Southport Main Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, it’s Rusty here.

To be straight with you, the next couple of weeks are a bit of a grind for surf. We’ve got a long stretch of small, junky waves and not a lot of quality on the table. The first real chance of anything decent doesn’t show up until the 18th of August, so there’s a solid gap of about ten days where you’re better off doing something else. That said, the long-range picture does start to wake up a bit, so it’s not all doom and gloom.

Let’s run through it. The first few days are pretty lackluster. Friday morning has a tiny 2ft easterly swell with a 7-second period, and while it’s glassy, it’s just not doing much—the energy is weak (66). The water temp is 69°, which is pretty normal for this time of year, so no worries there. The weekend stays small, with a bit more east in the swell but the wind starts to get messy. Saturday afternoon gets a slight bump to 3ft, but it’s onshore and poor. Sunday morning is glassy again, but the swell is still only 3ft and weak (167).

Monday the 10th has a bit of offshore wind, but the swell is dropping. It’s clean but tiny, and the energy is still weak to moderate (161). The rest of that first week just fades away. By Thursday the 13th, we’re down to 2ft, which is barely a ripple. The wind is light and glassy in the afternoon, but there’s just nothing to push.

There’s a slight change in direction around the 14th and 15th, with some southeast swell, but it’s short-period and the wind swings onshore. Saturday the 15th gets fresh and lumpy, not good. Then the 16th and 17th see a bit more size, but it’s short-period windswell and the wind is cross-onshore, so it’s going to be a mess—rain showers and chop. Not worth paddling out.

Finally, things get a bit more interesting on the 18th of August. The swell jumps up to 7ft in the morning, and the energy is strong (753). It’s a bit of a step up, but the wind is cross-shore and fresh, so it won’t be clean. This is more for the experienced crew, and honestly, the conditions are likely to be pretty ugly. The swell is still short-period (8 seconds), so it’s not going to have much shape to it. It’s a beach break, and with that much swell and cross-shore wind, it’s going to be lumpy and challenging. Not a classic day.

The 19th sees similar size, with the energy getting even stronger (896) in the afternoon, but again the wind is cross-onshore and fresh. It’s going to be a bumpy, powerful mess. The 20th and 21st back off a bit to around 4ft to 4ft, but the wind stays onshore and the rain moves in. It’s just poor.

So, to be honest, there’s no standout session in this window. The most interesting stretch is around the 18th and 19th, but that’s a big, windy, cross-shore swell that’s not going to be fun for most. It’s more of a “watch from the sand” kind of day. The potential is there for a bit more size, but the conditions are going to limit the options. Keep the hopes up, but don’t plan any surf trips around this.

Stay tuned, Rusty out.

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