Lefthanders Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here with a look at what’s coming up for Lefthanders.

We’ve got a serious run of big, powerful groundswell headed our way, starting Wednesday the 19th of August. The first swell hits with waves around 16 ft from the WSW, with a very long period of 16 seconds. There’s a massive amount of energy in the water (10770), which is way beyond what most of us would call a safe paddle. The wind is cross-on from the SW at 12 mph, so it’s going to be pretty lumpy. The water temperature sits at 66°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year by about 3°, so you’ll feel that difference. This swell is just too big for anything but the most experienced crew, and even then, it’s a beast.

That same pattern keeps hammering through Thursday (20th) into Friday (21st). On Friday morning, we get a moment of glassy conditions with an 12 ft SW swell, period 14 seconds, and clean – but it’s still a heavy 12 ft, so again, not for the faint-hearted. The energy is still very strong (5427). You’ll get some windows of cleaner conditions, but the size is the problem. Saturday the 22nd drops a little, with 10 ft in the morning, still very strong energy (4123), and the wind shifts to cross-shore. By Saturday afternoon, the swell eases slightly to 8 ft but the wind picks up and it gets messy – marginal at best.

Sunday the 23rd stays big again at 10 ft (3597 to 4764 energy). Monday the 24th offers a slight reprieve – morning sees a 10 ft SW swell but with lighter cross-shore winds and a bit less power (2760), though still more than most want. By Tuesday the 25th, the swell drops to 6 ft but the wind is up from the NNW at 16 mph, which makes it choppy and poor. Wednesday the 26th goes ballistic again – 15 ft from the WSW, period 17 seconds, energy through the roof (12124) – and it’s rain showers with cross-on wind. This is not a session for a standard surfer.

The standout window in all of this is actually Friday the 28th of August morning. The swell drops to a much more manageable 5 ft from the S, period 12 seconds, and we get offshore wind from the ESE at 6 mph. The energy is still moderate (1526) and conditions are clean. This is the kind of window where Lefthanders can really shine for those who know what they’re doing – it’s a reef break, very consistent, and exposed to the WSW optimum swell direction. The offshore wind will groom the wave nicely. The only catch? Crowds are often here. But for a moment of clean, semi-sized surf after all that chaos, this is the pick of the whole forecast.

After that, Saturday the 29th morning has a very long period 21-second pulse from the WSW at only 3 ft – that’s a tiny, long-period groundswell that might just offer some clean, finesse waves with light cross-offshore wind. But it’s small. Sunday the 30th and Monday the 31st see the swell jump back up to 10 ft, and the wind turns messy again. Things stay on the bigger, wind-affected side into early September.

Honestly, if you’re an experienced surfer who can handle size and a bit of chop, the entire run from the 19th to the 24th has power, but Friday the 28th morning and Saturday the 29th morning are your clearest, cleanest bets for a well-shaped, manageable wave. For the first week straight, it’s mostly too big for beginners and intermediate surfers. The real gem is that Friday the 28th with offshore wind and a nice compact swell.

Rusty.

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