Horace Caldwell Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's coming our way for the next couple of weeks.

To be straight with you, it's a tough stretch ahead for the Horace Caldwell Pier. We're looking at a solid two-week run of poor surf conditions. The swell just isn't showing up with any kind of quality. We've got tiny waves, a lot of onshore and cross-onshore wind, and the forecast doesn't offer up a single standout session. It's a long gap of flatness and chop, so don't get your hopes up.

Water temp is sitting at 86°F which is about 2°F warmer than average for this time of year, so the water is feeling a bit toastier than normal.

The first few days are a write-off. Saturday the 22nd through to Tuesday the 25th, we're looking at tiny 1ft to 3ft swells from the SSE, with periods a short 4 to 5 seconds. The wind is either cross-on or straight onshore from the SE, making it choppy and messy. The combined swell energy is weak, barely cracking 20 to 30.

That pattern holds through the end of August and into the first week of September. Morning winds are a bit lighter, but still cross-on, and afternoons are all onshore again. The swell ticks up just a touch, with 2ft to 3ft from the SE, but the period stays short at 4 to 6 seconds. It’s the same story: poor conditions with energy readings in the teens and twenties.

We get a slight bump around Saturday the 5th of September, with 2ft from the SE and a period of 6 seconds, but the energy only reaches 42. Still not enough to get excited about, especially with the cross-on wind.

The best we see in the whole 16 days is on Sunday the 6th of September. The swell pushes up to 3ft to 4ft from the SE, with the period stretching to 6 or 7 seconds. The combined energy hits a moderate 92 to 143. It's the biggest swell of the run. But, and it's a big but, the wind is onshore or cross-on. The morning of the 6th has a light onshore from the SE, and by the afternoon it's a moderate cross-on from the E. So while there's more water moving, it's going to be lumpy and unappealing.

Given the persistent onshore flow and weak, short-period swell, this setup honestly looks more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddler. For a beginner, anything over 5ft is a bit much, but we don't even get there. For an expert, you need over 8ft, and that's not happening either.

Honestly, it's a bleak outlook. I’d say put the board away for a bit and wait for the forecasts to change. This is one of those runs where it's better to find something else to do.

Rusty.

Read more