L Jetty Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get straight into it. The outlook for L Jetty is a real tough one. We’ve got a long, drawn-out period of small, weak surf with hardly any windows of clean conditions. The next couple of weeks are going to test your patience.

Right now, we’re starting with a tiny pulse on Friday morning, the 28th of August. We’ve got some 3ft swell from the SE with a period of 8 seconds, and the combined energy is a weak 86. It’s glassy early, which is a major positive, making it clean for a paddle. But at this size, it’s tiny, and the scores are low. It’s surfable but very ordinary. By the afternoon, the wind swings south at 9 mph, turning it cross-shore and bumpy, and the swell drops to 2ft. That’s a write-off.

From Saturday the 29th all the way through to Saturday the 5th of September, it’s a brutal stretch. The swell stays between 0.7ft and 2ft, with energy figures dropping into the teens and twenties. The wind is mostly cross or onshore, often choppy or only clean when the swell is so small it’s barely breaking. There’s a brief moment on Sunday the 30th morning with a light cross-off wind from the SW, but with only 1ft on offer, it’s not worth the drive. The water temperature anomaly is about average for the time of year, so nothing to complain about there, but it won’t help the waves.

The first real glimmer of hope comes on Sunday morning, the 6th of September. The swell picks up to 2ft from the E with a period of 11 seconds, and the combined energy bumps up to 127 (moderate). The conditions are glassy with a light W wind of 3 mph. This is the standout of the whole forecast. The wind is glassy, the period is decent, and the energy is the highest we’ll see. It’s small, but it’ll be clean and fun for a longboard or a twinny. But remember, this is a beach/jetty setup, and with a period of 11 seconds, that E swell might wrap in a bit better along the jetty. It’s the best we’ve got.

After that, the afternoon of the 6th turns cross-onshore and choppy again. Monday the 7th and Tuesday the 8th have clean, cross-off winds from the NW at 12-19 mph, but the swell is only 1ft to 2ft. The energy is weak to moderate, but with that wind, it’ll be a blown-out, choppy mess that’s more interesting for kite surfing than a proper surf. The same goes for Wednesday the 9th and Thursday the 10th. There’s a tiny window on Wednesday the 9th afternoon with a 3ft swell from the S, but it’s a short period windswell of 5 seconds, so don’t expect much shape.

The final days, from the 10th to the 12th of September, are a whimper. The swell drops back to 0.7ft. The last morning on Saturday the 12th is glassy, but with that tiny 0.7ft swell and energy of 11, it’s flat. If you’re desperate, you go for a paddle, but you’re not catching waves.

Overall, the only real standout is that Sunday morning, the 6th of September. Mark it in your calendar and hope the forecast holds. Everything else is a long, flat stretch with a few small, clean but weak windows. It’s a tough one, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.

Rusty.

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