Red Strand (Dirk Bay) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s break it down in feet and miles per hour.

Looking at the whole 16-day stretch, it’s a total dry spell. There’s no decent surf to be found, plain and simple. The whole forecast is marked as poor surf conditions, so we’re looking at a proper blank run. For this area, that kind of quiet period isn’t totally abnormal, but it’s still a kick in the teeth.

The only break in the mix is Red Strand (Dirk Bay), a sheltered reef that’s normally okay for a beginner. The water temp is about 64°, which is a touch warmer than average for this time of year, so that’s a small win. But the waves? Nothing doing.

We kick off on Friday, August 28th, with a tiny 2-foot south swell, but the period is a short 6 seconds, and the energy is weak (42). The morning has a light cross-off breeze, so it’s clean, but there’s absolutely no punch. Saturday the 29th shows a little more size, 3 feet from the south early, and the energy picks up to moderate (104), but the wind turns onshore and choppy by the afternoon. Sunday the 30th is messy with a cross-on breeze and a risk of thunderstorms, so it’s a hard pass.

The rest of the first week is a bust. Monday the 31st drops back to 1 feet, and from Tuesday, September 1st, onward, we’re looking at waves under 1 foot with long periods over 15 seconds, which is just too small to even think about. The wind is mostly cross or cross-off, but you can’t surf flat water. Energy readings are all under 100, so it’s dead.

We get a slight bump on Wednesday, September 2nd, with a 5-foot swell from the south-southwest, but the period is a weak 5 seconds and the onshore wind is 16 mph, making it lumpy. By the afternoon, it builds to 7 feet, but with a cross-on breeze up to 22 mph and a messy energy reading of 367, it’s just a windblown mess. That’s a big swell for a beginner spot, and with the wind, it’s more for the kite surfers than anyone else.

The second week is even worse. Swell heights stay under 2 feet, mostly below 1 foot, and the periods are long but the energy is minimal. The only bright spot is on Wednesday, September 9th, where the morning shows glassy conditions with a 0.3-foot swell from the south, but it’s barely a ripple. The final days, from the 10th to the 12th of September, see a bit more wind and a small swell, but nothing that would get a surfer out of bed.

So, bottom line: there’s no standout, no best session, no call to action. The whole 16 days is a write-off. We’ll just have to wait for the next forecast and hope it changes.

Rusty.

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