Rockpile Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into it.

Look, I’m gonna be straight with you. The next two weeks are a tough stretch for Rockpile. We’ve got some swell on the cards, but the wind and quality just aren’t playing ball for most of it. Don’t get your hopes up for anything clean or fun until we get into the second week.

The first real blip of interest comes on Sunday, 30 August. We’ve got a 4ft SW swell rolling in with a very long 15-second period from the SW. That’s proper groundswell energy, and the reef should handle that long period well, but the wind is howling onshore from the SW at 9 mph. The water’s about average for this time of year, no major anomaly to report. The combined energy reading is a moderate 607 (moderate), but the onshore breeze is going to chop it up. It’s a marginal call at best.

Monday 31 August through to Friday 4 September is a write-off. Swell drops and the wind stays cross or cross-onshore. We’re looking at 2ft to 3ft of weak, short-period slop. The combined energy dips into the 200s and 300s (weak). Not worth paddling out for.

Saturday 5 September is more of the same – marginal 3ft SW swell, but the wind is light cross-onshore in the morning. It’s still not clean.

Now, here’s the one bright spot. Sunday 6 September. Finally, a shift. The wind swings around to a cross-offshore breeze from the NNW at 12 mph. That’s going to groom the face. The swell bumps up to 4ft to 4ft from the S to SSW, with a solid 13-second period. The combined energy is strong at 720 to 835 (moderate to strong). This is the standout. The conditions will be clean, and the reef will be working. This is your best bet in the whole 16-day window. It’s not huge, but it’s the only time the wind and swell line up properly.

Monday 7 September sees the wind turn onshore again, and the swell holds at 4ft, but it’s messy. Tuesday 8 September pushes up to 6ft from the SSW, but with a strong onshore wind, it’s going to be a lumpy, choppy mess – only for the experienced boys if they’re desperate.

After that, the swell fades into the second week. From Wednesday 9 September right through to Monday 14 September, we’re looking at small, weak swells, mostly 2ft to 3ft, with short periods and cross or cross-onshore winds. The combined energy stays in the 200s to 500s (weak to moderate). There’s a long-period 19-second swell on the 13th, but it’s only 2ft and onshore. Not happening.

The setup for most of this period looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, given the persistent cross-onshore wind and small to moderate swell.

So, to sum it up: if you’ve got to surf, your only real window is Sunday 6 September. It’s not a classic, but it’s the cleanest and most fun we’ll see. The rest? Save your energy.

Rusty.

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