Roads End Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get straight into it. The forecast is looking at Roads End over the next couple of weeks.

Overall Pattern & Early Window
The first half of this period is pretty quiet. For the first several days through to about Wednesday 20 August, most of the sessions are going to be small and messy. There’s no real stand-out surf to get excited about right now. The light cross-onshore winds are constantly putting a bit of a crinkle on the surface, and the wave heights just aren't doing much. Thursday and Friday mornings the 20th and 21st might see a touch of swell building, but it’s still marginal.

The Key Window
I’m looking at Thursday morning, 20 August and Friday morning, 21 August. Even then, it’s not firing. Early Thursday sees the swell picking up to around 5 ft from the WNW with a period of 11 seconds. The wind is onshore but light, so it could be cleaner than it looks. The combined energy jumps into the moderate range at 656 – a decent step up. It’s small enough for intermediates, and those long period surging lines will want a spot that can handle it. Since it's a 'beach and reef' setup, the Reef side might shape up better.

Friday morning brings a similar 5 ft from the WNW, but the period drops to 9 seconds and the wind slips cross-onshore. The energy is still moderate at 518, but those conditions will make the wave faces a bit bumpy.

Best on Offer
Honestly, the stand-out here is slim. If I had to pick the best of a quiet bunch, I'd flag Thursday 20 August morning. It’s the largest, most energetic window. But this is not a session to tell your mates about. The crowd factor is "sometimes" here, but quiet conditions like this usually mean fewer people.

Wind and Swell Notes
Most of the time the wind is light, but it's almost always cross or cross-onshore from the NW. There is a very short period of offshore wind from the WNW early on the 20th and again by 5 August – that's rare in this run and could offer some glassy faces early. If you see that 3 mph onshore wind on 27 August, it won't do much.

Second Week Lull
Then things drop away. By Saturday 22 August, the swell is fading fast back below 3 ft and staying fickle right through until the end of August. There are a few little pulses with very long periods over 15 seconds, but they are attached to tiny swell heights. The combined energy (down in the 200-300's range) is weak. This is a long quiet stretch.

Water Temperature
Roads End is sitting pretty average for this time of year – no major anomaly to report, so no surprises when you hit the water.

Overall Verdict
There is a brief, modest opportunity on 20-21 August for something rideable. The rest of the 16-day window is mainly small, bumpy, or flat. You’ll have to grind for anything worthwhile. For kitesurfers, the cross-chop conditions in the second half might actually look more interesting, but for a paddle surfer it’s a waiting game.

Keep the board waxed, but don’t rush.
Rusty

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