Road K Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, surfers, Rusty here. Let’s get into it. This stretch of the forecast is a real mixed bag, and I’ll be honest, it’s pretty quiet for the most part. We’re looking at a long, drawn-out period of small, weak swell with a few moments of clean conditions that could get you wet, but you’ll be working for it. The real standout, the one to circle on the calendar, doesn’t come until the tail end of the run.

Water temps at the main spot are running at 75°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so the rubber might be a bit thin.

We start off on Tuesday morning, August 18th, at Road K. It’s tiny, with a 3 ft SSE swell and a period of just 7 seconds. The energy is weak (75). The good news is that the wind is glassy out of the NNE, so the surface will be clean. It’s surfable, but very ordinary. That afternoon, the wind swings and the conditions get poor.

Wednesday the 19th looks similar – small, weak swell, but the morning offers a clean cross-off wind from the WNW with 2 ft of swell. It’s still tiny, though. The rest of the week through to Monday the 25th is a real slog. Swell drops to 1 ft and the energy is pathetic. There are a few glassy or clean windows, like Friday the 21st morning and the afternoon, and Monday the 25th morning, but the waves are just barely there. It’s a long gap of nothing exciting.

We get a bit of a pulse of energy on the 26th and 27th of August, with the combined energy climbing into the triple digits (162 and 205), but the swell direction is mixed up, the period is short and all over the place, and the winds are onshore or cross-shore. It’s choppy and messy, not worth paddling out.

Now, here’s the light at the end of the tunnel. Mark your calendars for Friday, August 28th. That morning, we see a 4 ft S swell with a 7-second period, and the wind is off from the north. The energy is solid at 227. The call is “expect good surf conditions.” The afternoon is even better – the swell picks up to 5 ft from the south, still short period at 8 seconds, but the wind goes glassy from the SSE. The energy jumps to 350. That’s your window. It’s a clean, moderate offshore in the morning turning glassy in the arvo. It’s not huge, but it’s the best we’ve got by a long shot.

After that, the weekend of the 29th and 30th holds some clean offshore winds, but the swell fades back to knee-high. There’s a small bump of energy from the east on September 1st, but it’s messy. The long-range stuff on September 2nd sees a rise in period to 12 seconds and moderate energy, but the wind is a fresh cross-shore, making it lumpy.

So, the call is simple: if you’re desperate for a paddle, the glassy mornings on the 18th, 19th, or 21st will get you wet, but don’t expect much. The real winner is Friday, August 28th. Get on it.

Rusty.

Read more