Houghton Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’m gonna level with you – the next couple of weeks are a mixed bag for Houghton Bay. There’s a bit of a rough patch to get through first, but we’ve got some real gems later on if you’re patient.

Right now, the ocean’s angry. A solid SSW swell is pouring in, but it’s being hammered by howling onshore winds. Monday afternoon’s a write-off with 6ft SSE swell and a moderate breeze straight on it – the energy’s moderate at 692, but the surf’s junk. Tuesday gets worse before it gets better: a massive 16ft S swell on Tuesday afternoon with a near gale on it – that’s 4570 energy, but you couldn’t paddle a kayak out, let alone a surfboard. That’s expert-only and still ugly. Wednesday sees things stay messy with heavy rain and 13ft S swell (3954 energy) – still blown out.

Then, Thursday the 20th of August things start to turn. The wind disappears early with a glassy 6ft S swell out of the southwest at just 3 mph. That’s 447 energy, not huge, but clean. By Thursday afternoon, a little offshore wind nudges in from the north, and the swell sits at 5ft from the south with 478 energy. This is your first real window – it’s gonna be fun, clean, and manageable for intermediates. The water temp’s sitting at 55°, which is about average for this time of year.

Friday through the weekend? The wind cranks back up from the NNW, and the swell drops off fast. There’s still some clean face out there, but the near gale winds make it a battle. Sunday the 23rd is basically flat with 1ft and 38 energy – not worth wetting your wetsuit.

Here’s where it gets interesting. The standout period is from Saturday the 29th of August into Sunday the 30th. Saturday morning kicks off with a moderate offshore breeze at 16 mph from the north, 4ft S swell, and 391 energy – clean, waist-to-chest high lines. But Saturday afternoon is the one: 6ft S swell (796 energy) with a moderate offshore from the north at 12 mph. That’s clean, punchy, and the sets will have some push. It’s not too big for a strong intermediate, but it’s got enough grunt to get you excited. Sunday the 30th follows up with 6ft S swell in the morning (781 energy) and a moderate offshore again – that’s your other pick. The swell direction from the south matches up nicely with Houghton Bay’s optimum, and it’s a south-exposed break, so you’ll be getting the best of it.

One thing – Houghton Bay’s a beach and reef setup, so with that longer period (10-11 seconds) it should shape up alright, but it can get a bit fat on the inside as the swell picks up. No problems with crowds around here – it’s listed as ‘sometimes’ busy, so you should have plenty of room to roam.

After that, we drop off into a few smaller, cleaner days with light winds, but nothing that measures up to that weekend.

So, bottom line: the first week is mostly a washout. Your best bets are Thursday the 20th for a sneaky clean session, and then lock in Saturday the 29th and Sunday the 30th for the best waves of the forecast – solid, clean, and punchy.

Rusty.

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