North Bar Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let's get into it.

To be straight with you, the next couple of weeks are looking pretty bleak for any proper waves. We've got a long stretch of small, weak, and messy conditions on the cards for North Bar. The swell energy is just not there, and when it does pick up a touch, the wind turns against us. It's a frustrating outlook, but it is what it is.

Looking at the start of the period, Monday the 31st of August kicks off with nothing but knee-high dribble. A light ENE cross-onshore breeze is going to put a few ripples on the surface, but it's a write-off. The water temp is sitting at 70.3°, which is pretty much spot on average for this time of year.

We get a couple of days of small, poor surf. Tuesday morning is clean but tiny, with a 1.3ft SE swell. The afternoon sees the wind swing onshore and howl to 22 mph, making a mess of the water. We finally see a pulse of swell arrive on Wednesday the 2nd, with the energy jumping up to a moderate 280. We're looking at 4.9ft of lumpy, cross-onshore surf, which is just messy and not worth the paddle out. Thursday the 3rd cleans up with a fresh WSW offshore wind, but the swell drops back down to under 3ft. It might be clean, but there's just not enough push.

The following few days are a write-off as a NE wind blows right onshore. Saturday the 5th is small and junky. Sunday the 6th brings a bit more size, hitting 4.3ft, but it's still onshore and ugly. The energy is moderate, around 159, but the quality is poor.

We do get a nice run of offshore winds from the SW from Monday the 7th through to Wednesday the 9th, but the swell just dies. We're back to knee-high dribble for most of that stretch. The period does stretch out to 11-12 seconds on Monday, bringing a bit of groundswell into the mix, but there is just no size behind it.

From the 10th onwards, it's a scattered mess. Small swells in the 1.3ft to 2.3ft range, mixed winds, and a whole lot of nothing. There is one morning on the 14th that catches the eye with a glassy 3.3ft N swell, but the period is a weak 4 seconds and the energy is a paltry 58. It'll be a fun paddle for a small wave at best, but it's not going to be a day to get excited about.

To put it bluntly, there are no standout days here. The surf quality is just consistently poor. With significant swell on Wednesday the 2nd but poor quality due to the wind, the setup honestly looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing if you're desperate to get out on the water. We just have to wait for the ocean to change its mind.

Keep the faith.

Read more