Little Austi and Main Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ve scanned the charts and honestly, this is one of those stretches that’ll test your patience. We’ve got a solid 16-day window ahead, but the surf is lean, real lean. There’s a big gap from now right through until the morning of Wednesday, the 19th of August, where you’re basically looking at nothing rideable. After that, it’s a long, drawn-out run of tiny, weak swells that just don’t have any push. This is a period for checking the wax on your board, not for getting wet.

Let’s break it down. The first real flicker of life doesn’t show up until Wednesday the 19th of August at Little Austi and Main Beach. It’s a beach and reef set-up, fairly consistent but, man, it’s a struggle. Wednesday morning brings a glassy surface, which is a rare treat, but the swell is a pathetic 4ft from the ESE with a short, weak period of 7 seconds. The combined energy is weak too, sitting at 144. The water temp is 63°, which is pretty normal for this time of year. It’s surfable, but only just. You’ll be hunting for scraps and the conditions are very ordinary. Later that afternoon, the wind swings and it gets messy, so the morning is your only real shot, and even then, it’s a 1/10 kind of session.

Thursday the 20th sees a bit of offshore wind in the morning, which is a huge positive for clean faces, but the swell drops to 3ft from the ESE, period still a weak 7 seconds. The energy is low at 80. It’s clean, but there’s just no grunt in the water.

We get a little bump on the Saturday the 22nd. The swell picks up to 4ft from the NE, period finally stretching out to 8 seconds. The combined energy hits a moderate 164, and with a clean cross-offshore breeze in the afternoon, it’ll be the most surfable day of the whole run. But it’s still a poor surf condition in the reports, so don’t expect any gems. It’s just the best of a bad bunch. The swell is under 5ft, so it’s fine for a beginner to have a splash, but the quality is lacking.

After that, it’s a slow fade back to flatness. The rest of the second week is a write-off with tiny 1ft to 1ft swells and clean but completely gutless conditions. We even get some glassy conditions on the 28th, but with waves at 0.7ft, you’d be better off floating in a pool.

My pick for the best session, if you’re desperate for a paddle, is Saturday the 22nd of August at Little Austi and Main Beach. The afternoon session has the most size (4ft from the NE) and a clean cross-off breeze. Everything else is a flat spell or a frustrating knee-high dribble. Keep the board in the car, but the wetsuit can stay dry for a while yet.

Stay keen,
Rusty

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