Raffs Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, it’s Rusty here.

We’ve got a solid stretch of surf on the cards for the next couple of weeks at Raffs Beach. It’s not going to be perfect the whole way through, but there are definitely some windows where you’ll want to be in the water. The water temp is sitting right around average for this time of year, so nothing crazy there.

The run kicks off this Sunday morning, the 16th. We’re looking at a clean 5ft SW swell with a 14-second period, and a light ENE cross-off breeze. The energy is strong, with a combined reading of 1069. It’s a classic morning for a surf, glassy and clean, but the size and power might be a touch much for total beginners—this one’s for the experienced crew.

Monday the 17th sees a slight drop to 5ft SW, still clean with a light offshore in the morning. Good fun, but not as punchy as Sunday. The afternoon turns a bit more cross-on and choppy, so make the most of the morning session.

Tuesday the 18th is interesting. The morning is clean but a bit smaller at 4ft. The real standout is the afternoon: an offshore NNE breeze around 12 mph, clean conditions, and while the swell drops to 3ft, the quality is there. It’ll be a fun, cruisy wave, even if it’s not big.

Wednesday the 19th onwards, we see the swell fade away to 2-2ft. There’s fresh offshore wind, but the size is just too small to get excited about. The wave energy drops off a cliff, dipping to under 200. It’s a flat spell, plain and simple. Thursday (20th) is more of the same—small and weak, nothing worth chasing.

Now, hold onto your board. Friday the 21st is where things start to get interesting. The morning is still clean with a building 4ft SW swell, but the afternoon is where it’s at. We see a jump to 8ft WSW with a 14-second period, and the energy reading blows up to 3583. That’s a strong, powerful pulse of swell, and the wind stays cross-off. This is a big day—expert territory. Fair warning, that size is well into the “for experienced surfers only” zone.

Saturday the 22nd is still big, around 8ft, but the wind swings onshore and it gets messy. It’s a bit of a washout for clean surfing. Sunday the 23rd is a better bet: the swell holds at 8ft SW, with a cross-off breeze and clean conditions. Another serious swell, but again, it’s a powerful, expert-only sort of wave.

After that, the run fades. Monday the 24th drops to 5ft but the wind turns messy and onshore, killing the quality. Tuesday and Wednesday (25th and 26th) are poor. Strong winds, rain, and lumpy, onshore slop. The swell gets up to 10ft on Wednesday afternoon, but the wind is howling onshore, making it completely unsurfable—that’s more of a kite day, to be honest.

By Thursday the 27th, the wind drops right out, leaving a clean 4-5ft SW swell. It’s a late-day option, but it looks good.

Now, for the standout period you’ve all been waiting for. Friday the 28th is clean and small, a bit of a reset. Then, Saturday the 29th of August is the pick of the whole window. We have a cracking 5ft SW groundswell with a 16-second period—that’s very long period, plenty of energy (1257 combined), light offshore winds, and clean conditions. This is the one to circle on the calendar. It’s still a fair way out, so treat it as promising but not locked in. Sunday the 30th keeps it going with a clean 4ft, and Monday the 31st rounds it out with a clean 5-5ft and offshore winds. A fine note to end on.

So, two true standouts: Sunday morning the 16th for the first pulse, and Saturday the 29th for the cleaner, longer-period groundswell. Get out there when you can, and stay safe.

Rusty.

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