Right and Left Side Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on the cards for Right and Left Side.

Right off the bat, the first week is a real struggle. There’s a stretch of poor to ordinary conditions right through until the end of this week. Monday morning and afternoon on the 17th are a write-off – cross and cross-onshore winds from the SW at 12 mph making a mess of the 4 ft west swell, and the energy is weak (226). Tuesday morning the 18th is the first real glimmer of hope: a clean 4 ft west swell, NE wind at 3 mph and glassy conditions – that’s about as good as it gets for a little while. But it’s short-lived, as the wind swings onshore later in the day and the rest of the week goes downhill again. The water temperature is sitting at 85°, which is about average for this time of year, so that’s fine.

The 22nd of August brings a change. Saturday morning we get a 4 ft swell from the ENE with moderate wave energy (514) and a cross-shore breeze, but it’s still marginal due to tide and the cross-chop. By Saturday afternoon the swell builds to 5 ft (ENE, 12 seconds) and energy jumps to 790, but the wind picks up to 16 mph from the SW, so it’s lumpy. Not a standout by any stretch.

Sunday the 23rd gets messy again with 22 mph winds, so that’s a skip.

Then we hit the end of the month – and this is where it gets serious. The 27th of August, Thursday afternoon, we see a 10 ft WNW swell rolling in with an onshore wind, but the period is 8 seconds – short period, not ideal for this exposed reef. Energy is very strong at 1228. That’s expert territory.

The real heavy stuff arrives from the 28th onwards. Friday the 28th sees 12 ft WNW swells, very strong energy reading over 2000 (2015 and 2021), but the cross winds are fresh at 22 mph, so it’s lumpy and challenging. This is for experienced surfers only, and even then, the quality is going to be rough.

Then we get a small breather on the 29th and 30th – a 4 ft NW swell on Saturday morning with clean, cross-off winds from the SSW at 19 mph. That’s clean and ridable for the confident surfer, but the swell size is modest.

But hold on – the standout is on the 30th of August (Sunday afternoon) and the 31st (Monday). On the 30th, the swell jumps to 13 ft from the west at 12 seconds, with very strong energy (4031). Monday the 31st hits 12 ft from the west, also 12 seconds, with energy at 5277 – that’s huge. Winds are cross-shore from the SW at 12 mph, which is manageable, but these are big, powerful waves. The period is 12 seconds, so there’s real groundswell energy and long lulls between sets. This is not a beginner or even intermediate wave – it’s a serious, expert-only session at Right and Left Side. The swell direction (west) is not the optimum north, but the sheer size and power make it the best window in the entire 16 days.

If you’re after the absolute best: the cleanest, most user-friendly window is still Tuesday morning the 18th – that 4 ft, glassy, clean west swell – but for raw power and size, the 30th and 31st are the real standouts, though they come with a lot of risk.

The reef here is inconsistent and can be fickle, but when it fires, it can be magic. The long-range standouts are promising but less certain.

So to wrap up: if you want clean and small, hit the 18th. If you want heavy and big, keep an eye on the 30th and 31st. The rest is either blown out or too small to bother.

Rusty.

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