Rainbow Rocks Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, let’s have a look at the next couple of weeks, yeah? It’s going to be a bit of a mixed bag out at Rainbow Rocks. The water’s sitting at 56°F, which is pretty much spot on for this time of year, so you won’t need to dig out the extra thick hood just yet.

We’re starting off with a bit of a slow one, to be honest. The weekend just isn’t doing much for us. The swell energy is moderate at best, with combined readings around the 480 to 548 mark. There are waves, but they’re small – around 3ft – and with a bit of a cross-off breeze, it’s gonna feel pretty fat and uninviting. You’d be scratching for a half-decent one.

The real interest starts kicking in from Tuesday the 18th. We see a pulse of NW windswell, bumping the size up to 8ft in the arvo, with the energy jumping to 817. The period’s a bit short though, only 7 seconds, so it’ll be a bit lumpy and without much push. The WNW wind keeps it clean though. Wednesday the 19th looks a touch better, with 8ft on the face in the afternoon and energy at 841. Still short-period, but it’s the most size we’ve seen in a while.

Here’s the thing though – that short, punchy period at that size is going to be a handful. Anything over 8ft is expert territory, and with that swell direction coming from the NW, it might be breaking a bit shifty. It could be one for the crew who don’t mind a bit of a wrestle.

After that little burst, it fades right back out for the weekend. We drop back down to around 2-3ft waves from the 20th through the 21st, with energy levels sinking into the 300s. It’s small and pretty unremarkable. You’re not missing much if you’ve got other plans.

Now, Saturday the 22nd. The morning is small, but the afternoon shows a solid jump to 10ft. The energy is strong at 841, but the period is still only 7 seconds. That’s a lot of raw, lumpy power. With a moderate cross-shore wind, that’s going to be a mess. To be honest, that kind of swell with that short period and cross-shore breeze on a beach and reef set-up like this… it’s looking more like a kite-surfing day than a paddle-surfing day.

Sunday the 23rd is still on the bigger side, 7ft to 7ft, but it’s still short-period and a bit cross-off. It’s rideable for the experienced, but it’s not going to be pretty.

The last week of the forecast is a bit of a tease. We see some proper swell from the SW starting to show up on the 24th, but the period is up around 17-18 seconds. That’s proper groundswell. But the size is tiny, only 2ft. So we’ve got all that energy and push but no actual height to work with. It’ll be lining up nicely but there won't be anything to ride.

The 26th and 27th see a bit of a chop-up, mixing that long-period swell with some shorter NW energy. It’s a bit confused and the size drops off again.

The last couple of days in August do show that NW windswell returning. The 31st especially gets big, up to 12ft in the afternoon, with a massive energy reading of 1920 – that’s very strong stuff. The period is still short at 8 seconds, and the wind is a fresh 35 km/h cross-off. It’s going to be wild, but with that short period and that much power, it’s only going to be for the brave.

Overall, the standout window is the Wednesday the 19th, with that 8ft of clean-ish, cross-off wind. It’s the best combo of size and clean faces we’ve got. The big days late in the month are all power and no finesse, so don’t get too excited for those just yet; long-range calls like that are promising but you can’t rely on the period staying that short. Otherwise, it’s low-tide inside slop and waiting for the next proper groundswell to fill in.

Rusty.

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