Jennette's Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ve been staring at the charts for Jennette’s Pier and, between you and me, this is a tough stretch. We’re looking at a pretty long dry spell, mate. For the first ten days, from Friday the 14th to Sunday the 23rd, there’s just nothing doing. The water temp is about average for this time of year, but that’s about the only positive. The combined swell energy is mostly weak, with values in the teens and twenties, barely poking into the low triple-digit range a couple of times, but it’s all crossed-up and messy. It’s a real desert out there.

Monday the 24th of August, we finally see a pulse of life. Early morning brings a bit of surfable swell, but it’s nothing to write home about. A weak 1ft from the east-southeast, with a long 12-second period, so it’ll be better shaped but with long lulls. The wind is light and cross-offshore from the southwest, so it’ll be clean at least. Combined energy is still weak at 51. It’s a 1 out of 10 day—just ankle-snappers and long waits.

Tuesday the 25th looks similar, with a little 1ft from the east-southeast in the morning, clean under a gentle cross-offshore breeze, but again, combined energy is a paltry 45.

Then we get another little gap, but things pick up a bit for Friday the 28th of August. The afternoon brings a sudden jump in size to 6ft from the northeast, with a short 6-second period. The combined energy roars up to 357, which is moderate to strong energy, but the short period and onshore wind from the east-northeast mean this is going to be a roiled-up, messy close-out for the pier. Not for beginners—that size will be a handful for a learner—and the quality is poor for a surfer. This setup actually looks like it’d be more fun for the kite crew than a paddle surfer.

Now, here’s the one real standout. Saturday the 29th of August. We get a solid 5ft swell from the east-northeast, with a 7-second period, so it’s a bit short but still has push. The combined energy is a solid 216 (moderate). And the wind? Glassy. Absolute glass from the west-southwest in the morning. That means clean, smooth lines rolling into Jennette’s Pier. The break is consistent, so you won’t be waiting forever, and it’s exposed to the northeast, which matches the swell direction nicely. It’s an intermediate-level wave at this size—too big for total beginners, but not a dangerous beast for the rest of us. Crowds are sometimes a thing here, so expect company on what could finally be a proper session. This is the day to circle on the calendar.

So don’t lose hope entirely. We claw through ten days of flatness, and the last Saturday of the month offers a clean, glassy, fun-sized wave.

Rusty.

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