Manly Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here lookin' at what's on offer for the Manly (Manly) stretch over the next couple of weeks. Gotta be straight with ya, it's a lean run to start. The water's a bit colder than normal for this time of year, sittin' around 62°F, so that's a bit of a shock to the system if you're not ready for it.

We're looking at a big ol' gap with hardly anything worth paddling out for until we get towards the end of the period. From now, right through the middle of next week, it's pretty bleak. Most days are a write-off with poor surf, cross-shore breezes, and a lot of chop. The combined wave energy is weak too, barely cracking 300 in that first week. You'll get a few small, ordinary waves on the Friday and Saturday mornings – around 4ft to 4ft from the south, period around 9 seconds – but conditions are just average at best, and the wind is never quite right for a clean session. You'd be paddling around for not much return.

Right now, the one and only standout in this whole outlook is Monday the 24th of August. That's the day. Early morning, the wind swings to a light Westerly, going cross-offshore, and the swell jumps up to a solid 6ft from the south, with a period of 10 seconds. The combined energy hits a solid 723 (moderate), and the report says to expect good surf conditions. It's not a huge beast, but it's clean and has some proper power to it. That's your best bet by a long shot. After that, the swell drops right out again through Tuesday and Wednesday, just a mess of small, weak waves.

Then, lookin' further out, we get another late-week pulse. Thursday the 27th of August morning starts to look interesting again, with another clean 6ft south swell (727 energy). The afternoon pushes up to 7ft from the south, but the energy jumps to 1328, which is strong. The wind is offshore or cross-off, so it'll be clean. Friday the 28th of August morning is also looking good with a clean 8ft south swell (924 energy) and solid offshore wind from the Southwest. That's a touch big for beginners, getting into expert territory, and being a point break, that long-period groundswell will peel nicely. These later dates are a bit further out, so less set in stone, but it's a promising sign that the ocean is waking up.

All in all, it's a waiting game. A whole lot of nothing for the next week and a half, then a couple of real windows of opportunity on the 24th and again around the 27th-28th. Keep your eyes on those dates.

- Rusty

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