Indicator Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, surfers, Rusty here. Let's be straight with you: the next couple of weeks are looking pretty flat and pretty ugly for the most part. We've got a long stretch of nothing on the horizon, and it's going to test your patience. The swell window is just not lining up, and when there is a pulse of energy, the wind is going to be all over it. We're looking at a real waiting game.

The first few days, from Thursday the 6th through to the 10th, are basically a write-off. We're talking ankle-biters at best, with the swell barely registering. The energy is weak, with values in the single digits to low 20s, and the wind is mostly cross or cross-on, chopping up what little is there. There's a bit of a clean window on the Sunday morning, with a light cross-offshore breeze, but there's just no swell to push through. It’s a dry spell.

Then we get a little tease. On Tuesday the 11th, the swell direction swings around to the southwest and the period jumps to 18 seconds, which is a proper groundswell. The energy picks up to 85 in the morning, and the wind is light and cross-offshore. That morning looks clean, but the swell is still only about 1 foot. It's a sign of life, but not enough to get excited about. The afternoon gets messier as the wind turns cross-on.

Wednesday the 12th is the first day that actually starts to look like surfing. The morning has a clean 2 ft of southwest swell, with a period of 17 seconds, and light cross-offshore winds. The energy is up to 170, which is moderate. It's the first surfable wave of the window, but “very ordinary” is the word. It’s not going to be firing, but you could get a few if you're desperate. The afternoon gets chopped up again by the cross-on breeze.

After that little blip, it's back to the doldrums. From Thursday the 13th through to Tuesday the 18th, we're back to tiny, weak swells and mostly onshore winds. There are a few clean mornings with light winds, but the swell is just pitiful, with energy values mostly below 30. This is a long, flat stretch that's going to feel like an eternity.

Now, for the second week, things get a little more interesting, but it's still not great. Around Wednesday the 19th and Thursday the 20th, we finally get a bigger pulse of swell. The height climbs to around 4 to 4 ft, with the energy jumping into the 150s and 240s. The problem is that the wind is forecast to be cross-on from the west, which will make it messy and lumpy. The period is a short 6 to 7 seconds, so it won't have any punch. This looks more like a blown-out mess than a clean day of surf. And with 4 ft and a short period, it could be a bit of a handful for the less experienced, whilst not offering much for the rest of us.

Honestly, the pick of the whole window is that Wednesday morning, the 12th of August. It’s the only time we get a clean, light offshore wind with a decent, long-period swell. It won't be big, but it should be clean. Everything else is a gamble with the wind or just not worth the paddle. The conditions are so poor for the most part that if you see a strong west wind and a rising swell, like on the afternoon of the 18th, the beach breaks might be more interesting for the kite surfers than us.

Keep your head up, though. The longer the flat spell, the closer the next proper swell is. Forecasts change, so we'll keep an eye on it.

Rusty, out.

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