Kelso (Happy Wanderers) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, it’s Rusty here. Let’s have a look at the next couple of weeks at Kelso, and honestly, it’s a bit of a slow burn before we get to the good stuff. The first few days are going to be a write-off, with sloppy, onshore conditions and weak energy. But hang in there, because there are a couple of windows where this place is going to light up proper.

Right off the bat, Wednesday the 19th is a washout. We’ve got a bit of swell in the water, but a moderate NE breeze is just chopping it all up. Not worth paddling out for. Thursday the 20th cleans up a touch with a cross-offshore wind, but it’s still pretty junky, and we’ve got short-period swell that’s going to be all over the place. The energy is moderate (954), but the quality just isn’t there.

Friday the 21st and Saturday the 22nd are still pretty grim. The wind swings back onshore, and while Saturday morning has some clean small waves, it’s barely anything to get excited about. Saturday afternoon brings a strong SW breeze, which will be cross-off at Kelso (Happy Wanderers), but the conditions are nothing to write home about.

Now, here’s where things start to get interesting. Sunday the 23rd of August is the standout of the first week. We’re looking at a solid 8ft SSW swell with a period of 11 seconds, and that’s a lot of energy pushing in—1597 on the energy scale. The wind is a light S cross-off in the morning, which means it’s going to be clean and glassy. This is a real point break day, and the swell direction is straight in the zone for it. This is for experienced surfers, as it’s well overhead. The afternoon still has some size, but the wind swings more cross-shore and it gets a bit more shifty.

Monday the 24th will still have plenty of swell, but it’s going to be too onshore and mushy to be a top pick. The next real highlight is Sunday the 30th of August. After a week of marginal stuff and a bit of onshore slop, the morning looks excellent. We get a 8ft S swell, light SSW cross-off winds, and clean conditions. It’s got a period of 10 seconds which isn’t massive, but the energy is solid (1239). This is one for the better surfers again, but it’s got that clean, lined-up look that this point loves. It’s a shame the afternoon turns ugly with a strong ESE cross-on and a jump in energy to over 2500, which will just blow it out.

After that, things fade out quickly. The beginning of September is small and mostly messy, with an onshore breeze ruining things. The one saving grace is on the 1st of September, where we get a nice, clean, long-period SSW swell—16 seconds—but it’s only around 3ft. It’ll be perfect for a longboard if you’re keen, with light offshore winds in the morning making it glassy. But it’s a far cry from the bigger days.

So, to break it down: the two sessions to really keep an eye on are Sunday morning the 23rd and Sunday morning the 30th. Both are bigger swells at Kelso (Happy Wanderers), with clean offshore winds and top-notch conditions for a point break. They’re not for the faint-hearted, but for the experienced crew, they’ll be firing. The rest of the window is mostly choppy, onshore, and not worth the effort. Water temps are sitting pretty much average for this time of year, so nothing crazy there. Keep it simple, and don’t waste your energy on the junky days.

Rusty.

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