of that week looks like it’s back to the cross-shore chop.

So, to sum it up: the next week is mostly a washout. The best chance for a proper session is the morning of Thursday, 27 August, with the morning of Wednesday, 2 September as a promising but distant possibility. This spot rarely breaks as it is, so when it does line up, you want to be on it.

Read more