Panoramas Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here. Let's be straight: we've got a pretty flat 16-day window ahead. The only break on the radar is Panoramas, a beach and reef setup that's fairly exposed to swell from the northwest. The water's sitting at 72°F with a positive anomaly of 2°F, so it's a touch warmer than usual for this time of year—nothing dramatic, but nice.

The whole period is a struggle. The first decent whisper of surf appears on Wednesday morning, 26 August, with a tiny 2ft northwest swell at 8 seconds. The combined energy is only 55—weak, barely enough to wrinkle the surface. The wind is glassy from the SSW at 3 mph, so it'll look clean, but the waves are small and ordinary. If you're desperate for a paddle, you could get a few knee-high ones, but it's not worth getting excited about.

Thursday morning, 27 August, is even worse—0.7ft and glassy, but that's just a flat lake. We then hit a run of days where the swell picks up a little, but the wind turns ugly. Friday morning, 28 August, has 3ft of northwest swell, glassy, with weak energy at 91, but it's still just surfable, not good. The afternoon gets a cross-onshore breeze and ruins it.

Saturday, 29 August, sees a jump in swell to 4ft from the northwest with a 10-second period, and the combined energy hits 231—moderate, actually promising for a moment. But the wind is onshore or cross-onshore, and the wave comment says "poor surf conditions." The swell is there, but it's messy. Sunday morning, 30 August, has glassy conditions and 3ft of northwest swell, energy at 221, so it's the most promising of the lot—but the waves are still described as "very ordinary." It's a tease.

The rest of the first week and into the second is a long, flat slog. The swell drops to 1ft (5 September) and gets as low as 1.0ft by 10 September. There's a brief uptick on 7 September afternoon with a 1.0ft northwest swell but a 16-second period—very long period groundswell, but it's tiny and the wind is cross-onshore at 12 mph, so it's a no-go. The combined energy of 102 is moderate, but it's wasted.

From 31 August through to 10 September, the pattern is the same: small swell, poor wind, and low scores. There's a gap of several days with no real surf to recommend. The standout, if you can call it that, is Sunday morning, 30 August—3ft, glassy, moderate energy—but it's "surfable" at best, not a good day. For a beginner, the swell never tops 5ft, so it's not too big, but it's also not big enough to be fun. The long-period swell on 7 September is best left for a point or reef, but Panoramas is a beach and reef setup, so that 16-second period might make it close out.

In short, we're in a dry spell. The forecasts can change, but right now it's a waiting game. If you're a kite surfer, the stronger cross-onshore winds later in the period might be more interesting than the paddle. Hang tight.

Rusty

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