Horse Trails Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, mate, Rusty here with a look at what's on offer at Horse Trails. We've got a solid run of surf stretching over the next couple of weeks, but it's a bit of a mixed bag, so you've got to pick your moments.

The good news is we're looking at a decent run of south-west groundswell, and the water's sitting at 56° which is much colder than normal for this time of year - you'll definitely feel that nip, so a 4/3 is the go. The first real standout is the coming Tuesday, the 11th of August. The morning starts with a clean 7ft swell from the SSW, with a solid 12-second period, and a cross-off breeze. The afternoon cleans up even more with light winds and 5ft. The energy is building nicely too, with moderate readings. This is a great window for the intermediate crew.

We then hit a few days where it's clean but the conditions are a bit "marginal" - the Wednesday and Thursday still have decent swell (6ft to 8ft) from the SW, and the winds stay cross-off, but the forecast scores aren't peak. The real magic shows up on Saturday the 15th of August. Morning and afternoon are both glassy - dead calm - with a consistent 6ft swell from the WSW at 14 seconds. That's your pick of the first week; just a clean, fun sandbar with no wind to mess it up. The energy is moderate, and it's a fairly consistent break, so you'll get waves.

Sunday the 16th starts glassy again with 5ft, but the afternoon brings a light cross-onshore chop. The week that follows gets bigger, with the swell pushing 8ft to 10ft and the winds picking up from the SSE. By Tuesday the 18th of August, we're looking at 10ft SW swell, but that's getting too big for this break, and with a moderate cross-shore it's not going to be clean. The energy is very strong. That setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, truth be told.

We get a bit of a lull around the 20th with smaller 5ft-6ft surf and cleaner cross-off winds, but the wind swings onshore on the 21st and 22nd with more lumpy conditions. The window opens again on Sunday the 23rd of August with clean 6ft surf and light winds, and then the final standout is Monday the 24th of August. The morning offers excellent conditions for experienced surfers: 8ft of SW groundswell at 14 seconds, with clean offshore winds from the NE. That's a serious groundswell with strong energy, and with offshores, it'll be well-shaped. That's your pick of the second week. The last day on the 26th looks glassy again but with a shorter 10-second period and smaller 6ft swell.

Rusty.

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