Il Sale Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, mate, Rusty here. Let's have a look at the surf over the next couple of weeks for this stretch of coast.

Honestly, it's a bleak picture for the most part. We're looking at a long, drawn-out period of tiny, weak surf with only a couple of fleeting moments that might get you somewhat interested. The swell window is just not lining up, and a lot of the energy that does show up is being chopped up by onshores. You're gonna be checking the forecast a lot and mostly shaking your head. There is one Saturday that stands out as the only real option, but even that's a bit of a gamble, and it's over a week away.

The first real sign of life doesn't come until Saturday the 22nd of August, over a week out. Early morning, there's a bump of swell pushing in from the W at 5ft, which is the biggest we'll see all fortnight. The energy jumps right up into the moderate range (330). It's risky, with storms about, and the wind is a light cross-onshore from the SSW, which won't help the surface. The period is a short 7 seconds, so it'll be a bit weak and disorganized, but it's the best the forecast has to offer. Il Sale is a fairly exposed reef that handles a bit of direction, so this W swell is about as good as it gets. But for the average punter, 5ft of short-period wind swell with a cross-breeze isn't a great look; it's more of a "have a look and see" situation than one to get excited about.

After that, it fades away to nothing. The following Tuesday the 25th, there's another pulse of WSW swell at 5ft, but the moderate (136) energy is being ruined by a strong cross-onshore wind, making it a complete write-off.

To be honest, the only morning that looks clean is Wednesday the 19th, but the swell is a tiny 1ft from the WSW with a cross-offshore breeze. It's clean, but there's nothing to ride. The water is a very warm 83°, which is a solid 6° above normal for this time of year—that's a freakishly warm ocean for sure.

The long-range stuff in the second week is all tiny leftovers, under 1ft, mostly with onshores or poor winds. We're also looking at a near-gale warning for the 27th, with onshore winds of 25-31 mph, which will have the ocean completely churned up. No good for surfing, and with the break being a reef, I wouldn't even want to be out there on a board just paddling around. That day is a total write-off.

There are long gaps between any real hope. You might get a few clean mornings on the 28th or 31st, but with tiny 0.3-2ft swells and short periods, you'd be on a longboard just floating, not surfing.

So, in short: don't get your hopes up. There's one half-chance on the 22nd, and honestly, that's about it. For a spot that's fairly exposed, it tends not to stay this poor for long, but this run is looking like a proper drought.

One last thing: if you see that strong wind forecast for the 27th, and you're into kites, that might be a better bet than a surfboard. For the rest of us, it's a waiting game.

Catch you next time.

Rusty

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