Off The Wall Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s coming our way.

We’re kicking off with a bit of a wait, but it won’t be long. The first proper action shows up on the morning of Friday, August 28th. It’s not huge, but it’s clean, and that’s a beautiful start. The standout of the whole run is shaping up to be Wednesday, September 2nd, with a massive pulse of energy. But we’ll get to that.

Friday, August 28th starts off with a glassy morning. Off The Wall is seeing a small 3ft swell from the WSW with a very long 16-second period. The combined energy is moderate at 680. This is a long-period groundswell, so the waves will have shape and power for their size, but you might be waiting a bit between sets. The wind is glassy, so it’ll be silky smooth. A bit of a bonus: the water is sitting at 57°F, which is a good 3°F colder than normal for this time of year, so you’ll want a decent wetsuit. The afternoon holds steady with 4ft and clean conditions, just a cross-off wind.

Saturday, August 29th sees the swell building. Morning has 5ft from the WSW, and the energy is picking up (1145). With a clean offshore breeze, this is excellent for the experienced surfer. By afternoon, it pushes up to 7ft, but the wind swings to a stronger cross-off and there’s some light rain. Still clean, but the tide might be making things a bit tricky.

Sunday, August 30th gets chunky. Pushy 8ft swell from the SW, but the period drops to 13 seconds. The energy is strong now (2156), but the winds are cranking cross-off at 15 mph. It’s clean but powerful. This is expert territory.

Monday, August 31st is a solid option. The swell drops back to a manageable 7ft from the SW with an 11-second period. The wind is light and cross-off, so you’re looking at excellent conditions for experienced surfers. The energy is still moderate at 1019. This is a big window of quality.

Tuesday, September 1st is a bit more of a mush burger. Swell is still 8ft from the SW, but the wind is messing things up, coming cross-onshore and then cross-shore. The rides will be a bit lumpy. Not the day.

Wednesday, September 2nd – THIS IS THE ONE. This is the true standout. We get a freight train of swell. The morning sees a huge 15ft swell from the SW with a very long 16-second period. The combined energy is immense at 10661. This is a serious, powerful groundswell. The wind is strong offshore from the SSE at 25 mph, making it glassy in the face but an absolute battle to paddle into. This is a real “hold on and hope” session for experts only, and you’ll want a rivermouth or reef setup to handle that long period. The afternoon stays big at 13ft and still clean offshore. This is the slice of the week.

Thursday, September 3rd through Saturday, September 5th is a write-off unless you have a death wish. The wind goes absolutely nuclear, hitting near-gale and gale force from the SE and then swinging around. The swell remains solid (6ft to 10ft), but those offshore winds are so strong that paddling out is near impossible. The setup is too blown out for proper surfing; honestly, this looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

Sunday, September 6th to Monday, September 7th The swell tanks, dropping to 2ft to 3ft. The wind is onshore and messy. A poor run of tiny, chopped-up slop.

Tuesday, September 8th to Wednesday, September 9th offers a glimmer of hope. We get clean, small waves again. Tuesday morning has a glassy 3ft from the WSW with moderate energy (510). Very surfable for a log or a fish. Wednesday morning is similar with 3ft from the WSW and offshore wind. Small but clean little clean-up sets.

Thursday, September 10th onward it gets blown out again, or just too small and wind-affected to get excited about. Friday the 11th has some small clean waist-high waves, but it’s not a highlight.

So to wrap it up: The absolute best on offer is Wednesday, September 2nd for the big-wave crew. For the regular surfer, Monday, August 31st is your safest bet for size and clean conditions. The rest of the run is either too windy, too small, or too big and angry.

Stay safe out there.
Rusty.

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