Putsborough Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ve gotta be straight with you—this is a tough forecast to write. For the next 16 days, we’ve got one break on the radar: Putsborough. And it’s a real mixed bag, mostly leaning towards the "don’t bother" side. There’s a big gap of nothing usable at the start, and we don’t really get anything that’s decent until the second week, and even then it’s a struggle.

Let’s start with the overall pattern. The whole period is plagued by onshore and cross-onshore winds, short-period windswell, and a lot of lumpy, choppy, or just poor surf conditions. The wave energy (combined energy of all swells directed here) is all over the place, but the quality just isn’t there for a paddle surfer. The one standout, if you can call it that, is a brief window on the 12th of August, Wednesday morning, where things might just be worth a look.

So, Putsborough. It’s a beginner-friendly beach break, fairly exposed to the swell, and it likes a WNW direction. The water temp is sitting at 65.3°F, which is a whopping 4°F warmer than normal for this time of year—that’s a real treat, like a warm bath compared to what you’d expect. You’ll be in boardshorts for sure.

The first few days are a write-off. Starting Saturday, the 1st of August, we’ve got a tiny 1.3 ft swell from the WSW with a short 9-second period, but the wind is howling onshore from the WNW at 12 mph. The wave energy is weak (38). It’s just messy. Sunday the 2nd and Monday the 3rd are similar—tiny swell, poor surf conditions. The only flicker of hope is Monday morning, the 3rd, when the swell bumps up to 2.3 ft from the WSW, period 9 seconds, and the wind goes light cross-off from the ESE at 6 mph. The wave energy is still low (77). The data says "surfable waves but very ordinary conditions." It’s not great, but for a beginner, you might get a few crumbly little waves if you’re desperate. Still, it’s a long way from good.

Then we hit a real ugly stretch from Tuesday the 4th through to the end of the first week. The swell gets bigger—up to 5.2 ft on Wednesday the 5th, with wave energy climbing to 248 (moderate)—but the wind is a fresh 22 mph cross-onshore from the WSW. The data calls it "fresh cross-onshore and lumpy." That’s not surf, that’s a washing machine. Thursday the 6th sees 5.6 ft from the W, but again onshore wind. The whole vibe is just poor. There’s a gap of about 6 days with no real recommendation here.

The weekend of the 8th and 9th is flat and hopeless. Swell drops to 1.6 ft or less, period dropping to 5-8 seconds, wave energy in the single digits. Don’t even bother.

Now, here’s the only real standout. Monday the 10th and Tuesday the 11th are still poor, but then we get to Wednesday the 12th of August. The morning shapes up with a 3.3 ft swell from the WSW, period 9 seconds. The wind is light from the WSW at 3 mph, giving a cross-on condition, but it’s so light it’s almost glassy. The wave energy jumps to 141 (moderate). The data still says "poor surf conditions," but this is the best on offer. The swell direction (WSW) matches the optimum swell direction (WNW) reasonably well, and for a beginner break, 3.3 ft is a fun size. The light wind will keep it clean, though it’s cross-on, so expect a bit of texture. If you’re a beginner, this is your window. It’s not epic, but it’s the only window.

Thursday the 13th is similar—3.3 ft, WSW, light wind, but the data still says poor. The afternoon gets a bit windier. Friday the 14th gets messy again with fresh cross-onshore winds. Saturday the 15th has a clean cross-off wind from the SSW at 25 mph, which is a gale—that’s kite-surfing weather, not paddle surfing. The 3.9 ft swell is too blown out.

Finally, on Sunday the 16th of August, the swell pushes up to 6.2 ft from the W, period 7 seconds, with wave energy hitting 368 (moderate). But the wind is a moderate cross-onshore from the WNW at 9 mph. The swell is getting big for beginners (over 5 ft), and the short period (7 seconds) means it’ll be a bit weak and choppy. The data says "gentle cross-onshore and fairly choppy." It’s the biggest swell of the period, but the quality is still poor. For experts, maybe there’s a heaving close-out, but it’s

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