Jetty Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on the cards for the next couple of weeks.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you—this is a tough one. The Jetty is looking at a long, dry spell. We’re talking a full week of weak, messy surf that just isn’t worth paddling out for. The first decent chance doesn’t roll around until Saturday the 29th of August, and even then, it’s barely a whisper.

The overall pattern is one of small, short-period southerly and southeasterly swells getting hammered by onshore winds. The wave energy is feeble, barely registering in the low double digits for most of the first week. The water’s sitting at 73°, which is about normal for this time of year, so no surprises there.

Let’s break it down. Tuesday the 25th and Wednesday the 26th are a write-off. Tiny 1.0ft to 1ft swell with cross-shore winds, total energy hanging around 31 to 36 (weak). Thursday the 27th kicks up a bit with 2ft swell and energy climbing to 110 (moderate), but it’s a fresh cross-onshore wind at 19 mph, making the surface lumpy and choppy. Not worth it.

Friday the 28th of August is the first real glimmer. The morning’s still a mess, but by the afternoon, the wind swings to the WNW at 6 mph, going cross-offshore. The wave comment says “surfable but very ordinary,” and I’d agree. Swell is a weak 2ft from the SE, period 8 seconds, energy 104 (moderate). It’s clean, but there’s no power. You might get a couple of soft ones if you’re desperate.

Saturday the 29th of August is the best of a bad bunch. Early morning, we’ve got a clean 3ft swell from the south with a 7-second period, but the real winner is the wind: 9 mph from the north, straight offshore. The wave comment says “surfable but very ordinary,” and the energy is only 81 (weak), but that offshore wind will make the most of it. The Jetty is a breakwater setup, so it’s exposed to the swell, and with that N wind, it’ll be the cleanest it gets all week. Crowds are “sometimes” an issue here, so you might have a few others with the same idea, but for the size, it won’t be packed. This is the stand-out, but keep your expectations grounded—it’s small.

After that, it’s back to the doldrums. Sunday the 30th of August through to Monday the 7th of September is a bleak run of tiny, onshore junk. The swell dips back to 1ft to 2ft, with most days seeing cross-on winds and energy values dropping into the 20s and 30s (weak). There’s a brief tease on Tuesday the 1st of September morning with a 3ft south swell and energy of 127 (moderate), but the wind is cross-shore from the WSW at 6 mph, making it choppy and messy.

Then, on Wednesday the 9th of September, things perk up a touch. The morning sees a clean 3ft south swell with a 6-second period, and the wind is offshore from the NW at 12 mph. The wave comment says “surfable but very ordinary,” but that offshore wind is gold. The energy is 75 (weak), so it’s still small, but it’ll be the cleanest surf of the whole 16-day run. The afternoon holds similar energy at 4ft from the south, but the wind goes cross-offshore, so the morning is the session to target. This is a promising but distant option—it’s 16 days out, so keep an eye on it.

Bottom line: Saturday the 29th of August morning is your best bet, but it’s a small-wave day. If you’re a beginner, the 3ft swell is fine. If you’re an expert, you’ll be on a log. The Wednesday the 9th of September morning is the long-range hope, but it’s a long way off. For the rest of it, I’d leave the board in the car and go for a coffee.

Stay salty,
Rusty

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