Margaret River Mouth Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty, and I’ve been staring at the charts for your local patch of Margaret River all week. To be honest, it’s a rough stretch for the paddle crew. Margaret River Mouth is a river break, very consistent, and it’s holding a lot of swell, but the wind gods have not been kind. The water temp is sitting at 68°F, which is a solid 5°F warmer than usual, so you’ll notice the bathwater feel compared to normal August.

The first sniff of anything worth paddling for doesn’t show up until Wednesday the 12th, and even then it’s a real struggle. The whole run from Friday the 7th through to Tuesday the 11th is a write-off—strong winds, mostly cross-onshore, with swell heights from 7 ft to 12 ft. The wave energy is massive, with combined energy values from 1983 right up to 6683, but it’s all blown out and messy. This is not for beginners; anything over 8 ft in this wind is only for experts, and even then it isn’t much fun.

Wednesday the 12th morning offers a tiny glimmer. The swell is 8 ft from the SW, with a long 15-second period, and the wind has dropped to a gentle onshore breeze from the WSW (9 mph). The combined energy is still strong at 2424, but it’s described as “marginal surf forecast or questionable tide conditions.” Not a standout, but if you’re desperate, it’s the least angry the ocean’s been all week. The afternoon goes back to poor, with wind picking up.

Thursday the 13th afternoon is the best of a bad bunch. The morning is still marginal, but the afternoon sees a 7 ft SW swell, a very long period of 17 seconds, and clean onshore wind from the west at just 9 mph. The water’s calm, combined energy is 2758, and it’s the only window in the first week that scored a 3/10 in the comments. That long period groundswell will march right into the river mouth, but with a period over 15 seconds, it can break a bit straight at beach breaks. This is a river, so it might wrap in okay, but don’t expect perfection.

After that, Friday the 14th offers a 6 ft to 6 ft SW swell, with cross-shore winds from the north at 9-12 mph. The energy drops to 1380-1764, and it’s marginal again. Still not flat, but far from clean.

The second week, from Saturday the 15th onward, the swell stays pumped (7 ft to 8 ft) but the wind stays on it. There’s no clear standout. The raw energy is still high—3201, 3726, up to 4196 on Tuesday the 18th—but it’s all cross-onshore or fresh breeze chop. You’d be looking at a lumpy, blown-out mess. The waves are too big for beginners, and the quality is poor for all.

The very last window is Saturday the 22nd. Morning has a 5 ft WSW swell, short 12-second period, but a light cross-shore breeze at just 6 mph. The combined energy is only 765, so it’s weak. The afternoon improves: still 5 ft, but the period stretches to 16 seconds, wind is almost nothing from the SW at 3 mph, and the energy is 1126. That’s a marginal nod, with a score of 3/10 again. Not a classic, but the water is flat and there’s a chance of a clean little wave.

Overall, this is a long, dry run for the river mouth. There’s no true standout day where it all comes together. If you’re a kiter, this setup with strong cross-onshore wind and big swell on a beach-and-river setup might look more interesting than for the paddle crew. But for surfers, it’s a waiting game—the swell is there, but the wind won’t play nice until maybe the very end of the run.

Stay patient, grab a coffee, and keep an eye on that horizon. The season’s far from over.

Rusty

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