Indicators Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you: the next couple of weeks are looking pretty bleak for decent waves around Indicators. We’ve got a long stretch of small, weak, and mostly junky surf, with only a couple of brief windows that might get you interested.

The pattern for the next 16 days is dominated by a persistent, but weak, SSW swell. The problem is the wind – it’s mostly onshore or cross-onshore, which is messing up what little energy we have. The water temp is sitting at 62°F, which is about 3°F warmer than the usual for this time of year. That’s a touch warmer than normal, a nice little bonus if you’re in a wetsuit.

Starting this Friday afternoon, the 28th, it’s pretty ordinary. We’ve got 2ft of SSW swell with a long 19-second period, but the WNW wind is making it a cross-on mess. The combined energy is moderate at 587, but with those conditions, it’s not worth paddling out for much. The surf is poor.

Saturday the 29th starts off with a bit more size – 4ft at 18 seconds – and a clean offshore west wind. The energy bumps up to 968. This is about as good as it’s going to get for a while. It’s still only a marginal call, but the early morning glass could be a fun, if not great, session on the points. As the day goes on, the wind swings WNW and picks up to 12 mph, chopping it all up for the afternoon.

Sunday the 30th has a similar story. The morning has 4ft of SSW swell with a clean west wind, making it another marginal but possible window. But by the afternoon, it’s onshore and the energy drops. We then fall into a real slump.

From Monday the 31st all the way through to Wednesday the 9th of September, the swell just fades away. We’re looking at surf mostly under 3ft, weak energy readings often in the 200s and 300s, and wind that’s either light onshore or cross-onshore. This period is basically a write-off. There’s nothing rideable here that I’d get out of bed for.

A few more of these marginal calls pop up around the 4th and 5th of September, with the swell back up to 3ft, but the wind is still trending onshore. The energy picks up to 898 on Friday afternoon, but that’s with a 9 mph cross-onshore wind, which will keep things lumpy. The mornings on the 4th and 5th are the only real hopes in this whole stretch, with light offshore winds and 3ft of swell. It’s not exciting, but it’s the lesser of many evils.

After that, the second week, from the 8th onwards, is more of the same. Small, weak, and mostly onshore. The swells are shorter period, below 8 seconds at times, which is just weak and crumbly. The energy readings stay low, mostly in the 200s and 300s, showing there’s just nothing moving out there.

If I had to pick one standout in all of this, and I’m stretching here, it would be the early mornings of Saturday the 29th and Sunday the 30th. They’ll have the most size and a clean offshore breeze. But even those are only marginal. For everything else, you’re better off doing something else. This setup looks more interesting for a kite surfer than for a paddler. It’s a tough stretch, but with this spot being fairly consistent, it won’t stay poor for long. Forecasts change.

Rusty.

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