Raffs Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

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

The next couple of days are a no-go unless you’re a masochist. We’ve got a massive pulse of SW groundswell hitting – Thursday the 13th sees a solid 10 ft at 16 seconds, with combined energy ramping up to a wild 3841, which is way too much punch for this spot. The water is sitting at a normal 55°F for this time of year. That swell drops a touch by Friday, still 8 ft and too messy. We’re basically looking at a wait until Saturday morning the 15th for anything rideable.

Saturday morning the 15th is the first standout. The swell has dropped to a still-chunky 8 ft from the SW with a 15-second period. The kicker is the wind: glassy, dead calm from the SSE at just 3 mph. That’s going to make for some clean, lined-up walls. It’s still big enough (over 8 ft is expert territory, and this is just under) that it’s for experienced surfers only. The combined energy is a strong 2385, so there’s plenty of grunt. This is your best bet for a proper session in the first week. Sunday morning the 16th stays clean with 5 ft SW swell and a light ENE cross-off, making it a good follow-up day for the experienced crew.

After that, the surf tapers off significantly through the rest of the week. Monday the 17th is smaller at 4 ft, but still clean in the morning. Then from Tuesday the 18th through to Friday the 21st, we’re looking at weak, small surf – waist to chest-high at best – with mostly clean but inconsistent conditions. Not worth getting excited about.

The weekend of the 23rd and 24th sees a new SW swell filling in, but the wind turns onshore or cross-shore, making a mess of things. Sunday the 23rd has 6 ft to 8 ft but with a lumpy cross-chop – that’s more of a kitesurfing or windsurfing setup than clean paddle surfing. The following Tuesday the 25th is worth circling on the calendar. That morning you’ve got 8 ft SW at 15 seconds with a cross-off NW wind – a solid, powerful, clean day for big-wave hunters. The afternoon cranks it up with a gentle offshore from the NNW, same size and period, and earns a solid personal nod for experienced surfers. Get a crew together.

Late in the window, Wednesday the 26th of August looks massive and dangerous. We’re talking 13 ft SW swell with a 16-second period, and combined energy exploding to 11538 – that is a serious, scary amount of power. That’s strictly for the elite or for watching from the cliffs. The wind actually stays cross-off, so it’ll be clean, but it’s just too big for this beach. After that, it stays solid through the end of the period, but with onshore and cross-shore winds spoiling the quality.

So, to sum it up: the clear standout is Saturday morning the 15th for the glassy conditions on solid swell. If you’ve got the experience for overhead surf, that’s your window. For the second week, Tuesday the 25th is the best-looking clean, powerful day.

Stay safe out there.

Rusty

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