Matunuck Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on offer for Matunuck over the next couple of weeks.

Honestly, I’m looking at a pretty grim stretch ahead. The forecast is loaded with small, weak swell and winds that are just not doing us any favours. We’re going to have to sit through a long, flat spell before anything even remotely rideable shows up.

The Matunuck reef is a sheltered setup that likes swell from the SE, but the first two weeks are dominated by tiny, short-period SSW and S swell. The wave energy is mostly in the weak range, with values like 56 (weak) and 82 (weak) through the first weekend. Winds are cross or cross-onshore, creating chop and poor conditions. The rare glassy moments on Wednesday the 12th and Thursday the 13th are wasted on swell that's barely 2ft to 3ft. It’s a total washout.

Things get a little more interesting on Sunday the 16th, but it’s a mess. The swell jumps to 6ft from the SSW, with moderate wave energy (310 to 528), but it’s accompanied by fresh cross-onshore winds and lumpy conditions. The wave comment says "poor surf conditions" and the score is a zero. It’s a big, choppy, onshore mess – more of a kite-surfing day than a paddle session.

The first real glimmer of hope doesn’t come until Friday the 21st of August. We finally get a clean window with a light offshore breeze from the NE, and a 2ft SE swell with a period of 11 seconds. The combined energy is 121 (moderate), and the wave comment upgrades to "surfable waves but very ordinary conditions" with a score of 1 out of 10. It’s not going to be a classic, but it’s the best we’ve seen in weeks.

Then Saturday the 22nd is the standout. The morning is dead glassy, calm wind, with the same 2ft SE swell and a 12-second period. The energy is 136 (moderate). It’s clean, it’s glassy, and it’s the only real window of proper surf. The swell is small, so it’s fine for beginners, but the long period (12 seconds) will give it some shape on the reef. Remember, this is a very consistent break, so it’s reliable, but crowds are possible here.

After that, Sunday the 23rd looks like it’s turning into a lumpy, onshore mess again with 8ft of short-period S swell and a score of 0.

So, if you’re hanging for a wave, the morning of Saturday the 22nd is your best bet. It’s small, clean, and glassy. Everything else in this 16-day window is a write-off. The water temperature anomaly is unremarkable, pretty much average for this time of year at Matunuck.

Rusty.

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