Number Fours Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's cookin' for Number Fours over the next couple weeks.

Honestly, looking at the charts, it's a grim stretch ahead. We're not seeing any proper windows where everything comes together. For the first week or so, it’s mainly middling-to-small windswell with a persistent cross-off breeze, and the quality just isn't there. You'll be scratching for anything rideable.

We kick off Monday the 24th of August with a clean-ish 5ft swell from the ENE, but the period is a weak 7 seconds and the wind is a stiff 25 mph cross-off. That's messy, chunky water, not proper surf. The combined energy is weak (479), and the forecast is calling it poor. The water temperature is 81°, which is about average for this time of year. The pattern repeats through the week with wave heights between 2ft and 7ft, but honestly, the wind is always up and the direction never settles into a clean offshore. There’s a period of S swell starting Thursday the 27th, with 17-second periods, which is a proper groundswell, bringing higher energy (871). But the swell itself is only around 4ft, and that big period at a reef break like Number Fours... it’ll likely just close out or stand up too straight. It's still cross-off wind too, so it's a pass from me.

The only glimmer in this whole 16-day window is the morning of Monday the 31st of August. We see a bump up to 7ft from the ENE with a 7-second period. It’s only the second-best score of the whole run, but the wind drops to a moderate 12 mph cross-off and the energy is a bit more respectable (710). It might offer a few lumpy, pushy waves, but it’s still not clean surfing in my book. Certainly nothing worth calling a standout.

The week after that is the same story. The swell gets a little bigger into the first week of September, hitting 7ft from the ENE on the 1st, but with 22 mph winds and only 8-second periods. That's just a blown-out, bumpy mess. For the less experienced, anything over 5ft in those conditions is a handful, and it's not even good for experts. You'd be better off grabbing a kite if you're into that. The energy gets up to 1042, which is strong, but the wind is just ruining it.

Towards the 5th and 6th of September we see that groundswell again from the SSW, with long periods up to 20 seconds and solid energy (738). But the height is tiny, estimate 3ft, and you're still looking at that 22 mph cross-off. A long-period groundswell needs clean, offshore wind to shine, and that's not what we're getting here. It's a hard pass.

Bottom line: this stretch is a write-off. We have zero standout sessions. The wind is never good, the swell is either too small, too short-period, or mismatched with the conditions. For the time being, it's best to work on your wax collection and wait for the forecast to change. These dry spells happen, but they don't last forever.

Keep it real,
Rusty

Read more