Oswald State Park/Short Sands Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, and I'm looking at a pretty bleak picture for the next couple of weeks. The first real surf shows up slow, but let's break it down.

Sunday the 26th kicks off with a small southwest swell, about 3ft to 3ft. The wind is cross-on from the south-southwest and southwest, keeping things a little messy and choppy. Combined wave energy is moderate (575). It's not a day to write home about, just a marginal little wave. The water temp is about average for this time of year. The spot is Oswald State Park/Short Sands, which is beginner-friendly, but with the onshore breeze, it's not going to be a classic.

Monday the 27th and Tuesday the 28th are more of the same. The swell stays small, around 3ft from the southwest, with a light cross-on breeze. Tuesday afternoon sees a brief shift to a light offshore wind from the west-northwest, which would clean things up, but the swell is still tiny and the period is short (16 seconds). The energy is moderate (447). It's a flicker of hope, but not a standout.

Wednesday the 29th through to Saturday the 1st of August is pretty much a write-off. The swell drops, the wind gets stronger and stays cross-on, and the combined energy falls into the weak range. The period drops to 8 seconds on the 1st, which is just windswell. The forecast calls for poor conditions, and I'm not going to argue with that. This is a tough run of small, choppy, and messy surf.

Now, Sunday the 2nd of August brings a bit of a pulse. The swell bumps up to 4ft from the west, with a period of 10 seconds, and the combined energy jumps back to moderate (400). The wind is cross-shore from the north-northwest, which creates a bit of cross-chop, but it's a bigger wave than we've seen. This is probably the best on offer in the whole window, but it's still not a clean, glassy day. The wind is not offshore, so it's going to be a bit lumpy. Still, for a wave-starved stretch, it's a session.

From Monday the 3rd of August all the way through to Monday the 10th of August, it's a long, bleak run. The swell stays small to moderate (1ft to 5ft), but the wind is relentless - moderate to fresh cross-shore breezes, mostly from the north and north-northwest. The period is short, often 7 or 8 seconds, and the combined energy is mostly in the weak to low-moderate range. The forecast is consistently “poor surf conditions” with zero scores. The 5ft days on the 5th and 6th might sound big, but with a short period and lumpy chop, it's a mess. A spot like this is more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer in those conditions.

So, the honest truth? There's no standout session here. The best you'll get is the mediocre Sunday the 2nd of August morning. It's not a great run, but it's what we're looking at. Keep an eye on the forecasts, as it tends not to stay this poor for long.

Rusty.

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