Pine Trees (Sunset) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get into it.

The next couple of weeks have some real potential, but you gotta pick your moments. We’ve got a solid window opening up mid-week that looks like the pick of the forecast. Waves will be up, winds are looking light and offshore, and the swell direction is lining up just right. It’s not going to be perfect the whole time, so let’s break it down day by day.

Monday the 17th is pretty average. There’s some swell in the water, around 5ft from the south, but the cross-off wind is a bit lumpy. It’s not terrible, but it’s not a day to get excited about. The water temp is 79°F, which is about normal for this time of year.

You want to be looking at Tuesday the 18th. That’s when things start to click. The swell drops a touch to just under 3ft, but it’s a long-period SSW groundswell at 18 seconds. The wind is a light cross-off, and by the afternoon it goes glassy with a clean 4ft swell coming from the southwest. That is clean surf, proper conditions for a reef break like Pine Trees (Sunset). It’s got that long period, so it’ll be lining up nicely.

Wednesday the 19th keeps that goodness going. Morning is glassy with a 4ft SSW swell at 17 seconds. Same vibe in the afternoon, still glassy, same size and direction. This is the heart of the clean window. The energy is moderate, but the quality is high.

Thursday the 20th sees the swell jump up to a solid 7ft from the southwest. Morning is still glassy, and this is a standout. That’s a strong, clean day with good energy. The wind is light and offshore early, so the reef will be handling it well. The afternoon though, the wind swings onshore from the southwest and it gets a bit messier. So, go get it in the morning.

Friday the 21st is a write-off. The wind is up from the south at 25 km/h, cross-onshore and it’s choppy. Swell is still 7ft, but the quality just ain’t there. Leave it.

The weekend gets tricky. Saturday the 22nd has a bigger, but lumpier swell, 8ft in the morning, but a fresh cross-shore wind from the southeast is going to chop it up. It’s more for the kite crew than for paddle surfing. Sunday the 23rd is similar, with the swell building to 10ft in the afternoon with a strong S groundswell. The energy is strong, but the fresh cross-shore wind is going to make it a battle. The morning has clean conditions from a cross-off, but the swell is a heavy 8ft. It’s out there, but you’ll earn it.

For the first part of next week, Monday the 24th, we’ve got a strong 8ft S swell. The wind stays cross-off from the ESE, keeping it somewhat clean. It’s big and powerful. This is definitely one for experienced surfers only. But the wind is starting to pick up.

Then we hit a rough patch. From Tuesday the 25th onwards, a strong easterly wind becomes the story. It’s cross-off, so it’s holding the waves up, but that kind of wind is just gnarly. The swell stays around the 5ft to 7ft mark, but the quality drops a lot. There is a brief pulse of long-period SSW swell around Thursday the 27th and Friday the 28th, but the strong wind is still blowing. It’s not a great surf forecast, but the conditions are clean, just heavily wind-affected.

The wind finally eases a bit over the weekend of the 30th and 31st, but the swell backs off too, into the 4ft-5ft range. It’s still cross-off, but the energy is waning. Then on Tuesday the 1st of September, we get a new pulse. The morning looks good with a clean 7ft SSW swell, but by the afternoon, the period drops to 9 seconds and it jumps back up to a messy 10ft. That’s a change in conditions that looks less appealing.

So, if you're looking for the standouts, it’s the glassy Wednesday the 19th and the big clean Thursday morning on the 20th. That’s the best of the bunch. The swell is solid, the wind is right, and the reef at Pine Trees (Sunset) will be working. The long-period swell might be a little straight at a beach break, but for a reef setup like this, it's perfect.

Rusty.

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