Rockpile Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. I’ve been through the numbers for Rockpile, and I’m not going to sugarcoat it: this is a tough stretch. The next couple of weeks are looking pretty average, with a lot of marginal and poor surf on the cards. There’s a fair gap at the start if you’re hoping for a sneaky wave, but we’ll get into that.

The first bit of swell that’s even worth a mention is a small, clean-ish window on Saturday morning, August 8th. We’re looking at a tiny 2ft SW swell with a long 17-second period, and the wind is cross-shore from the WNW at 15 km/h. The water is a very unusual 75°, which is 7° warmer than normal for this time of year – that’s a real standout. The combined energy is moderate at 308, but honestly, the surf is still marginal and the tide might mess with it. It’s a beginner-friendly reef, so if you’re learning and don’t mind a bit of a wait, it’s the best of a bad bunch.

After that Saturday morning, it’s a bleak run. The whole of the rest of the week is a write-off with poor surf conditions and onshore or cross-onshore winds. The swell stays tiny, between 1ft and 3ft, and the wind is never your friend. The combined energy does climb up – we see 422 on Tuesday afternoon, and then 540 and 551 on the Friday 14th and Saturday 15th mornings – but the swell is still small and the wind is just chopping it up. It’s frustrating.

The real highlight, if you can call it that, is the Saturday the 15th morning. The swell pushes up to 4ft from the SW with a 16-second period, giving a combined energy of 682. The wind is cross-shore from the NW at 15 km/h, which means it’s got a slight cross-chop but is still rideable. It’s still marginal, but that’s the biggest, cleanest swell we’ll see in the whole 16 days. It’s not a standout in the classic sense, but it’s the best on offer for a surfer who’s been waiting.

The rest of the second week just trails off. The swell drops back to 2ft to 3ft, the wind is onshore or cross-onshore, and the scores are all zero or one. By the 21st and 22nd of August, the combined energy is down to 161 and 211 – weak as dishwater. If you’re desperate, the Saturday morning of the 22nd has a 2ft SW swell with a light cross-onshore breeze, but it’s not going to get the heart racing.

In short, this is a period where the forecast is poor. For a consistent spot like Rockpile, it tends not to stay this bad for long, but right now, you’re better off waiting for the next front. The only real window is that Saturday morning of the 15th – it’s not perfect, but it’s the best we’ve got.

Rusty.

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