Rat Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here, and I’ve got to be straight with you – the outlook for Rat Beach over the next 16 days is a tough one. We’re looking at a long, flat spell with next to nothing worth paddling out for. The first real chance to even get wet doesn’t come until Wednesday, 26 August, and even then it’s nothing to write home about.

The water’s sitting at 71° and that’s a solid 5° warmer than usual for this time of year, so at least the swim will be nice if you’re not fussed about waves.

From Wednesday 26 August morning, we get a tiny 2ft swell from the SW, with a period of 16 seconds. That’s a long-period groundswell, but at this size the energy is only moderate (149). The wind is offshore light from the SE, so the surface will be clean. It’s surfable, but barely. The spot is a reef, so the long period might actually wrap in okay, but with the swell this small, you’ll be scratching for anything. Crowds are a “sometimes” thing here, but honestly, with conditions this ordinary, I doubt anyone will be out.

The next couple of days follow the same pattern. Thursday 27 August morning has a 1ft swell from the SW, period 15 seconds, clean cross-off wind from the S, but the energy drops to 93 – weak. Friday 28 August tries a 2ft from the W with a short 10-second period, wind light cross-off, but energy is a paltry 51. It’s just not happening.

The best of a bad bunch might be Sunday 30 August morning. The swell picks up to 3ft from the W, period only 7 seconds, so it’s weak windswell, but the wind is light cross-off from the SSW, giving clean faces. Energy is 73 – still weak. That’s the biggest wave height we see, but it’s messy and short-period.

Monday 31 August morning is similar with 3ft from the W, clean cross-off, but again, short period and low energy (56). Into the first week of September, it’s more of the same – tiny, weak, and mostly messy. The 3rd of September has a 2ft W swell, but the wind is cross-on and choppy, so forget it.

After that, it flatlines. By Saturday 5 September, the combined energy is just 6, and by Sunday 6 September, it’s 2 – that’s about as flat as it gets. The wave heights are down to 0.7ft. There’s a brief look on Monday 7 September morning with 1.0ft and a 21-second period from the SW, but the energy is still only 23, and it’s a long-period ghost that won’t produce anything ridable.

Bottom line: the only window that’s even surfable is Wednesday 26 August through to maybe Tuesday 1 September, but it’s all small, weak, and nothing special. There’s no standout session here. If you’re desperate, aim for Sunday 30 August morning for the biggest surf of the period, but don’t get your hopes up. A long, blank run like this is pretty normal for the area when the swell window shuts down.

Stay patient, mates. Rusty out.

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