New Brighton Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you—this 16-day window for our stretch of coast is a tough one to get excited about. We’ve got a long stretch of small, weak surf ahead, and you’ll have to pick your moments carefully. Most of this period is going to be about ankle-biters and riding the whitewater, not hunting for gems.

Looking at the whole run, there’s really only one morning that stands out as worth a proper look, and it’s a week out. We’ll get to that.

The first few days, from this Sunday the 16th through Tuesday the 18th, are pretty ordinary. Sunday morning has a weak 2ft swell from the southeast with a short 7-second period, and the energy is weak at 103. It’s surfable, but only just. The wind is offshore, which is nice, but the waves are just too small and weak to get stoked about. The water temp is 50°F, which is about average for this time of year, so no surprises there. Monday is similar, with 2ft and weak energy again around 101 to 104, and Tuesday morning drops even more to 2ft. Tuesday afternoon gets a bit of a cross-off breeze, but the surf is just too small and the conditions start to look poor.

Wednesday the 19th morning looks like the best of the first week. We have a slightly better 3ft southeast swell, but the period jumps up to 15 seconds. That’s a long-period groundswell, which means more energy, and you can see it in the combined energy reading of 415–that’s moderate wave energy, the highest we’ll see for a while. The wind is offshore and moderate, so it should be clean. The swell direction is from the SE, which is close to the optimum ENE for New Brighton Beach, so it should have a bit more shape. This is a good session for those who can’t wait, but it’s not the big one.

After that, we hit a real dead patch. From Thursday the 20th all the way through Tuesday the 26th, the surf drops right off. We’re talking tiny 0.3ft to 1ft waves with weak energy readings mostly in the double digits. There’s a glassy morning on Friday the 21st with an incredibly weak 1ft from the SSE, but there’s just no power. Sunday the 23rd has a cross-off wind and a bit of a bump to 4ft, but it’s from the NNE with a tiny 5-second period. That’s just junky, wind-swell slop, and not really surfable. This stretch is a write-off for surfing.

Now, for the one true standout in this whole 16-day period. It’s on Monday morning, August 24th. We’ve got a clean 4ft NE swell, and the wind is glassy—absolutely calm. The period is a meager 6 seconds, which is a downside, but the combination of the biggest swell of the window with perfect glassy conditions is the best we’re going to get. The energy is at 133, which is moderate, and the waves will be breaking along the beach. It’s not a huge day, but on a scale of what’s on offer, this is it. You’ll want to be out there early before the wind has any chance to come up.

The final days from Tuesday the 25th through Saturday the 30th are more of the same. Tiny surf, poor conditions, and lots of wind. A couple of mornings have offshore wind, but the swell is mostly 0.6ft to 1ft. Not worth the trip.

So, bottom line: if you’re keen, hit Wednesday morning (19th) for a bit of quality, but mark the calendar for early Monday morning (24th). That’s your standout. After that, we’re in a poor spell that looks like it could last right through to the end of the month. It’s been a while since we’ve had a proper run of waves, so let’s hope a new swell finds us in early September.

Signing off,
Rusty.

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