Horace Caldwell Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here. Look, I've stared at the charts for the next 16 days, and I gotta be straight with you – it's a bloody tough outlook for our stretch of coast here at Horace Caldwell Pier. The water's sitting at a warm 84°F, which is about normal for this time of year, so at least a dip in the ocean won't be a shock to the system. But the surf? It's a long, flat spell.

We're starting off from Sunday, the 2nd of August, with a tiny 3 ft swell from the SSE, but it's got almost no energy behind it (54 on the combined energy scale) and a short, weak period of just 5 seconds. Early on Sunday, there's a risk of thunderstorms with a light cross-offshore breeze, which would be clean, but the swell is just too small and weak to do anything with. By Sunday afternoon, the wind swings onshore and picks up to 16 mph, and it's a write-off. The entire first week, right through to Saturday the 8th, is a frustrating run of the same story: small swells hovering between 2 ft and 4 ft, all from the SSE or SE, with periods stuck at 5 or 6 seconds, and the wind is almost always onshore or cross-onshore. The wave energy is consistently weak, with values in the 20s, 30s, and 40s. The only slight glimmer is Thursday morning, the 6th, when the swell bumps up to 4 ft and the energy hits 95, but it's still a short-period SE swell with a strong cross-onshore wind of 16 mph, so it'll be a messy, choppy mess.

The pattern doesn't really let up. From the 9th of August all the way through to the 17th, we're looking at the same flat, onshore-driven conditions. Swell heights stay between 2 ft and 3 ft, periods never get above 6 seconds, and the wave energy remains weak. The wind is a relentless mix of onshore and cross-onshore from the SSE and SE, which is the worst possible direction for this spot. It's a 16-day stretch of poor surf conditions, with every single session flagged as "poor surf conditions" and a score of zero.

Honestly, there's no standout day here. No hidden gem. The swell is too small, the period is too short, and the wind is never working in our favour. If you're desperate for a paddle, the best you could hope for is one of the rare mornings with a light breeze, like the early Sunday, but even then, the swell is pathetic. For any real surfing, you're better off leaving the board in the shed. This is one of those blank runs that happens sometimes – the forecasts can change, but right now, it's a long wait.

Rusty.

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